Implications of a Republican-Controlled Congress

Republicans are said to be particularly interested in grabbing the reins from House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., and in overturning portions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. But Tittsworth says “It’s much more likely that Republicans could find traction on issues like rolling back health care rather than making wholesale changes to Dodd-Frank.” The Republican strategy if they gain the majority, Caden adds, would be “looking at what [areas] they can defund in a way that slows the growth of government.” Some of the “defunding” will be in health care, “but some will be in the new regulatory agencies,” like the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

Hitting even closer home for advisors would be any potential impact a Republican-controlled Congress could have on the studies the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is charged with conducting under Dodd-Frank. Dan Barry, managing director of government relations and public policy for the Financial Planning Association (FPA), says that while he doesn’t believe Republican gains or control would affect the studies to be conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the SEC, “any recommendations for legislation that come out of the studies could be effected if there is a Congress that is more skeptical of broader regulation.”

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