House OKs bill blocking Labor Department pension fiduciary rules

The House of Representatives Thursday approved legislation to block enforcement of final Labor Department pension plan fiduciary rules.

Lawmakers cleared the measure on a largely party line 234-188 vote.

Under those rules, released earlier this month, retirement plan advisers could be at risk of civil penalties if they fail to consider customers’ best interests, while employers could be at risk should they or their advisers offer suggestions on investments in the plans they sponsor.

The final rule, which is scheduled to go in effect in about a year, replaces outdated rules that “did not ensure that financial advisors act in their clients’ best interest when giving retirement investment advice,” the White House said in a statement Wednesday.

However, Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., the chief sponsor of the resolution, said in a statement prior to the House vote, the rule, if allowed to go into effect, would wreak “havoc on workers, retirees and small businesses.”

The White House says President Barack Obama would veto the measure if it wins final congressional passage.

The measure now goes to the Senate.