Press Releases

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, issued the following statements after President Trump signed H. J. Res 66 into law. Authored by Rep. Walberg, the resolution closes a regulatory loophole created by the Obama administration that would allow states to force private-sector workers into government-run retirement accounts without the consumer protections provided by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. A similar resolution regarding related regulations was signed into law April 2017.

“This resolution restores important retirement protections that workers have counted on for decades,” Rep. Walberg said. “Retirement security is a difficult challenge facing many Americans. But the answer isn’t a misguided regulatory loophole that would discourage small businesses from providing retirement benefits and put the hard-earned savings of workers at risk. Instead, we need to make it easier for small businesses to band together and offer retirement plans to their employees. The committee already has a hearing scheduled to discuss commonsense reforms, and we will continue working to strengthen retirement security for all Americans.”

“The Obama administration’s regulatory loophole would have led to unintended consequences for hardworking men and women,” Chairwoman Foxx said. “Many working families would have lost retirement protections they have long been afforded under federal law. And many small business employees could have seen the retirement benefits they once had dropped in favor of government-run plans. America’s workers need more retirement options, and those options must include strong protections. I want to thank Representative Walberg for championing this important resolution, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to empower every American to retire with financial security and peace of mind.”

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