News that Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., put his hat into the ring as speaker of the House of Representatives — if and only if he can lead a unified Republican caucus that focuses on legislating — was welcomed by those in the financial advice industry.
“He understands a lot of issues the [investment advice] industry would like to see action on, including tax and entitlement reform,” said Greg Valliere, chief global strategist at Horizon Investments. “He is a policy wonk and he understands these issues better than any other member of Congress.”
Mr. Ryan, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told his Republican colleagues Tuesday night he would be willing to serve as speaker if all factions of the party — from hardline conservatives to moderates — backed him. He said he wants GOP lawmakers to
“become the solution” to problems facing the country, rather than engaging in partisan brawls.
“The demands that potential Speaker Ryan has put out there among his group is something that will put us in the right direction to allow them to actually legislate and to potentially do some of the across-the-aisle type of work that has happened in the past,” Geoffrey Brown, chief executive of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, said on the sidelines of the group's fall conference in Indianapolis.
'BIG DEPARTURE'
“It would be a big departure from the last 10 years” of gridlock, Mr. Brown added. “That is something that would be on the horizon, if Paul Ryan is speaker.”
Should he be elected to the top position in the House, Mr. Ryan would be in charge of an unruly Republican caucus that has come under the influence of strict conservatives, many of whom are members of the Freedom Caucus. That group played a leading role in driving current Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, into retirement and dissuading House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from running.
But Mr. Ryan has a reputation for collaborating with Democrats. For instance, as chairman of the House Budget Committee, he
reached an agreement in 2013 with then-chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, Patty Murray, D-Wash., to keep the government running after it had shut down due to budget squabbles.
“It would be great if there were someone [as House speaker] who the other side can say from day one, 'I can work with him,'” Skip Schweiss, managing director of adviser advocacy and industry affairs at TD Ameritrade Institutional, said on the sidelines of the NAPFA conference. “It's about putting someone in that spot who can work with the other side on the debt ceiling, the budget, immigration and other issues.”
Mr. Ryan has garnered a reputation as being a policy innovator in the areas of budget and welfare reform. As head of the House Ways and Means Committee he has demonstrated a desire to lead comprehensive tax reform.
ONE COG
Even though he would be in a powerful position as speaker to advance the issues he cares about, Mr. Ryan would be one cog in a governance process in Washington that frequently bogs down in partisan bickering.
“His heart and his mind are in the right place for investors, but I don't know that he has the power to implement those ideas,” said Andy Friedman, principal at The Washington Update.
First, though, Mr. Ryan has to win the speaker's seat. That's far from guaranteed with a Republican far-right itching for confrontation with President Barack Obama over the budget in December.
“I'm not sure they will support him,” Mr. Friedman said.
