The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) today voted to advance Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination for Secretary of Labor to the full Senate.

President Donald Trump today nominated Daniel Aronowitz, President of Encore Fiduciary and a leading expert with thirty years of experience on fiduciary issues, to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) at the U.S. Department of Labor.

The ESOP Association, the only comprehensive national trade association representing businesses owned fully or partially by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), launched a targeted paid media campaign this week in support of Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation to be Secreatary of Labor. The campaign will be sustained through her confirmation vote.

The ESOP Association’s National Conference, held in Washington, DC each May, is not just a great opportunity to bolster your ESOP education, it’s also a vitally important opportunity to share your voice with Congress.

Washington, DC is a town with a lot of sayings borne from the hard-earned political wisdom one acquires working here. Recently, with the release and withdrawal of the Biden Administration’s ideas of what constitutes Adequate Consideration for ESOPs, two of those sayings come to the top of my mind.

Welcome to your January issue of the ESOP Report. This month we've packed the report with tons of articles and news about ESOPs that you won't want to miss!

On Thursday, January 16th, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) released two proposed regulations containing rules that, if finalized, would govern ESOP stock acquisitions and sales.

The ESOP Association today applauded House Committee on Education & the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx for calling out potential abuse of authority at the Department of Labor (DOL) and its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and calling for an investigation by the DOL’s Inspector General.

The ESOP Association has been informed that a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Labor regarding what is known as the “adequate consideration exemption” for ESOP transactions has been drafted and is being submitted to OMB imminently.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations has directed $2 million to fund the grant program of the Department of Labor’s Employee Ownership Initiative in the Fiscal 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.