The House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Department of Labor passed a provision yesterday that would prohibit the funding of a proposed fiduciary standard rule.
“None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the proposed Definition of the Term ‘Fiduciary’,” according to language in the 2016 budget for the Department of Labor.
The proposed budget specifically names the Conflict of Interest Rule—Retirement Investment Advice, as it was published in the Federal Register last April.
The bill allocates $11.7 billion in funding for the DOL, $206 million below last year’s allotment and $1.4 billion below President Obama’s request.
The Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations subcommittee has 12 members—eight Republicans and four Democrats. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, chairs the subcommittee.
“Through the inclusion of several important policy provisions, we have taken steps to rein in the excessive overreach of the Department of Labor,” said Cole in a statement.
The subcommittee passed Labor’s funding measure on the same day Labor Secretary Thomas Perez took to Capitol Hill to defend the fiduciary proposal.
In the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, Republicans also voted to keep funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission level with last year’s budget, at $1.5 billion, or $222 million short of what of what President Obama had requested.
That part of the spending bill would also require the SEC to report to Congress on the cost and regulatory burdens of the Dodd-Frank Act and prohibit the SEC for requiring the disclosure of political donation information in public company filings.
And funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog created by Dodd-Frank, would be subject to Congressional oversight. It currently receives its funding from the Federal Reserve.
Funding for the IRS was set at $10.1 billion, $838 million below last year’s levels and $2.8 billion less than President Obama called for.
If the House of Representatives votes to pass the appropriations measures, the Senate will still have to consider individual riders like the effort to de-fund the proposed fiduciary rule.
The House’s labor appropriations counterpart subcommittee in the Senate has yet to vote on its spending bill.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
