Senate HELP Committee Chair Likely to Flip Under GOP Control

Tuesday’s election will change the leadership of Senate committees, but few such changes are anticipated in the House of Representatives—where control remains undecided—for those that impact retirement policy.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce are the main committees that effect policy change in the retirement plan industry.

While Republicans have won control of the Senate, control of the House is still undecided, as of Wednesday afternoon. Any changes to committee leadership will not come until the 119th Congress convenes in 2025.

Senate HELP Committee

The Senate HELP Committee is chaired by Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, who won re-election, defeating Republican opponent Gerald Malloy. This secures Sanders’ fourth term in the Senate.

The ranking member of the committee is Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, whose term does not expire until 2027. He could take over the chairmanship in the new Congress, as Sanders traditionally has caucused with the Democrats and is not likely to retain the chair in a GOP-controlled Senate. The committee is currently comprised of 21 Senators—11 Democrats and 10 Republicans—and three subcommittees, which have broad jurisdiction over the country’s health care, education, employment and retirement policies.

Democratic incumbent Bob Casey Jr., another HELP Committee member, is currently trailing Republican Dave McCormick in the Senate race in Pennsylvania by a slim margin, according to the Associated Press. Democratic committee member Tammy Baldwin is currently leading by a small margin against Republican Eric Hovde in Wisconsin. The AP has not called either race, as of Wednesday afternoon.

House Committee on Education and Workforce

Representative Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, is the current chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Foxx defeated Democratic opponent Chuck Hubbard in the race for North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District on Tuesday. If Republicans retain the House, Foxx could retain the chair during her 11th term serving in the House.

The committee is currently controlled by Republicans, with 25 Republican members and 20 Democratic members. In July, the committee voted 23 to 18 to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Department of Labor’s Retirement Security Rule—also called the fiduciary rule. This rule would extend the fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to one-time recommendations to retirement investors.

The rule, finalized by the Department of Labor in April, has also been stayed by two federal courts. The DOL in September said it would appeal the two Texas federal court decisions. Given overall support for reduced regulatory efforts, it is not likely the DOL under President-elect Donald Trump would continue to back the rule.