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Bills Denying Funds for Fiduciary Rule Advance in U.S. House, Senate

Appropriations Committees on Capitol Hill — in the Senate and the House — have taken a shot at blocking the Labor Department’s fiduciary proposal by denying funding for the measure.

Senate Bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee on June 25 in a 16-14 vote approved a $153.2 billion measure that funds a range of priorities involving health, education and workforce training and development for FY 2016. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies had approved the measure on June 23.

Committee Chairman Thad Chochran (R-Miss.) hailed the bill as taking “a thoughtful, responsible approach to funding programs important to our country” and added that it helps “ensure that our taxpayer money is spent wisely and effectively.”

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies, which approved the measure on June 23, in a press release, notes that its budget recommendations include “several provisions to restrain regulatory overreach by the administration, including Fiduciary Rule at the Department of Labor.”

House Bill

On June 24, the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2016 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) funding bill that would eliminate from the DOL budget any money to implement the fiduciary rule. The vote on the rule was 30-21, with all Democrats voting against it. “Through the inclusion of several important policy provisions, we have taken steps to rein in the excessive overreach of the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board,” LHHS Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole said.

What’s Next

The measures will now go to the full House and Senate for a vote.

Approval of the defunding provisions in both appropriation bills does not necessarily mean that they will be enacted into law. The budget process is complex, problematic and subject to political dealmaking at all levels.