The Investment Company Institute, a Washington-based trade group for the mutual-fund industry, welcomed the proposal as a complement to “existing vibrant and competitive private-sector retirement offerings,” according to a statement.
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, called the plan an “interesting” idea before criticizing Obama’s decision to press ahead without legislation.
“I don’t think he should even attempt to do that,” Hatch said in an interview. “I mean, there’s a limit to using executive orders, and he needs to be very circumspect with regard to using them.”