Andy Friedman of The Washington Update.
The Senate passed early Thursday afternoon the House version of a continuing resolution to fund the government until Dec. 20. However, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (Secure) Act was not attached to the CR.
The deadline to fund the government ends at midnight on Thursday. Once the CR runs out in late December, lawmakers will go through the funding process again.
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"Not atypically, Congress scrambled to get the CR passed at the last minute," Andy Friedman, founder and principal of The Washington Update, told ThinkAdvisor in a Thursday email message. "That procedure (if you can call it that) typically provides neither the time nor the inclination to add extraneous amendments."
While Friedman sees "virtually no risk" of a government shutdown in December, as Congress likely doesn't want "to shutter the government with the holidays approaching and the election only a year away," the December CR "will provide another opportunity for attaching and passing Secure."
Congress "might be inclined then to finish year-end business, which provides a better chance for Secure's enactment," Friedman said.
Dan Zielinski, spokesman for the Insured Retirement Institute, added that while "it's unfortunate that the Secure Act was not included in the short-term funding measure," the CR "largely focused on necessary budget items to ensure continued government operations."
IRI, however, "remains optimistic that the measure will be enacted this year."
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said on Nov. 14 that "unless we can get [a] unanimous consent [vote] in the Senate," it's unlikely Secure will move forward this year.
"It's unfortunate but not entirely surprising that the Secure Act will not advance as a part of the [November] continuing resolution," said Kevin Mayeux, CEO of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.
The Secure Act, Mayeux added, "remains a NAIFA advocacy priority and we urge Congress to pass this popular legislation at the next soonest possible opportunity."
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Melanie Waddell
Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2024. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.
