Washington, D.C. — Today, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to block, through a resolution of disapproval, the implementation of U.S. Department of Labor guidelines clarifying how state and local governments could provide automatic individual retirement accounts, or IRAs, to ensure that all workers could save for retirement at work. Under the terms of the Congressional Review Act, which requires only a simple majority and cannot be filibustered, full repeal of the regulations in both the House and the Senate could occur very quickly. David Madland, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
It is plain as day that House Republicans would rather side with their Wall Street special interests than help tens of millions of workers who are currently unable to save for retirement through their jobs. No matter how congressional Republicans spin it, there is absolutely no good reason to stand in the way of allowing workers to access a high-quality, low-fee retirement plan. Congress should not prevent state and local lawmakers from helping their constituents plan for a secure retirement.
Seemingly small retirement plan fees add up to millions of dollars that workers will have to pay to Wall Street. The United States already faces a looming retirement crisis, and this move only serves to deepen that crisis.
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.