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June 3, 2011 a ivi

The Honorable Hilda L. Solis
Secretary

Department of Labor

200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Room S-2018

Washington, DC 20210

Dear Secretary Solis,

On October 22, 2010, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security
Administration proposed a rule to amend the definition of "fiduciary" for purposes of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and section 4975 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986. The DOL’s proposal would reverse 35 years of case law and
enforcement policy by eliminating the existing bright line regulatory test and replacing it with a
regulatory structure that presumes persons to be an ERISA fiduciary. The DOL proposal does so
in an effort to ensure that Individual Retirement Account (IRA) investors and participants in
ERISA retirement plans receive advice based on reliable information that protects their interests.

Unfortunately, the DOL’s proposal will have significant unintended consequences by limiting
access to retirement advice and service for the 19 million IRA account holders and participants
in the more than 600,000 Covered Plans who are responsibly planning for their retirement.

Specifically, we are concerned that the rule will deprive middle-class families across Georgia of
the products and services they need to responsibly prepare for a secure retirement. Many
Georgians will receive less information, pay higher fees or be displaced from the market and
saving for their retirement.

We are especially concerned about the proposed rule’s impact on small savers at a time when
many Georgians are struggling to ensure themselves of a secure retirement. The effects of the
Department’s proposed rule are significant. The DOL proposal would severely limit access to
low cost investment advice. Furthermore, account minimums and annual fees will significantly
reduce retirement savings over time.

With more and more investors responsible for their own retirement planning and in need of

advice and service, the DOL should be adopting policies that expand access. Unfortunately, we
fear this proposal would have the opposite effect thereby disadvantaging those it aims to help.

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We strongly urge the Department to implement a thorough review of the proposed regulation and
the concerns we have raised. Such a review should include a comprehensive examination of the
cost, market effects, and investor effects related to the regulation and a detailed analysis of the
cost of the proposed rule with respect to IRAs.

We want to underscore our sincere concerns about the impact of this proposed rule on investors
in Georgia and nationwide. The regulation should not be finalized until these concerns have
been thoroughly studied and reviewed.

Thank you for your consideration of our views on this critical issue in our communities.

Sincerely,

Loh usb — (fe Eins ghon/

Cf Westmoreland i k Kingston
Member of Congress Member of Congress