This week the House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to mark up legislation (H.R. 4294, the “Strengthening Access to Valuable Education and Retirement Support Act”) that, in the name of providing a more “workable” alternative to the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule would actually weaken existing protections for retirement savers. Everyone, including the sponsors of this bill, seems to agree that retirement savers who turn to financial professionals for advice deserve advice that serves their best interests. Instead of providing that assurance, however, this bill codifies loopholes in the definition of fiduciary investment advice that make it all too easy for financial firms and their advisers to avoid their best interest obligations. Firms would continue to be able to use disclaimers to avoid the best interest standard simply by indicating that the advice is not intended to be relied upon or that the firm is acting in a marketing or a sales capacity. Experience tells us that many firms will exploit these loopholes to the detriment of working families and retirees saving for a secure and independent retirement.