A new bill in Congress would ease some of the regulatory morass doled out by the EPA. The bill would hold the agency more accountable on the rules they write by forcing a new guidance document from the EPA every time air quality rules are updated in order to help businesses figure out how to comply. AAF’s RegRodeo.com has found that under this administration, the EPA has issued nearly $300 billion in burdens and over 17 million paperwork hours. 

Home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped over 3 percent in April, leading some to question how the housing recovery is really coming.  According to Reuters, “The relative weakness in home resales puts a dent in what had been one of the brighter spots of the broader U.S. economy after gross domestic product barely grew in the first quarter.”

Senate Votes: TPA cleared a major legislative hurdle yesterday in the Senate keeping the fast track trade bill alive. Passing TPA would speed up the process on passing trade deals in waiting that could mean billions for the economy and over half a million jobs.

Eakinomics: If You Like Your Financial Adviser………

You should be able to keep your financial adviser. 

Unfortunately, the Department of Labor's (DOL’s) recently proposed “fiduciary rule” threatens this option. The new regulation would hold brokers who offer retirement account advice to a higher “fiduciary” standard of putting their customers’ interests first. The goal makes sense, but the actual rule will ultimately hurt the small investors it aims to protect. From a policy perspective, the proposed rule for fiduciary advisers would be a costly intrusion into the financial planning of America’s families, an especially large burden on small brokerages, and an open invitation to vast amounts of litigation. Politically, it is a misreading of the public’s tolerance for more government intrusion into their lives.

The latter insight is documented by a new poll released yesterday by AAF and its sister organization, the American Action Network. The survey found that overall Americans oppose the fiduciary regulation (50 percent to 28 percent), and are significantly less likely to support the proposed regulation when they hear about the personal impact this would have on middle class savers. It also found that a large majority (59 percent versus 26 percent) does not believe it is the proper role of the government’s to decide what is best for a citizen’s retirement accounts. Americans also doubt that DOL has the expertise to regulate retirement accounts (69 percent to 20 percent).

The practical effect of the rule will be to hurt the quality of financial advice. Fortunately, the American public recognizes this reality. The next step is for DOL to reach the same conclusion and withdraw the rule.

From the Forum

Inability to Understand Health Insurance Costs Consumers Hundreds of Dollars by Tara O’Neil, AAF Health Care Policy Analyst