Bowing to pressure from members of Congress, industry groups, and the public, the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) said Monday it would repropose its controversial rule amending the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

In announcing the decision, Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary of EBSA, said the group has "said all along that we will take the time to get this right to ensure that we provide the strongest possible protections to business owners and retirement savers in plans and IRAs." Investment advisors, she continued, "shouldn't be able to steer retirees, workers, small businesses and others into investments that benefit the advisers at the expense of their clients. The consumer's retirement security must come first."

The decision to repropose, Borzi added, means that this important consumer protection initiative will benefit from additional input, review and consideration. "The agency agrees with stakeholders and lawmakers that more public input and greater research will strengthen the rule," she said. The extended input will supplement more than 260 written public comments already received, as well as two days of open hearings and more than three dozen individual meetings with interested parties held by the agency.