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Fiduciary Duty in Congress

The GOP votes to repeal the fourth Obama regulation in two years.

A new editorial by the Wall Street Journal lauds House and Senate Republicans for moving to block a new rule that will make it harder for low- and middle-income families to save for retirement. Read more about Rep. Phil Roe’s (R-TN) resolution to protect access to affordable retirement advice.

A relentless grievance on the right is that House and Senate Republicans do zilch to rein in the Obama administration, so it’s ironic that almost no one notices when they try. Congress recently moved to block a billion-dollar Labor Department rule, which was one of the GOP’s promises during the 2014 election campaign.

Last week the Senate voted 56-41 to prevent Labor’s fiduciary rule, which will run up the cost of financial planning by requiring brokers to act in a client’s “best interest.” Millions of low- and middle-earners with IRAs will be priced out of services except automated advice, and bad robot counsel could cost American savers $80 billion in a downturn, according to economists Hal Singer and Robert Litan.

Three Democratic Senators voted with Republicans to defend your 401(k): Indiana’s Joe Donnelly, North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp and Montana’s Jon Tester. Companion legislation breezed through the House last month.

The measure now goes to President Obama’s desk thanks to the Congressional Review Act, which allows the legislature 60 days to block a final rule with simple majorities in the House and Senate. The law has been getting a workout: The 114th Congress has disapproved of the Clean Power Plan; a Clean Water Act diktat; a union rule at the National Labor Relations Board; and now Labor’s fiduciary regulation. These efforts hold Democrats politically accountable for a rule’s consequences.

But President Obama promises to veto the fiduciary repeal bill, as he’s rejected every such measure. Senate Republicans won’t be able to muster a two-thirds super majority to override the President, and the fiduciary rule will likely hit this summer. Conservative muscle groups could educate their networks about this—though that would interfere with their fund-raising line that Republicans are sellouts to Mr. Obama.

To read online, click here.

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