Speaker Biographies
Michael P. Kreps
Senior Pension and Retirement Counsel
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Michael Kreps serves as Senior Pension and Retirement Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions where he advises Chairman Tom Harkin on matters related to
retirement policy. Michael has primary staff responsibility for pension legislation pending before the
Committee, including amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and
manages the Committee's oversight of retirement-related executive agencies.
Most recently, Michael was involved in the development of the funding stabilization and Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation reform provisions of the MAP-21 Act of 2012. He also worked on the Pension
Relief Act of 2010 and the pension investment provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act. Michael is actively helping Chairman Harkin develop proposals to expand
access to the pension system and encourage innovative plan design.
Michael practiced law at the Groom Law Group in Washington, DC, before joining the HELP Committee
staff. He advised employers, labor unions, plan trustees, and financial institutions on the fiduciary and
prohibited transaction rules as well as plan funding, termination, and restructuring.
Michael holds a JD, with honors, from The George Washington University Law School and a BA, with
distinction, in history and art history from the University of Colorado.
Brandon Casey
Legislative Director and Tax Counsel
Office of Representative Richard E. Neal (MA-1)
Brandon Casey currently serves as Legislative Director and Tax Counsel to Rep. Richard E. Neal, a senior
member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on
Select Revenue Measures. Rep. Neal also serves on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade.
Brandon advises the Congressman on legislative and regulatory issues related to tax policy, pensions,
trade, and the economy. Previously, Brandon served as Tax Counsel to Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz.
Brandon earned both his law degree and undergraduate degrees in history and criminology from
Marquette University.
Preston Rutledge
Tax and Benefits Counsel
Senate Committee on Finance
Preston Rutledge serves as Tax and Benefits Counsel on the Republican Tax Staff of the Senate Finance
Committee, Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT), Ranking Member.
Preston focuses on employee benefits, employment taxation and tax-exempt organizations. Prior to
joining the Finance Committee, Preston served on the Headquarters Staff of the Tax Exempt and
Government Entities Division of the Internal Revenue Service. Preston also worked in the IRS Office of
Chief Counsel, and in private law practice as an employee benefits counselor and litigator. Preston was a
law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and he served as an Officer in the U.S. Navy
before attending law school. Preston earned his B.S. in Finance, cum laude, from the University of
Idaho; J.D., with high honors, from the George Washington University School of Law, where he was a
member of the Law Review; and L.L.M. –Taxation, with distinction, from the Georgetown University Law
Center.
Chris Dawe
Policy Advisor for Health Care
National Economic Council
Executive Office of the President
Chris Dawe is the Policy Advisor for Health Care at the National Economic Council at the White House.
In his role, Mr. Dawe supports the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and advises the NEC
leadership on health care issues in the federal budget debate. Since 2011, Mr. Dawe served as the
Director of Delivery System Reform at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of
Health Reform, where he coordinated implementation of policies that foster the delivery of higher
quality, more affordable healthcare. Before joining the Administration, Mr. Dawe was a Professional
Staff Member at the Senate Finance Committee for Chairman Max Baucus of Montana. During his
tenure at the Finance Committee, he was responsible for issues relating to Medicare payment for
physicians and other health professionals, health information technology, and care coordination and
quality improvement, including the creation of key elements of the Affordable Care and HITECH Acts
such as Accountable Care Organizations, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and
Meaningful Use standards and incentives. Prior to joining the Finance Committee, Mr. Dawe served as
the senior health policy advisor to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Prior to serving in the Senate, Mr. Dawe was Legislative Analyst at Jennings Policy Strategies, a health
care policy consulting firm led by Chris Jennings, President Clinton’s former senior health advisor. While
at Jennings Policy Strategies, Mr. Dawe served in 2006 as the Deputy Director for Global Health at the
Clinton Global Initiative.
Before coming to Washington, Mr. Dawe was a Market Analyst at Partners Health Care system,
Massachusetts’ largest hospital and physician network. Mr. Dawe hails from Dighton, Massachusetts,
and is a graduate of Bowdoin College.
Aliya Wong
Executive Director, Retirement Policy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Aliya Wong is the Executive Director of Retirement Policy at the United States Chamber of Commerce.
She is responsible for developing, promoting and publicizing the Chamber’s policy on employer-provided
retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation, and Social Security. Wong regularly meets with
members of Congress, the administration, and regulatory agencies to promote the Chamber’s
retirement policy and represents the organization on the steering committee of several national
coalitions. She led the Chamber’s efforts on several pieces of retirement legislation, including the
Pension Protection Act of 2006, the Workers, Retirees, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, and the
Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010.
