Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s release of the final Retirement Security rule.

“I welcome the Department of Labor’s final Retirement Security rule and congratulate the Biden-Harris Administration for a job well done on behalf of our nation’s workers, investors, and retirees. Earlier this month, I led 55 House Democrats in sending a letter to DOL and the Office of Management and Budget urging the agencies to quickly finalize this rule. I am pleased to see that the Administration has heeded these calls and finalized a strong rule that would create needed guardrails and protect working families and retirees from conflicted financial advice.

“As I have long said, conflicted financial advice, which costs retirement savers at least $17 billion per year, is an enormous burden on moderate-income and working families, many of whom are typically only able to save for retirement in small amounts and can’t afford the junk fees and financial losses associated with conflicted advice. It is way past time for the federal government to close the long-standing loopholes to ensure that financial professionals give advice that is prudent and not harmful to workers, investors, and retirees. I commend the DOL for its thoughtful and deliberative approach to rulemaking – including clarifying the rules in areas that members of the public highlighted and staying squarely within its authorities. Now, the DOL must prioritize the enforcement of this rule so that its benefits can be quickly felt by retirement savers.”

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