Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton said the Retail Investor Protection Act is "deceptively named" after the bill passed the House of Representatives by a margin of 245 to 186.
The bill, sponsored by Ann Wagner, R-Missouri, would delay finalization of the Department of Labor's proposed fiduciary rule by requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission to write its own rule first.
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That would block "badly needed protections that prevent conflicts of interest" within the financial services industry, said Clinton in a statement after the vote.
"This is just the latest example of Republicans stacking the deck for those at the top and putting the interests of Wall Street and big financial actors ahead of Main Street. I stand with House Democrats and President Obama in resisting these efforts," added Clinton.
Only three Democrats voted for Wagner's bill: Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Nebraska; Rep. David Scott, D-Georgia; and Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.
That is significantly fewer than the 30 Democrats who voted for a 2013 iteration of the legislation, which ultimately stalled in the then-controlled Democratic Senate.
Almost 100 House Democrats recently signed a letter enumerating concerns with the DOL's proposal, which is expected to be finalized sometime in the first half of next year.
But that extent of Democratic concern clearly did not translate into support for Rep. Wagner's bill on the House floor.
It is unclear as to whether or not the Senate will vote on a version of the bill that passed the House.
A statement from the White House said President Obama would veto any legislation that "puts a roadblock in the way of preventing such harmful conflicts, which hurts businesses, consumers, and retirees and their families."
In a statement after the vote, Rep. Wagner said, "I for one refuse to stand by and let this Administration advance another regulation that ultimately takes away our freedoms. The burdensome 1,000 page rule offered by the Department of Labor would do just that, increasing costs for Missouri families and reducing access to sound financial advice."
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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.
