On April 13, President Trump signed legislation repealing a rule issued under the Obama Administration that would allow cities to create retirement savings accounts for private sector and low-income workers whose employers do not offer retirement plans on their own. On May 3, the Senate voted (50-49) to repeal a similar measure covering state-sponsored plans; the House voted to repeal this is in February, and President Trump is expected to sign it. AARP opposed actions by Congress to repeal the rules; AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said, “[T]he Senate moved to limit opportunities for families who want to save for a better life as they age. … H.J. Res. 66 does significant harm to a common-sense bipartisan solution that creates private investment vehicles to help middle class families save through a simple payroll deduction.” Today, 55 million working Americans lack access to workplace retirement savings plans.

Congress can still take action on the multitude of “resolutions of disapproval” that have already been filed under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to undo rules put in place under President Obama, but as the deadline for introducing new legislation under the CRA elapsed on March 30, new resolutions can no longer be introduced. According to Public Citizen, 13 rules have been repealed, one awaits the President’s signature, one more has passed the House, and another 18 rules have valid resolutions targeting them. Prior to this year, Congress had repealed only one rule using the fast-track CRA process, in 2001. For more information about other rules and regulations under threat and the CRA, see this statement from Public Citizen and RulesAtRisk.org.

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