Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ratified as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee this week, marked the occasion by calling for tax reforms that promote savings.
The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over retirement and tax policy.
Hatch has been vocal in his ambition to make retirement reform a priority in the Senate and has said he would reintroduce his Secure Annuities for Employee Retirement Act this year.
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The bill would bring substantial change to public and private retirement policy, as well as kill the Department of Labor's efforts to implement a universal fiduciary standard that applies to the broker/dealer network, most of which is not regulated by the high standards of prudence and client loyalty established under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
The SAFE Act also would mandate the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to coordinate and regulate professional standards of care brokers owe their clients, which are laid out in the Investment Advisor Act of 1940.
The law would also pave the wave for insurance companies to manage public pensions at the state level.
How Hatch will be able to get the SAFE Act moving forward remains to be seen. The Senate Finance Committee has a larger legislative jurisdiction than any other committee in either chamber of Congress.
It oversees more than 50 percent of the federal budget, including tax, trade and healthcare policy — all areas Hatch says need extensive reform as well, and all areas of potentially significant dispute with Democrats.
In a statement made after the Republican Conference ratified his selection to the chairmanship this week, Hatch laid out a framework of an agenda for the committee.
"We must accept the challenge of bipartisan tax reform in earnest," he said. "This means remaking the U.S. tax code so that it is simpler, fairer, and more efficient. Any overhaul should promote savings and investment and put American job creators at a competitive advantage around the globe. And, above all, tax reform should not be used as an exercise to raise taxes on hard-working Americans simply to fuel more government spending."
He also highlighted trade reform, and the goal of increasing access in foreign markets for American goods, and an overhaul of Obamacare.
"The higher premiums and fewer choices brought on by Obamacare is not what the American people were promised. We need to empower American families with patient-centered reforms that will lower costs and increase high-quality care," he said.
Retirement policy was not referenced in his statement beyond his remarks to promote savings and strengthening public safety nets — Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Hatch, now 80, has suggested that his current term, which expires in January of 2019, will be his last. He is the oldest senator to chair the Finance Committee since 1898.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
