GOP senators press Labor to issue new rules for financial advisers

Four Republican senators are urging Department of Labor (DOL) officials to re-propose regulations for financial advisers that they say would limit access to financial advice.

The administration is pushing for disclosure requirements, known as “fiduciary standards,” for financial advisers that they argue are needed so that consumers know how their advisers are paid.

{mosads}Republicans and some moderate Democrats staunchly oppose the proposal, and the business community has offered several alternatives.

“We fully expect the Department to re-propose [the rule] prior to its becoming final,” Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) wrote in a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez on July 30.

In the letter obtained by The Hill, the lawmakers wrote that “even minor changes to the language of the Rule, let alone material changes, can mean the difference between whether significant numbers of our constituents lose access to investment and retirement advice.”

They are calling on Perez to “confirm” by Aug. 14 that he will re-propose the rule. A public hearing is scheduled later this month.

A broad progressive coalition, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), is pushing for the new fiduciary regulations, which failed to gain traction in 2010. They are hoping to have the rules implemented by early 2016, just before the election season makes it more difficult to implement the requirements.

In contrast, the business community is looking to delay the implementation, and also wants to lay the groundwork for potential lawsuits against the DOL should department officials implement the rules.

Appropriations bills in the Senate and the House stipulate that the DOL not use any funding to implement the controversial rules. It’s a signal that the fiduciary issue could flare up this fall during the government funding debate.