Rep. Byron Donalds introduced a bill aimed at allowing Americans to include Bitcoin in their 401(k) plan. It complements the Financial Freedom Act, introduced by the Senate earlier this month.
On May 20, Member of the US House of Representatives, Byron Donalds, introduced a bill H.R.7860 that would allow Americans to include Bitcoin and most other financial assets in their 401(k) retirement plans, according to Crypto Briefing. The bill is the House companion to the Senate's Financial Freedom Act of 2022. The original bill featured identical language and was introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville on May 5.
Both bills were put forward in response to regulatory guidance issued by the US Department of Labor in March that advised investment firms not to allow cryptocurrencies in 401(k)s.
Donalds called the Department of Labor’s comments a “far-reaching and sweeping endeavor to centralize power in Washington,” and said that the guidance “infringes on the founding principles of economic liberty and free markets.” He said his bill had the support of several members of the House of Representatives, including Reps. Warren Davidson, Young Kim, David Schweikert, and Tom Emmer.
The success or failure of the Financial Freedom Act matters to Fidelity Investments, which announced plans to offer Bitcoin in its 401(k) retirement plans earlier this year. On April 15, Fidelity took a stand against the Department of Labor. In its letter, the firm expressed concerns about the department's rulemaking, writing that the rule “effectively deems the selection of cryptocurrencies… to be imprudent” in 401(k) plans.
Democratic members of government reacted to this statement. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith wrote a May 4 letter to Fidelity warning of “the significant risks of fraud, theft and loss” that could come from the option.
© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