Before joining the Chamber, Wong was a practicing attorney specializing in ERISA and tax qualification
matters related to pension, health and welfare plans and executive compensation. She wrote an
Internet article “Defined Benefit Plans in an Era of Phased Retirement.” Wong co-authored an amicus
curiae brief filed with the United States Supreme Court in the matter of Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 121 S. Ct.
1322 (2001), which was ruled upon favorably. Wong frequently gives presentations on legislative issues
surrounding retirement policy for organizations, including the American Bar Association and the
International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans.
Wong is admitted to the New York State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar and is also a member of
the American Bar Association and the National Bar Association. She is a 1997 graduate of New York
University School of Law, where she also received a Master of Laws in Taxation. Wong received a
Bachelors of Arts in economics and African studies from Yale University.
Katie Mahoney
Executive Director, Health Policy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Katie W. Mahoney rejoined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in June 2010. Mahoney has more than 13
years of health care experience in hospital and health plan operations, as well as health policy. She is
responsible for developing, advocating, and publicizing the Chamber’s policy on health and works with
members of Congress, the administration, and regulatory agencies to promote the organization’s health
policy. Mahoney also crafts regulatory responses for the Chamber and its member companies and
addresses material areas as part of a comprehensive health policy.
Mahoney joined the Chamber from the law firm of Greenberg Traurig where she served as assistant
director of health and FDA business. While there, she analyzed legislative and regulatory health care
proposals and advised insurers, health care providers, and employers on the respective business impact.
Previously, Mahoney worked at the U.S. Chamber as director of health care policy from 2004 to 2007.
She focused on access to health coverage for small businesses and the uninsured, health plan mandates,
ERISA preemption and regulatory requirements, COBRA, Medicare payment systems, retiree health
coverage, medical liability reform, and health care quality improvement initiatives.
Mahoney has consulted on a variety of projects for state agencies and hospitals to maximize
reimbursement and improve coverage among underserved populations, using public financing
strategies. Her operational experience includes negotiating, implementing, and monitoring all managed
care agreements with hospitals and health systems, large medical groups, and ancillaries in Southwest
Central Louisiana on behalf of the largest single health carrier in the United States. She completed a
postgraduate fellowship with the then-fully integrated Ochsner Health System, working at the executive
level with chief executive officers at the Ochsner Health Plan, Ochsner Clinic, and Ochsner Foundation
Hospital.
Originally from Massachusetts, Mahoney graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University with an
undergraduate degree in English literature. She earned a law degree and a master’s degree in health
administration from Tulane University’s Schools of Law and Public Health and Tropical Medicine,
respectively.
She lives in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband, Jason, twin sons, and a daughter.
Jennifer Pierotti
Manager, Health Policy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer Pierotti joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in September 2010 as manager of Health Care
Policy in the Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits Division. She handles health care issues affecting
employers and health sector members of the Chamber. In addition to researching and developing
overall policy on health care reform, she focuses on health information technology, privacy issues,
consumerism, comparative effectiveness research, and long-term care, among other areas. Pierotti
regularly lobbies members of Congress on various Chamber priorities, including efforts to repeal the
employer mandate and the health insurance tax. She also tracks regulations and helps craft regulatory
comments and letters to Congress.
Prior to joining the Chamber, Pierotti was an associate at the firm Garrison & Sisson, specializing in legal
market and small business policy research. During law school, she interned at the Senate Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship where she worked with legal counsel on health care and
employment issues. Earlier, she served as a law clerk in the Government Affairs office of Altria Client
Services. There she focused primarily on tax policy and legislative analysis.
Pierotti was a fellow at the Chamber in 2009 and focused on the health care reform process and small
business employment concerns in the Congressional and Public Affairs Department.
A 2010 graduate of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, Pierotti served as
Symposium Editor of the Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy and has been published on ERISA
and tobacco policy issues. She received her B.A. in public interest policy, cum laude, from the University
of Mary Washington in 2007. Pierotti is an active member of the District of Columbia Bar, Health Law
Section, and the Junior League of Washington.
Steve Lehotsky
Deputy Chief Counsel for Litigation
National Chamber Litigation Center
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Steve Lehotsky is deputy chief counsel for litigation for the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC),
the litigation arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Lehotsky has extensive government and private
sector experience, with a particular focus on regulatory litigation.
