Joint Comments to the House on Congressional Review Act Resolutions (H.J. Res. 140, H.J. Res 141, H.J. Res. 142, and H.J. Res. 143)

Dear Representative Allen:

On behalf of our members across the country, the undersigned organizations write to you to support the passage of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions (H.J. Res. 140, H.J. Res 141, H.J. Res. 142, and H.J. Res. 143) disapproving the Department of Labor (DOL) rules (“the final rule”) published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2024. The final rule includes the rules titled "Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary" (89 FR 32122), and the rule exemptions titled "Proposed Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02" (89 FR 32260), "Proposed Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-24" (89 FR 32302), or "Prohibited Transaction Exemptions 75-1, 77-4, 80-83, and 86-128" (89 FR 32346). The final rule significantly, improperly, and unnecessarily expands the circumstances under which nearly all financial professionals would be treated as investment advice fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Tax Code), while simultaneously imposing substantial new barriers to the ability of such fiduciaries to receive fair compensation for their valuable services.

The federal courts have repeatedly rejected the DOL’s efforts to expand the universe of financial professionals subject to an ERISA fiduciary only standard. A substantially similar rule was adopted by the DOL in 2016, and during the time it was in effect before being vacated by a federal Circuit Court of Appeals, this rule caused significant harm by severely limiting access to affordable financial professional help, a crucial resource for preparing for a secure and dignified retirement. More recently, the U.S. District Court in Florida struck down part of DOL’s 2020 “interpretation” of investment advice fiduciary. To protect American workers and retirees against this foreseeable and unnecessary harm, we express our support for and ask that Congress act expeditiously to pass a CRA resolution to halt the implementation and enforcement of these rules.

Download the joint comment letter to read the full text.