The Republican lawmaker believes the government should not limit the type of assets people can choose to fund their retirement plans.
In an op-ed for CNBC on May 5, Tuberville wrote that:
“The federal government has no business interfering with the ability of American workers to invest their 401(k) plan savings as they see fit.”
In March, the US Department of Labor issued regulatory guidance in an effort to bar 401(k) accounts from investing in crypto assets, separating that specific asset class. A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored defined-contribution pension plan.
financial independence advocate
Previously, pension plan participants could use the “brokerage window,” a tool used by savers to choose their retirement investments on their own. “The agency’s new guidance ends this tradition of economic empowerment in favor of big brother government control,” Tuberville said.
The senator firmly believes that Americans should be able to invest their retirement savings however they like. The Financial Freedom Act will enable them to do exactly that if it passes Congress, where there is a lot of resistance from the crypto industry.
The bill would prohibit the Department of Labor from limiting the types of investments in U.S. citizens’ retirement accounts. He repeated:
“Whether you believe in the long-term economic potential of cryptocurrency or not, the choice to invest in your retirement savings should be yours – not the government’s.”
Senators such as Tuberville and Cynthia Loomis are fighting to make crypto assets more accessible to Americans and stem the tide of heavy-handed regulation that current political giants intend to impose.
warren on the battlefield
In a related development, Senator Elizabeth Warren, the loudest critic of crypto, is once again on the battlefield. This time around, the Massachusetts policymaker is targeting investment giant Fidelity over its plan to include crypto as part of its retirement package.
In April, the country’s largest 401(k) pension provider announced that it would include bitcoin on its platform. Warren resented this, claiming that “Bitcoin’s volatility is only increased by its sensitivity to the whims of a few influential people.”
She sent a letter to the CEO of Fidelity this week along with Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, asking what measures the company is taking to deal with this volatility. This is not the first time Warren has attempted to eliminate the area through legislation.
As Tuberville pointed out, however, it should be the choice of the individual, not the handful of senior politicians bent on crushing the industry as a whole.
Featured image courtesy of CNN
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