[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2921 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2921

  To require the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study on the 
feasibility of authorizing the Department of the Treasury to create and 
            issue annuity products, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2007

  Mr. Cooper introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study on the 
feasibility of authorizing the Department of the Treasury to create and 
            issue annuity products, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Treasury Annuity Study Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. ANNUITY STUDY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The personal savings rate in the United States is at 
        historic lows.
            (2) It is in the national interest to decrease reliance on 
        foreign purchasers of debt.
            (3) There is a lack of transparency among annuity products 
        currently available on the market.
            (4) Annuity savings products are underutilized by Americans 
        as a means of saving for retirement.
    (b) Study Required.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall conduct a 
study on the feasibility of authorizing or requiring the Department of 
the Treasury to create annuity products and sell them to United States 
citizens.
    (c) Factors and Criteria.--Annuity products considered by the study 
conducted under subsection (b) shall adhere to the following 
guidelines:
            (1) Such products shall not pre-empt private market 
        products but rather shall serve as an industry benchmark, with 
        a goal of enhancing private markets.
            (2) The products shall be backed by the full faith and 
        credit of the United States government and offer purchasers the 
        security of such backing.
            (3) The products shall be maximally transparent with a goal 
        of disclosing to prospective purchasers enough information to 
        make sound financial decisions.
            (4) The products shall be actuarially sound, with 
        innovative features comparable to other annuity products on the 
        market.
    (d) Other Relevant Issues.--The study conducted under subsection 
(b) shall examine any questions the Secretary considers relevant to the 
topic and guidelines, including all relevant measures of market 
feasibility.
    (e) Report.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report to 
the Congress before the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this Act containing the findings and conclusions of 
the study conducted under subsection (b), together with such 
recommendations for legislative or administrative action as the 
Secretary may determine to be appropriate.
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