Before joining the Chamber, Lehotsky practiced law with the international law firm WilmerHale, where
he was a member of the Government and Regulatory Litigation, Defense and National Security, and
Appellate and Supreme Court litigation practices. His practice focused on litigation and counseling for
corporations in the aerospace, defense, pharmaceutical, financial services, telecommunications, and
agricultural sectors.
Lehotsky also served as an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the U.S. Department
of Justice, where he advised executive branch officers on a wide range of constitutional, statutory
interpretation, and regulatory issues in the areas of cybersecurity, immigration reform, financial
regulation, environmental regulation, economic sanctions, and national security.
During the 2009 Term of the Supreme Court of the United States, Lehotsky served as law clerk to
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. He also served as law clerk to Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Prior to his clerkship with Chief Judge Ginsburg, Lehotsky practiced law at Goodwin Procter LLP in
Boston.
He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he received the Sears Prize. He also
graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Bruce Josten
Executive Vice President, Government Affairs
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president for Government Affairs, is the second ranking officer at the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce and the organization’s senior government and political affairs executive.
Josten is the senior manager of six major divisions within the U.S. Chamber: Congressional and Public
Affairs; Economic Policy; Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs; Labor, Immigration, and
Employee Benefits; National Security & Emergency Preparedness; and Political Affairs and Federation
Relations.
Josten is considered one of American business’ most effective strategists in the ongoing battle with the
trial lawyer lobby, from product liability issues to class action and tort reform. He served as co-chair of
the Coalition to Save Medicare and founded the Employers for a Healthy Economy coalition and is
sought after as one of the most knowledgeable and articulate pro-business advocates in the health care
debate.
Josten is the key architect of the U.S. Chamber’s resurgent position as leader of the business
community’s policy and grassroots activities in the 104th through the 111th Congresses. In the 104th
Congress, when House and Senate leaders sought a prominent figure in the business community to head
their balanced budget coalition—the key agenda item in the battle against big government—they
turned to Josten and the U.S. Chamber, calling him “uniquely qualified to lead this major campaign.” His
persistent efforts resulted in the passage of the first balanced budget in 29 years and the first tax cut in
16 years.
In the 107th Congress, Josten co-founded the Tax Relief Coalition and helped enact the $1.35 trillion tax
relief package, the first major tax cut in a generation. As the nation confronted its first energy crisis in a
quarter century, Josten helped form the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth (Alliance), a coalition
that worked to enact a comprehensive national energy strategy, including the Energy Policy Act and the
Energy Independence Security Act. Josten serves as the chief spokesperson for the Alliance.
Josten continues to develop new leadership opportunities for the U.S. Chamber while fighting to protect
the interests of its diverse membership from the costly excesses of big government. At the national
level, he succeeded in organizing The Coalition: Americans Working for Real Change, uniting many
disparate, single-issue business and citizens groups under a broad-based umbrella to combat the
legislative and political activities of the AFL-CIO and its efforts to unseat pro-business members of
Congress.
At the U.S. Chamber, he has invested heavily in new technologies to enhance the Grassroots and
Advocacy Programs (VoteForBusiness.com), resulting in a state-of-the-art legislative mobilization
machine for American business.
Josten is a frequent commentator on national legislative, political, and economic issues affecting the
business community, its employees, and the economy. He is quoted regularly by The Wall Street Journal,
The New York Times, The Washington Post, BusinessWeek, FORTUNE, and National Journal, among
others, and he is often interviewed by the major television networks, including Meet the Press and talk
radio. (continued)
Josten was recognized by Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill, as one of “The Politics Fabulous
Fifty”—one of the 50 most influential Washingtonians in electing congressional candidates. In addition,
he was named one of POLITICO’S “50 to Watch” as a D.C. standout “who will be a force to reckon with in
the 2012 cycle.”
He graduated cum laude from Harvard with a degree in the social sciences. Josten also serves on the
Dean’s Advisory Committee of Public Affairs for The George Washington University Graduate School of
Political Management and is a board member of the United States Capitol Historical Society.
John Martin
Legislative Director
Office of Representative Phil Roe (TN-1)
John Martin has served as the legislative director for Congressman Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) since March
2011. He advises the congressman in his capacity as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Health,
Employment, Labor and Pensions and as cochairman of the House GOP Doctors Caucus. Before joining
Congressman Roe’s staff, John spent nearly four years as a speechwriter at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. He has also worked as a legislative assistant for Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and as a
legislative correspondent for Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA). John earned his B.A. in politics and philosophy
from the University of Pittsburgh and has an M.B.A. from Georgetown University’s McDonough School
of Business.
