Disapproving Department of Labor Rule Related to Definition of the Term ``fiduciary''

Floor Speech

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Mrs. WAGNER. I thank the chairman for his leadership and for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a resolution to stop the Department of Labor from attacking Americans' savings.

Mr. Speaker, investing in the future and saving for retirement can be some of the most personal and consequential decisions that families make. With three children to raise, my husband and I worked tirelessly to put food on the table each day while squeezing what we could into a retirement account.

For those families today living paycheck to paycheck, we must provide more opportunities to save for the future, not limit them. Mr. Speaker, this is about Main Street, not Wall Street.

The DOL's fiduciary rule is simply ObamaCare for retirement savings. It is clear that this top-down, Washington-knows-best power grab will only hurt those it claims it will protect: low- and middle-income families that are looking for sound investment advice in the midst of a savings crisis.

Today, sadly, 45 percent of working-age families do not have any retirement savings. Nearly half of our workforce is not saving for retirement. For those who are saving, the average retirement balance is only $3,000 for working-age families and $12,000 for families nearing retirement.

Every American should have access to sound investment advice, but the Department of Labor is going too far, increasing costs for advice and ultimately putting low- and middle-income, hardworking families at a severe disadvantage. Congress must act to stop this intrusion on Americans seeking to do the right thing regarding their savings responsibility.

Rarely in Washington do Democrats and Republicans find common ground on issues, but with the Department of Labor forcing more than 1,000 pages of investment regulations on American families, we have joined together with bipartisan concern.

Mr. Speaker, the choice is simple: either you stand with low- and middle-income families saving for the future or you stand with yet another Big Government takeover by this administration.

Mr. Speaker, the resolution that we will vote on today will stop this rule and give Americans the freedom--the freedom--to choose how they plan for and invest in their future.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to pass this resolution.

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