[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 3, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H7808-H7809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AMENDING THE SECURITIES LAWS TO PERMIT CHURCH PENSION PLANS TO BE 
                     INVESTED IN COLLECTIVE TRUSTS

  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1533) to amend the securities laws to permit church pension 
plans to be invested in collective trusts, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1533

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

     SECTION 1. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS FOR CHURCH PLAN 
                   PARTICIPATION IN COLLECTIVE FUNDS.

       (a) Amendment to the Investment Company Act of 1940.--
     Section 3(c)(11) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 
     U.S.C. 80a-3(c)(11)) is amended by striking ``such trusts or 
     government plans, or both'' and inserting ``one or more of 
     such trusts, government plans, or church plans, companies or 
     accounts that are excluded from the definition of an 
     investment company under paragraph (14) of this subsection''.
       (b) Amendments to the Securities Act of 1933.--Section 
     3(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77c(a)(2)) 
     is amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (B); and
       (2) by inserting before ``other than any plan described in 
     clause (A)'' the following: ``or (D) a church plan, company, 
     or account that is excluded from the definition of an 
     investment company under section 3(c)(14) of the Investment 
     Company Act of 1940,''.
       (c) Amendments to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.--
       (1) Section 3(a)(12)(C) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
     1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(12)(C)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (ii); and
       (B) by inserting before ``other than any plan described in 
     clause (i)'' the following: ``or (iv) a church plan, company, 
     or account that is excluded from the definition of an 
     investment company under section 3(c)(14) of the Investment 
     Company Act of 1940,''.
       (2) Section 12(g)(2)(H) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
     1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l(g)(2)(H)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (i); and
       (B) by inserting before the period at the end the 
     following: ``, or (iii) a church plan, company, or account 
     that is excluded from the definition of an investment company 
     under section 3(c)(14) of the Investment Company Act of 
     1940''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Frank) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 1533.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Frank), the ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services for 
managing the bill and his support. I would also like to thank my 
colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ford), for his support and 
cosponsorship of this bill. I understand he would have been here but 
his plane has been diverted.
  H.R. 1533, the Church Pension Fairness Act, will give the clergy and 
laypeople who work for churches the same investment opportunities that 
other workers have in America. Right now our securities laws prohibit 
church pension plans from participating in what we call collective 
trusts. As a result, church pension plans cannot pool their assets and 
reap the benefits of collective buying power. H.R. 1533 will correct 
this inequity.
  One thing most working Americans understand is the importance of 
saving money to ensure financial security after they retire. Just as 
important, they understand that investing in an employer-sponsored 
pension plan is a great way to help achieve this goal.
  America's clergy are no less interested in their retirement. In fact, 
for thousands of dedicated men and women of our clergy, pension plans 
are just as important, if not more so, as they are to members of the 
laity. Yet for far too long, Congress has failed to update church 
pension laws, making it more difficult for clergy and other church 
employees to maximize their retirement savings.
  One arcane yet important provision of our security law allows 
corporate and other secular pension plans to band together into what 
are called collective trusts. These trusts allow pension plans to pool 
their assets for investment purposes in various stock and nonstock 
options.
  They represent a way for pension plans to diversify their investments 
and to share the risks and transaction costs with other pension plans. 
Collective trusts are not the problem. The problem is that current law 
prohibits thousands of church pension plans across the country from 
participating in collective trusts. As a result, church pension plans 
cannot pool their assets and reap the benefits of collective buying 
power. H.R. 1533 will change this.
  Mr. Speaker, I should add that collective trusts will continue to 
have sole management and control over the assets that are invested as 
required by the SEC. Nothing in this legislation is intended to alter 
the traditional SEC interpretation that the financial institution is 
responsible for exercising hands-on control over the collective trust. 
H.R. 1533 allows church plan assets to be included in collective trust 
funds that also include assets of private employee and governmental 
plans. But this measure does not in any way affect Tax Code provisions 
governing the treatment of pension plans, including the requirement 
that a church plan must be maintained by a church or eligible church-
affiliated organization.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. Our clergy 
deserve no less than the millions of other working men and women of 
America.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. 
Biggert) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ford) who, as the 
gentlewoman mentioned, is literally held up. His plane is probably 
trying to land, and he deserves a great deal of credit for this 
initiative.
  This a perfectly common sense piece of legislation. It corrects what 
must have been an oversight in the legislation. There was never any 
reason to restrict churches. We are taking an action that expresses our 
confidence in the management of these institutions. It allows them to 
make rational choices about how best to maximize their funds.
  I think this is particularly important because as we know, the 
clergy, that is one of the professions in this country that is, in my 
judgment, that is undercompensated. People who choose to go into the 
clergy are generally selfless people who care a great deal about 
others, as well as about their theology. They work very hard. They work 
on days that the rest of us, by definition, think of as days of rest, 
and they are not sufficiently compensated. We often hear of people who 
gave their lives not just to the clergy but to support roles, to the 
secretaries, to the support people, to the youth workers, and the 
notion that in their retirement years they would not be fully protected 
and given the maximum amount is a very troubling one.
  This small step today is a very important one because it does as much 
as we can do within this context to take some steps towards enhancing 
the retirement security of some very decent hardworking people who, as 
I said, were somewhat undercompensated. I appreciate the initiative. I 
was pleased that our committee unanimously reported this out.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H7809]]

  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Committee on Financial Services, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Oxley) and the ranking member, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for their support for this 
legislation which was reported out of committee unanimously, and I 
thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ford) for his strong support as 
well as the chairman of the Subcommittee for Capital Markets, Insurance 
and Government Sponsored Enterprises, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Baker), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Kanjorski).
  There is no sound reason in our securities laws to exclude the church 
plan participation and specifically tailored pension plan investments; 
and I think the gentleman from Massachusetts is right, this has been an 
oversight as we have changed the securities laws in the past that the 
church pension plans were not included. So the Church Pension Plan 
Fairness Act is a reasonable, measured, and fair response to many of 
the concerns raised by the clergy and other church employees around the 
country. Having no further requests for time, I urge my colleagues to 
support the legislation.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to offer my strong support for 
H.R. 1533, a bill to equalize the treatment of church and governmental 
pension plans. I want to commend a great member of the Financial 
Services Committee, Mrs. Biggert, for drafting excellent, bipartisan 
legislation and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker), Chairman of 
the Capital Markets subcommittee, for his leadership in bringing this 
measure to the Floor today.
  The purpose of this bill is straightforward: it provides parallel 
securities law treatment of church plan assets with those of 
governmental plans.
  Under current law, there is a basic inequity with respect to church 
plans. This disparate treatment has real consequences. The inability of 
church plans to participate with other pension plans in collective 
trusts unnecessarily increases the costs for these investments and 
makes it more difficult for church plans to diversify their 
investments.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no rational basis for treating church plans 
differently. Mrs. Biggert's legislation imposes fairness by eliminating 
this unnecessary burden on church pension plans. I urge all of my 
colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1533, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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