{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-introduces-legislation-to-modernize-retirement-savings-regulations/", "Barrasso Introduces Legislation to Modernize Retirement Savings Regulations", "2026-07-30", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", "barrasso", "https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom/news-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced legislation to simplify and modernize regulations for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). The Simplifying Modern Access to Retirement Tools for Savings (SMART Savings) Act will make it easier for Americans to save for retirement.\n\n\u201cWashington red tape shouldn\u2019t prevent Americans from saving for their retirement. People need to be able to save in the way that works best for them. Outdated and unnecessary federal rules create uncertainty and make it harder for financial advisors to serve retirement savers,\u201d said Senator Barrasso. \u201cThe SMART Savings Act reverses that regulatory overreach. It gives Americans with personal retirement accounts access to the same rates and services that are already available through other retirement options.\u201d\n\nThe SMART Savings Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Representative Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\n\u201cHardworking New Yorkers who are saving for retirement deserve every opportunity to keep more of their own money,\u201d said Congresswoman Tenney. \u201cOur retirement system should encourage Americans to save, not burden them with outdated regulations that drive up costs. The SMART Savings Act modernizes these rules so families can keep more of their hard-earned retirement savings.\u201d\n\nThe legislation is supported by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Finseca, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), the National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA), the Financial Services Institute (FSI), and the Investment Company Institute (ICI).\n\n\u201cSenator Barrasso\u2019s SMART Savings Act delivers exactly what Wyoming retirement savers need: simpler rules, lower costs, and strong protections. NAIFA Wyoming stands firmly behind our national association in supporting this bill, and we\u2019re proud it\u2019s a Wyoming Senator leading the charge,\u201d said Kendall Bryce, Director of NAIFA Wyoming.\n\n\u201cNAIFA members across the country work with retirement savers every day and strongly applaud the introduction of the SMART Savings Act. This important legislation will simplify access to retirement savings tools, reduce unnecessary complexity and costs, and deliver strong consumer protections for American families,\u201d said Christopher Gandy, President of NAIFA.\n\n\u201cSIFMA applauds Senator Barrasso, Congresswoman Tenney, and Senator Blackburn for introducing this important legislation to modernize the outdated regulatory framework governing Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Today\u2019s rules treat IRAs the same as employer-sponsored plans despite very different oversight in practice, adding needless cost and complexity for the millions of Americans who rely on IRAs to save for retirement. By modernizing the treatment of IRAs in the Internal Revenue Code, this legislation would allow for improved investment opportunities for individuals while preserving a clear prohibition on self-dealing and maintaining robust investor protections under the SEC, FINRA, state regulators, and FinCEN. We look forward to working with Congress to advance this legislation and ensure American workers and retirees have access to lower-cost, better-informed investment options as they save for their future,\u201d said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., President and CEO of SIFMA.\n\n\u201cFinseca strongly supports legislation to prevent the Department of Labor from resurrecting another harmful fiduciary rule that would restrict access to advice. Americans working to secure their financial future need more access not new barriers that reduce choice. This bill helps protect families by preventing harmful regulatory overreach, safeguarding consumer choice, and ensuring financial security professionals can continue delivering the holistic planning that drives real results for the individuals and families they serve\u2014results proven by independent Ernst & Young research,\u201d said Marc Cadin, CEO of Finseca.\n\n\u201cNAFA, the National Association for Fixed Annuities, applauds Senator Barrasso and Congresswoman Tenney for their leadership in sponsoring The Simplifying Modern Access to Retirement Tools for (SMART) Savings Act. This important legislation brings greater clarity and consistency to IRA regulation by eliminating duplicative oversight while preserving the strong investor protections already provided by the SEC, FINRA, and state regulators. By reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers, the SMART Savings Act will help financial professionals better serve retirement savers and expand access to more competitive products and services, allowing Americans to make the most of their hard-earned retirement savings,\u201d said Chuck DiVencenzo, President and CEO of NAFA.\n\n\u201cSenator Barrasso and Representative Tenney are championing Americans\u2019 retirement savings with the legislation they have introduced today. The SMART Savings Act will alleviate burdensome and unnecessary retirement regulations while preserving important safeguards for retirement investors. ICI welcomes this bill as an important step towards a more secure financial future for millions of Americans,\u201d said Eric J. Pan, President and CEO of ICI.\n\n\u201cThe SMART Savings Act would fix a decades-old mismatch that has kept retirement savers from receiving benefits available in every other retirement account they hold, at real cost to the independent financial advisors who serve them. FSI commends Senator Barrasso and Congresswoman Tenney for advancing a targeted solution that expands access to advice and services without weakening a single protection against self-dealing,\u201d said Dale Brown, President and CEO of FSI.\n\nBackground:\n\nMore than 60 million American households use IRAs to save for the future. However, these accounts are needlessly subject to overlapping federal rules, including \u201cprohibited transaction\u201d provisions in the Tax Code that have not been significantly updated in more than 50 years and are enforced by the Department of Labor (DOL).\n\nRecent administrations have repeatedly used the DOL to expand this authority well beyond its original scope, including through the Obama Administration\u2019s 2016 fiduciary rule and the Biden Administration\u2019s 2024 Retirement Security Rule. This outdated and unstable framework creates uncertainty and limits the services available to savers.\n\nThe SMART Savings Act will:\n\nRemove IRAs from the prohibited transaction rules, eliminating duplicative DOL authority over IRAs and preventing future regulations that restrict savers\u2019 access to financial advice;\n\nPreserve a clear ban on self-dealing, so an IRA owner who improperly uses account assets for their own personal benefit loses the account\u2019s tax advantages; and\n\nClarify that IRA savers can access reduced-cost or enhanced products and services already allowable through other types of savings accounts, without needing individual DOL exemptions.\n\nThe legislation gives financial advisors the clarity they need to serve IRA holders, while delivering everyday savers access to better rates and services available through other retirement accounts. Existing protections from state regulators, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) remain fully intact.\n\nFull text of the legislation can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-01T07:27:26Z", "2026-08-01T07:28:22Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-introduces-legislation-to-modernize-retirement-savings-regulations/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.6908572763204575, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}