WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, along with Reps. Meuser (R-PA), Alford (R-MO), and Bean (R-FL) wrote a letter to Acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, inquiring about the recent proposed rule changes to the Retirement Security Rule and amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemptions.

This letter builds on the House Committee on Small Business’ work to ensure federal agencies adhere to the Regulatory Flexibility Act and Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act to protect small businesses from burdensome regulations and rulemaking.

Read the full letter here.

Read excerpts from the letter below:

“The House Committee on Small Business (the Committee) writes to inquire about the recent proposed rule changes to the Retirement Security Rule and amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemptions. These proposed changes would amend nearly 50-year-old standards and subject more financial professionals to the strictest fiduciary standards of conduct. This increased burden and historic level of lost commission will likely lead these small financial professionals to go out of business or limit their services—negatively impacting both the business owners and the consumers. It appears that the Department of Labor (DOL) may not have properly considered small entities during this rulemaking process.

“Nearly all the affected entities are small businesses—over 97 percent of broker-dealers and 99 percent of registered investment advisors are small businesses. The costs associated with this rule package are significant; during the first year alone the estimated aggregate cost for small entities due to the proposed amendments to each exemption for a single small entity is approximately $22,459 and $248 million for all small entities.”

Background:

Signatories include Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX), Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO), and Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL).

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