Brett Horton
Policy Director and Counsel
Republican Study Committee
With the start of the 113th Congress, Brett Horton took a leave from the personal office of Congressman
Steve Scalise, LA-1, to serve as the Congressman's Policy Director and Counsel in his newly elected role
as Chairman of the House Republican Study Committee (RSC).
In this capacity, Brett oversees the RSC's policy team and coalitions staff and coordinates with the
communications team to ensure that the conservative legislative agenda of the RSC and the goals of
Chairman Scalise are effectively implemented and communicated.
Prior to this, Brett served as Counsel to Congressman Scalise and as a Professional Policy Staff member
of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. A native of West Monroe, Louisiana,
Brett is a graduate of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Loyola University College of Law in
New Orleans.
Marc Freedman
Executive Director, Labor Law Policy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Marc Freedman is executive director of labor law policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is
responsible for developing and advocating the Chamber’s response to OSHA matters, the Employee Free
Choice Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and mandated leave issues, and other labor and workplace
issues.
Before joining the Chamber in October 2004, Freedman was the regulatory counsel for the Senate Small
Business Committee under the chairmanships of Sens. Kit Bond (R-MO) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). He
focused on ensuring that agencies properly take into account the impact of their regulations on small
businesses under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act. He was also deeply involved in the battle over the Clinton OSHA ergonomics regulation and the
effort to pass legislation creating nationally structured health plans to help small businesses obtain
better options for health insurance.
Prior to joining the Small Business Committee in July 1999, Freedman was director of government affairs
for the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America. Previous to that, he worked on federal
regulations for the Associated Builders and Contractors and the National Association of Home Builders.
Mr. Freedman graduated cum laude from Amherst College, and received his law degree from Case
Western Reserve University. He has appeared on various media outlets including Fox News, CNBC,
Bloomberg TV, and National Public Radio, and testified before Congress on behalf of the U.S. Chamber.
Jim Plunkett
Director, Labor Law Policy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jim Plunkett is Director for Labor Law Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. At the Chamber, Jim
focuses on legislation, regulations, and policy decisions that impact the workplace. This includes activity
concerning the National Labor Relations Board, the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, as well as international labor issues.
Prior to joining the Chamber, Jim was an associate at the law firm of Epstein, Becker & Green. At EBG,
Jim advised employers concerning their legal obligations arising under federal laws such as the National
Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act and the Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act. Jim also
assisted in conducting collective bargaining negotiations and drafting employee handbooks on behalf of
clients.
Jim was also a Staff Attorney at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW) where he
advised clients concerning violations of their rights due to compulsory unionism arrangements. At
NRTW, Jim represented his clients before federal courts, the NLRB, and various local public sector
employment agencies.
Jim is a graduate of Boston College Law School in Newton, Massachusetts and James Madison University
in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Lisa Atkins
Director, Immigration Policy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lisa Atkins is a Director of Immigration Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. As Director of
Immigration Policy Atkins manages issues involving border security, global mobility, entrepreneurship,
investment, and areas related to comprehensive immigration reform. Additionally, Atkins coordinates
all grassroots and grass tops activity for the immigration policy department. Before joining the
Chamber, she was a policy analyst at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of
Counternarcotics Enforcement, where she worked on narcotics trafficking and border security issues.
She also worked at the DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of the Chief Counsel in Miami,
Florida, for Ira Kurzban on employment-based immigration issues, and at the Florida Immigrant
Advocacy Center on human trafficking and domestic violence cases. Atkins received her B.A. from
Claremont McKenna College in Spanish and government and graduated magna cum laude from the
University of Miami School of Law. She is a member of the Florida bar.
Josh Trent
Health Policy Advisor
Office of Senator Tom Coburn (OK)
Josh Trent serves as a health care policy advisor for Dr. Tom Coburn, U.S. senator from Oklahoma. In this
role, Trent advises Dr. Coburn on Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance, health IT and a variety of other
health policy issues. Josh came to Capitol Hill shortly before the epic health reform debate of 2009, and
has emerged as a key Republican health staffer in the U.S. Senate. He has been active in designing
comprehensive alternative policy solutions for Medicare, Medicaid, and the FDA.
