On a party-line vote on June 26, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Ken Kies to be assistant secretary for tax policy. The 53 to 45 vote puts Kies in a key position as Treasury must promulgate implementing regulations for a raft of new tax rules signed into law on July 4.

Kies brings decades of experience to the post—earlier in his career, he worked both as an attorney and as the top tax staffer for the Republicans at the House Ways & Means Committee, as head of the Joint Committee on Tax, and as a lobbyist with an extensive list of big business clients. Those clients included the American Council of Life Insurers as well as other insurance and financial planning companies.

Prospects: Assistant Secretary Kies should prove to be a strong leader in the Treasury’s top tax policy role. Often characterized as one of the most able and successful active attorneys in the tax policy arena, he brings both private sector and government perspective to Treasury Department activities and issues. He and NAIFA and other insurance/financial planning personnel know each other and our relevant issues well.

NAIFA Staff Contact: Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org