On October 1, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education & the Workforce Committee, introduced HR 10702, a bill that would codify much of the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule that the courts struck down and then DOL withdrew in March, 2026. In particular, the Scott bill (the Workers’ Retirement Savings Protection Act) would impose fiduciary duty using a best interest standard on “advice on 401(k)s, IRAs and rollovers, even if the advice is given on a one-time basis.”

On introducing his bill, Rep. Scott said his bill would “ensure workers are not ripped off when investing their retirement savings. To do this, the bill would extend ERISA fiduciary status, and a best interest standard, to advice on their 401(k)s, IRAs, and rollovers, even if this advice is given “on a one-time basis.” He added, “Advisors “can get away with giving conflicted advice by exploiting a deficient 1975-era regulation that essentially requires five boxes to be checked before a financial advisor is held to the highest, fiduciary standard when providing retirement investment advice to a client.”

Prospects: The Education and Workforce Committee has jurisdiction over ERISA’s fiduciary rules. Rep. Scott is likely to be the committee’s chairman, although he faces at least one potential challenger, if Democrats take control of the House in 2027. The bill is virtually certain to be ignored for the rest of 2026, but it is a marker of Rep. Scott’s intentions for next year. He will, of course, have to reintroduce the bill in the 120^th Congress, but it is highly likely he will, probably early in the new year. Thus, it bears a close watch.

NAIFA Staff Contact: Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org