As part of the deal struck by Senate Democrats with Senate Republicans to fast-track a handful of the president’s nominations, Thomas Perez was confirmed July 18 as the new Secretary of Labor.
Perez stated that creating more jobs is his top priority. He had had headed up the Department of Justice’s civil rights division and had worked at the DoJ from 1989-95 after graduating Harvard Law School, spending time in Maryland politics in between.
Brian Graff, CEO/Executive Director of NAPA/ASPPA stated, “The new secretary was questioned intently by Senators about the potential negative impact the proposed rule on the definition of fiduciary could have on access to advice, particularly with respect to middle-income investors with smaller accounts. It remains to be seen what impact he will have on this regulatory process, but at this point we are still expecting the re-proposed rule to be released by DOL before the end of the year.”
