Congressman Jim Himes addresses the Association of Investment Advisors Forum

Congressman Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, expressed confidence that SECURE 2.0 “will happen in this Congress” during his remarks Wednesday at the Investment Adviser Association’s 2022 Policy and Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. DC

Himes stressed the importance of this legislation and said many Americans have difficulty “saving for retirement” or even “saving for anything.”

SECURE 2.0 refers to two Senate bills, the Enhancing American Retirement Now Act and the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg Act—aka the EARN Act and the RISE & SHINE Act—as well as a House bill, the Securing a Strong Retirement Act. All three bills aim to increase Americans’ access to retirement accounts.

Passing SECURE 2.0 at this Congress would require all three bills to be consolidated into one and passed in both houses before being sent to the President. Langston Emerson, a partner at public policy firm Mindset, said later in the forum that it would likely happen during the lame duck session after the November midterm elections.

Himes also touched on some of the investment risks associated with US national security policy and economic sanctions. He stressed that the United States would not compromise on The Russian invasion of Ukraine and that “we will continue to sanction Russia”. He also warned the audience of the possible risks of investing in certain sectors of the Russian markets due to the perception of being complicit in what he called the “genocidal” war that Russia has unleashed against the ‘Ukraine.

These sanctions include blocking many Russian elites and institutions from the US financial system, including the Russian Central Bank and an embargo on various Russian imports, including oil, gas, coal and other goods.

He also explained that despite China’s human rights abuses against the Uyghur population in northwest China, sanctions against China are more costly and complicated due to the size of its economy, and that the United States is therefore more reluctant to sanction the country in the way it has. sanctioned Russia.

Himes noted that members of Congress are aware that the more the United States militarizes the size of its financial system, the less effective this tool becomes, as more countries seek alternatives.

For example, when Russia was cut off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, better known as SWIFT, and the US financial system, the country demanded that its oil and gas customers open accounts denominated in rubles instead of dollar-denominated accounts to pay, and most customers respected.

Himes acknowledged that the federal government’s broad sanctioning power is something for investors to account for, but added that the policymakers on the Hill aren’t “dumb,” meaning Congress is aware that sanctions impose a burden and a risk on businesses, and that they take this into account. when developing and reviewing the sanctions policy.