Previously, Josh has served as the deputy director of the refugee resettlement office at the Department
of Health and Human Services, where he helped oversee a $580 M budget and staff of approximately
100 personnel. In that role he helped oversee the largest repatriation of American citizens since WWII,
and developed key stakeholder work groups related to refugee health screening, cultural integration,
and other policy areas.
Prior to HHS, Josh, served in the George W. Bush White House Office of Presidential Personnel for three
years. As a headhunter for the President, Josh helped recruit senior leadership to serve in Senateconfirmed and non-confirmed senior management positions in cabinet departments and independent
agencies. He benefitted from interviewing thousands of America’s best and brightest – physicians,
generals, authors, inventors, attorneys, scientists, CEOs, and small business owners.
Josh got his start in Washington, DC working for the chief of staff at the Labor Department under
Secretary Elaine Chao. Josh has a masters in international politics from the University of Bath, England,
and has undergraduate degrees in communications and ethics.
Josh has participated in the fellows programs of the C.S. Lewis Institute and Claremont Institute and has
served on the boards of an arts nonprofit and a state society. While in the wake of health reform he is
still trying to remember what spare time is, when he has time Josh enjoys wakeboarding, snowboarding,
and biking, as well as reading history, biographies, and theology. Josh lives with his wife and son in the
Washington, DC metro area.
Mike Christie
Senior Vice President, Corporate Exchange Sales
Aon Service Corporation
Mike is Aon Hewitt’s national market development leader for our Private Health Exchange and Aon
Hewitt Navigators solutions. In his role, he directs overall market development strategy and leads a
team of experts across the country in developing client-focused health care exchange solutions. Mike is
a member of the Health Care Exchange Leadership Team, setting strategy and direction for this rapidly
evolving business. He is also a member of Aon’s Global Health Council and Aon Hewitt’s Senior
Leadership Team.
Throughout his 17 years at Aon Hewitt, Mike has served in a variety of leadership roles in consulting,
outsourcing, and sales. Prior to his current role, Mike was one of the firm’s top sales executives, leading
market development efforts for Aon Hewitt’s large market benefits administration services. He also
helped shape and launch the firm’s HR Business Process Outsourcing business, and served for several
years in a national sales role for this business. From 1996 to 2002, Mike was a leader in Hewitt’s
consulting business, where he was a founding member of Hewitt’s HR Effectiveness consulting practice,
leading sales and consulting efforts on HR technology, process, service delivery effectiveness, and
sourcing strategies. In this role, Mike was an industry thought leader, published writer, and frequent
speaker.
Timothy Nimmer
Senior Vice President, Health and Benefits
Chief Broking Officer
Aon Service Corporation
Timothy (Tim) N. Nimmer is a Senior Vice President and serves as Aon Hewitt’s Chief Actuary and Chief
Broking Officer for the Americas. Nimmer has nearly 20 years of consulting and industry experience
with a heavy emphasis in actuarial disciplines related to the health care industry. He focuses primarily
on large clients with over 10,000 lives in both the Fortune 500 and Public Sector markets. Nimmer has
provided consulting services to several state governments, including but not limited to California,
Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, New
Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wyoming and the Government of Guam. He also
routinely provides testimony on actuarial and health issues to a variety of State Legislatures throughout
the United States. Additionally, Nimmer recently assisted the Department of Defense, Health and
Human Services, and the Economic Advisors to the White House.
Previously, Nimmer was Senior Vice President and Regional Health Practice Leader for Aon Hewitt's
Central and West Regions. Under this capacity, Nimmer led over thirty of Aon Hewitt’s consulting
offices to provide consultative and brokerage services to clients.
Nimmer is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He
graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor's degree in Statistics, with an emphasis in
Mathematics and Psychology.
Mark Iwry
Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury &
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Retirement and Health Policy
U.S. Department of the Treasury
J. Mark Iwry (pronounced “Eevry”) is Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and is the Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Retirement and Health Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department. Mark was
previously a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Research Professor at Georgetown
University, Of Counsel to the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and a Principal of the Retirement
Security Project. He was the Treasury Department's Benefits Tax Counsel (1995-2001), serving as the
principal official directly responsible for tax policy and regulation relating to the Nation’s qualified
pension and 401(k) plans, employer health plans, deferred compensation, and other employee benefits.
Previously, he was a partner in the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP.
