House Committee Blocks Nanny-State IRA Rule

On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies voted to deny funding to the Department of Labor for enforcement or implementation of its fiduciary rule.

Below is my statement on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute applauding the vote, and here are articles I wrote about the rule — currently in the proposed regulation stage — for Newsmax:

Statement: CEI applauds the subcommittee for blocking the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule, which many have called “Obamacare for your IRA.” The DOL is not only stepping out of its authority by trying to remake the brokerage and IRA industry, it is premising the rule on what it believes is the stupidity of American investors.

On page 4 of the proposed regulation, DOL expresses the view that "seldom" can Americans "prudently manage retirement assets on their own," and that they "generally cannot distinguish . . . good investment results from bad."

This is some chutzpah from an administration that blew $500 million on the Solyndra boondoggle!

By forcing investment professionals who never claim to provide investment advice — from brokers to custodians of self-directed IRAs — to adhere to a "fiduciary" standard that meets the government's definition of "best interest," the DOL will cause millions of investors to lose access to low-cost brokerage services and choices of investment strategies for their IRAs and 401(k)s.

The DOL should scrap this rule, and Congress should instead empower Americans by allowing more investment choices.

John Berlau is director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He is the author of the book “Eco-Freaks.” Read more reports from John Berlau — Click Here Now.