The Senate voted Tuesday to block the Obama Labor Department’s new rule on conflicts of interest in retirement advice.
The vote was 56-41, with three Democrats, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Jon Tester of Montana, and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, joining with Republicans to support the measure.
By approving a House-passed resolution stopping the rule under the Congressional View Act, the Senate will force President Obama to veto the measure. Both the House and Senate votes fell short of a veto-proof majority.
The rule in question is the Labor Department’s “fiduciary rule,” finalized in April. The rule will reshape the retirement planning industry by requiring brokers to act in their clients’ best interest, a legal standard that many in the industry are not held to now.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pressured senators to approve the resolution, arguing that Obama’s rule would cut off access to financial advice for many savers.
Republicans have staked out fierce opposition to the rule for that reason.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the resolution the “best near-term vehicle we have to putting the administration in check.”
Democrats, however, defended the rule. Some criticized the GOP attempt to block it through the Congressional Review Act, which provides a way for the Senate to try to stop a regulation with only 50 votes, rather than the 60 that would normally be required to overcome a filibuster.
“Under no circumstances should this extreme tool be used to make it harder for middle-class Americans to get sound retirement advice,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of Democrats who voted in favor of the measure. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
