House Republicans introduced a bill Friday that would prevent the Labor Department from restricting investment options available to employees in self-directed retirement accounts, and would allow Americans to add cryptocurrency to their 401(k) plans if they want to.
The Financial Freedom Act, introduced by Rep. Byron Donalds, comes amid increasing popularity in trading cryptocurrency and the question of whether Fidelity Investment should be allowed to offer a retirement plan with bitcoin later this year.
As reported by Fox News, Fidelity announced last month that it planned to offer bitcoin as an investment option in its 401(k) plans by the middle of the year, wreaking havoc among several Democratic lawmakers.
Republicans, on the other hand, rushed to defend Fidelity, accusing Democrats of governmental overreach and infringing on Americans’ free-market rights.
“In a far-reaching and sweeping endeavor to centralize power in Washington, the Biden administration is now attempting to dictate how the American people invest their hard-earned money,” Donalds said in a statement. “This administration, as well as any other government entity, lacks the authority to direct the financial future of America’s investors.”
The House Financial Freedom Act serves as a companion bill to legislation introduced last week in the Senate by Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
"The government has no business standing in the way of retirement savers who want to make their own investment choices," Tuberville said. "When you've earned your paycheck, how you invest your money should be your decision. Our legislation makes sure that is the case."
