Press Releases

On Tuesday, July 26 at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, chaired by Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN), will hold a hearing entitled “Redefining ‘Fiduciary’: Assessing the Impact of the Labor Department’s Proposal on Workers and Retirees.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Fiduciaries play an important role in retirement investment. Since 1975, federal law has used a five part test to determine whether someone who provides retirement services is held to a fiduciary standard of care. This long-standing framework has provided certainty to pension plan sponsors (i.e. employers) and service providers, as well as workers and retirees.

Recently, the Department of Labor issued a proposed regulation that would substantially expand the definition of fiduciary. If finalized, the cost of administering certain retirement plans may increase and the return on workers’ investments may decrease. Additionally, the proposal could reduce the availability of important financial education and investment options for workers and retirees.

Members on both sides of the aisle have urged the department to withdraw its current proposal. To date, these bipartisan calls have been rejected and the department has stated its intent to move forward with its current proposal. Tuesday’s hearing will give members an opportunity to examine the impact the department’s proposal may have on the retirement security of workers and retirees, and question the department’s plan to finalize its current proposal.

To learn more about this hearing, visit www.republicans-edlabor.house.gov/hearings.

To read a letter from Chairman John Kline and other Republican leaders regarding the rule, click here.

 

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WITNESS LIST

 

Panel I

Phyllis Borzi
Assistant Secretary of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Washington, D.C.

Panel II

Kenneth Bentsen
Executive Vice President, Public Policy and Advocacy
Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
Washington, D.C.

Kent Mason
Partner
Davis & Harman LLP 
Washington, D.C.

Donald Myers
Partner
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
Washington, D.C.

Jeffrey Tarbell
Director
Houlihan Lokey
San Francisco, CA

Norman Stein
Senior Policy Counsel
Pension Rights Center
Washington, D.C.