Mark has often testified before congressional committees – representing the Treasury and Executive
Branch or, while in the private sector, testifying as an independent expert -- and State legislatures. He
has advised numerous Senators, Members of Congress and their staffs on both sides of the aisle, as well
as various Presidential campaigns. In recent years has been recognized as one of the “30 top financial
players” (Smart Money magazine), “100 Most Influential People in Finance” (Treasury and Risk
magazine) (one of 5 in the field of Retirement and Benefits), “100 Most Influential People in the 401(k)
Industry” (401(k) Wire), “Investment News 20” (20 individuals expected to have a major influence on the
financial services industry), etc.
Formerly a chair of the D.C. Bar Employee Benefits Committee, and a member of the White House Task
Force on Health Care Reform (1993-94), Mark’s books and articles include the co-edited volume (with
William Gale and Peter Orszag), Aging Gracefully: Ideas to Improve Retirement Security in America
(Century Fdn. Press, 2006).
A principal architect of the Saver’s Credit to expand 401(k) and IRA coverage of middle- and lowerincome workers (claimed annually on some 6 million tax returns) and the “SIMPLE” IRA plan (covering an
estimated 3 to 4 million workers), Mark co-authored President Obama’s legislative proposal to expand
coverage through automatic IRAs. In the 1990s, he formulated and directed Treasury’s strategy to
increase retirement saving by defining, approving and promoting 401(k) automatic enrollment (as well
as automatic rollover to curtail pension leakage). He also has been centrally involved in developing or
orchestrating many other significant improvements and simplifications of the nation’s pension and
benefits systems, including expansion of automatic 401(k) features, promoting lifetime retirement
income, IRS direct deposit of split income tax refunds into IRAs and US saving bonds, the “Universal
Savings Accounts” proposal (1999-2000), payroll deduction IRAs, the small employer new plan tax credit,
and the repeal of Code section 415(e).
While at Treasury in the 1990s, Mark was widely recognized for his work to expand coverage while
simplifying and rationalizing benefits law and regulation. In 2001 he received the Secretary of the
Treasury’s Exceptional Service Award “[i]n recognition of his outstanding leadership and
accomplishments ….Widely respected as Treasury’s benefits and pension expert, Mr. Iwry excelled at
building coalitions of diverse interests….” At Treasury, he worked closely with the private sector,
Congress, and the IRS, held town hall meetings around the country, and received a special award from
the IRS “[i]n recognition of the collegial working relationship you have fostered between [Treasury] and
the IRS Office of Chief Counsel and of your many contributions to our nation’s tax system.” (continued)
Mark is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, received a Masters in Public
Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School, and is listed in Who’s Who, Best Lawyers in America, Washington
DC Super Lawyers, etc. He is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and a
member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Robert Neis
Deputy Benefits Tax Counsel &
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Robert Neis is the Deputy Benefits Tax Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury
Department. The Benefits Tax Counsel is responsible for developing and reviewing policy, legislation,
regulations, and revenue rulings dealing with all aspects of employee benefits taxation and related
matters. Mr. Neis joined the Treasury Department in June of 2012 and works on a variety of employee
benefits issues, including executive compensation, qualified retirement plans, health care, and fringe
benefits.
Before joining the Treasury Department, Mr. Neis was a partner in the tax group at the Sutherland law
firm. His practice focused primarily on executive compensation matters, but he also advised clients on
the tax and labor aspects of qualified plans, welfare plans, and fringe benefits.
Mr. Neis received his J.D. from Cornell Law School, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Cornell Law
Review, and his B.A from Middlebury College. He was also law clerk for the Honorable Elbert P. Tuttle
on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Edward Ferrigno
Vice President, Washington Affairs
Plan Sponsor Council of America
Ed Ferrigno is vice-president, Washington affairs, for the Plan Sponsor Council of America, where he
represents member’s interests before the federal legislative and regulatory community. Ed has
extensive experience in human resources management and government relations in both the corporate
and association environment. He is responsible for PSCA’s successful effort to enact the EGTRRA
pension reform legislation in 2001 and in warding off harmful legislation introduced in 2002 in response
to the Enron and WorldCom scandals. He played a key role in crafting the pension community’s
responses to the mutual fund investigations and subsequent SEC proposals concerning the processing of
plan-related mutual fund trades and the development of a redemption fee rule.
Ed led PSCA’s successful efforts to obtain regulatory and legislative provisions that will remove barriers
and provide incentives for automatic enrollment plans. He was also a key player in the effort to make
the pension provisions in the 2001 EGTRRA legislation permanent. Both of these issues were included in
the Pension Protection Act of 2006.