The Financial Choice Act Facing Uphill Road in the Senate

According to Investment News, the House of Representatives approved legislation Thursday that includes a provision to kill the DOL rule, while House and Senate Republicans introduced separate bills to stop the regulation and establish a new investment advice standard.

The bills may struggle to pass in the Senate, where Democrats have more than enough members to block legislation through a filibuster.

The Financial CHOICE Act 2, a measure to revise the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, passed in a 233-186 vote along party lines, with Walter Jones (R-NC) as the only dissenting Republican.

The revisions would stop the agency from advancing a fiduciary regulation until the Securities and Exchange Commission proposes its own rule for retail investment advice.

Democrats are calling it the “Wrong Choice Act,” claiming it would take important investor protections off the books, including the DOL rule, which requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients in retirement accounts.

Republicans claim that it will end taxpayer-funded bailouts of large financial institutions; impose tougher penalties on those who commit financial fraud and insider trading; demand greater accountability from Washington regulators, and relieve well-capitalized banks from certain regulations.

More Legislation Introduced

While the Financial CHOICE Act was on the House floor, two more bills were being introduced, according to reports.

Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) and Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) introduced the Affordable Retirement Advice for Savers Act which would repeal the Obama administration’s fiduciary rule and establish a statutory definition of “investment advice.”

In the Senate, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and six Republicans introduced similar legislation with the Affordable Retirement Advice Protection Act which also seeks to stop the implementation of the fiduciary rule and provides an alternative to the rule.

Neither of the GOP fiduciary bills has Democratic support. Senate Democrats will wait to see the results of the review before addressing the stand-alone bills to replace the DOL rule, according to reports.

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available, is being provided by The White Law Group.

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