Those hoping that the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule would be derailed in congressional budget negotiations found coal in their pre-Christmas stockings instead.
Published reports had indicated that some lawmakers had tried to attach a rider to the omnibus spending bill that would require the Department of Labor to publish its fiduciary rule for another comment period before finalizing the rule. Though that has been called for by a group of Democratic congressmen, it was not part of the final omnibus spending package.
One retirement plan provision that did make it into the final bill: a provision that would allow a taxpayer to roll over amounts from an employer-sponsored retirement plan (e.g., 401(k) plan) to a SIMPLE IRA, provided the plan has existed for at least two years. The provision applies to contributions made after the date of enactment.
The tax break package would cost about $650 billion and extend around 50 credits for businesses and individuals while also delaying until 2017 a tax on medical device manufacturers. According to the Washington Post, the approximately $1.1 trillion appropriations package would fund the government for the remainder of fiscal 2016 and contains a two-year delay of the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac tax.”
The House and Senate are expected to pass the legislation by the end of the week.
