The newest member of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee expected to make the greatest impact on retirement issues is Elizabeth Warren, D.-Mass., according to a P&I Online poll conducted last week.
More than 60% of poll respondents selected Ms. Warren, 32% selected Rob Portman, R.-Ohio and 8% chose Johnny Isakson, R.-Ga.
Ms. Warren gained visibility after the 2008 financial crisis when President Barack Obama called on her to oversee the nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created as part of post-crisis reforms.
Although readers identified Ms. Warren as likely to have the biggest impact on the committee, sources told Pensions & Investments' Hazel Bradford that Messrs. Portman and Isakson will be instrumental in the coming budget debates that could impact the retirement industry.
“(Mr.) Portman could very well be the one. He understands pensions,” Tim Lynch, senior director of government relations for law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius, told P&I. “(Mr.) Isakson is a plus in terms of understanding pension law and ERISA, and marrying that with the IRS code.”
For more, see New Congress offers hope for pension issues from the Jan. 21 issue of P&I.
