Tim Walberg: “And I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 66, a resolution to protect retirement savers. During the final days of…”

“And I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 66, a resolution to protect retirement savers. During the final days of the Obama administration--in fact, the final hours--the Department of Labor created a regulatory loophole that threatens the retirement security of working families. We are here today to use Congress' authority under the Congressional Review Act to close that loophole by blocking a misguided regulation from taking effect. The regulation paves the way for States to force certain employers to automatically enroll their employees into government IRAs. States would be allowed to skirt Federal law and deny workers important protections designed to safeguard their retirement savings. The Obama administration's action is somewhat perplexing. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA, has enjoyed strong bipartisan support for decades. As President Ford said when he signed the law, the American people have ``greater assurances that retirement dollars will be there when they are needed.'' Yet, over 40 years later, the same administration that frequently touted the importance of consumer protections moved to exempt States from ERISA. {time} 1430 The question is why. To facilitate the creation of government-run plans that would lack basic protections for retirement savers? As a result, workers and retirees would have nowhere to turn if their savings were mismanaged.…”