Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, a relatively obscure face during the long run-up to today’s release of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, was the first Democratic lawmaker to fire a preemptive shot against Republicans hoping to reverse the rule.

“We are not going back,” said Murray at at the Center for American Progress, which hosted an event announcing the rule’s release.

Several Democrats followed, sending not-so-subliminal messages to Republicans on Capitol Hill who have vowed to fight to the rule’s ultimate implementation.

Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-California, noted the length of the DOL’s rulemaking process, which by today’s announcement was into its sixth year. “Doing nothing is not a solution. It is time to act,” he said.

Officially published on the Federal Register’s website today, the rule comprises more than 1,000 pages.

Many of the rule’s proposed provisions have been changed or streamlined, noted Labor Secretary Thomas Perez at the event. A barrage of trade organizations and stakeholders have released statements both in support of and against the rule; most of those statements also noted the voluminous rule is in the initial stages of review.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, was unabashed in her enthusiasm for today’s release. “Sometimes government works for people. Today is one of those days,” said Warren.

For decades, honest advisors have had to compete with “slick talking advisors that push complicated products that produce terrible results,” she said.

Warren cited recent news that brokerage firm LPL is preparing to reduce brokerage fees by up to 30 percent in preparation for the DOL’s rule as evidence that too many advisors have been offering conflicted advice. LPL manages nearly $450 billion in retirement assets.

Industry opponents of the rule will likely continue to fight its implementation, said Warren, saying they have “17 billion reasons to do,” referencing estimates by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers that says investors lose $17 billion in savings annually to conflicted advice.

Sen. Corey Booker, D-New Jersey, said the rule will make the American dream more real for middle-income savers, but warned that other regulations have been undermined before.

“This fight ain’t over,” said Booker. “There will be others that try to undermine this rule.”

In separate statements, several Republican lawmakers aired criticisms of the rule.

Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Missouri, who has been at the forefront of Republican legislative opposition to the rule in the House of Representatives, said she continues to work with her party’s leadership “to stop this ill-advised rule.”

The final rule “will only hurt those it claims to protect, jeopardizing the ability for millions of low-and-middle-income Americans to receive sound investment advice.”

Upon the rule’s release, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, took to his blog.

“While it is clear that public and congressional scrutiny are making a difference, we will continue to look at every avenue to protect middle-class families and small businesses from government overreach,” wrote Ryan.

Another cohort of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives—Rep. John Kline, R-Minnesota, Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Illinois—issued a statement voicing criticism of the final rule, in spite of amendments made to the original proposal.

“We continue to have serious concerns that these new rules will make it harder for low- and middle-income families to receive basic education about retirement savings and will create new hurdles for small business owners who want to offer their workers retirement options,” they wrote.

Instant Insights /

Democrats, Republicans vow to continue fight over DOL final rule

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