Change Election Produces Little So Far on the Hill

Written By: Nick Curabba

Despite the undeniable impact the "change" element had in the Presidential election, as BNA reported this morning, the leadership of the key Congressional committees with jurisdiction over employee benefit matters in both the House and Senate will likely remain the same next year.  At least in terms of benefits-related issues, then, it would appear that we can pretty much know what to expect.

We know, for instance, that Charlie Rangel (D-NY) will return to chair the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. Despite reports that Rep. Rangel was "embattled" over revelations of incomplete income tax filings, he was easily reelected to his 20th term by an overwhelming margin of 88% - 9%.  George Miller (D-CA) will return to the House Education and Labor Committee for his 18th term, defeating his opponent with 73% of the vote. 

In the Senate, Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was not up for reelection this year, will apparently retain control of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.  There had been some early talk that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who is the second-ranking Democrat on the HELP Committee, might make a move for the gavel, but reports are now that Sen. Dodd will retain his chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee instead.  On the Finance Committee, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), who won his own reelection with a convincing  73% of the vote, will continue to control the gavel for the Senate Finance Committee.

The leadership and composition of these committees is the best way to get an early forecast on the benefits legislation that may crop up next year.  For instance, with Rep. Miller continuing to head the Education and Labor Committee in the House, we are sure to see a reintroduction of fee disclosure legislation.  We are also expecting more sweeping benefits legislation addressing the impact the financial crisis is having on retirement plans.

It is still much too early to tell how the election will impact the regulatory agenda of the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.  At this time, we basically know two things for sure: 1) the politically appointed heads at DOL and Treasury/IRS will likely not continue in their current roles, and 2) on-going regulatory initiatives will likely continue for the time being. 

For instance, although we will probably see a new head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, there is little likelihood that the three-prong fee disclosure initiative the Department is currently engaged in will cease or be terminated.  Indeed, to the extent the service-provider disclosure (sec. 408(b)(2)) regulations and the participant disclosure (sec. 404) regulations are not finalized by the end of this year, it may be possible to see even more aggressive rules under the new agency leadership.

Continue to watch this space for updates on legislative and regulatory developments as they unfold in the "new Washington."