[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 73 (Friday, May 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6105-S6106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. 
        Lieberman, and Mr. Voinovich):
  S. 2479. A bill to amend chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, 
to provide for Federal employees to make elections to make, modify, and 
terminate contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund at any time, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, today, I am pleased to be joined by my 
colleagues, Senators Akaka, Fitzgerald, Lieberman, and Voinovich in 
introducing the Thrift Savings Plan Open Elections Act of 2004. This 
legislation would provide Federal employees with maximum flexibility to 
tailor their investment decisions by eliminating the current 
restrictions on when employee contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan 
can begin or be modified.
  Since its inception in 1987, the Thrift Savings Plan has provided 
Federal employees with the opportunity to participate in a retirement 
savings plan similar to the 401(k) plans offered by many private 
companies. The open seasons were created to encourage Federal employees 
to contribute money toward their retirement. Open seasons were 
practical during the early years when the Thrift Savings Plan was just 
getting started and lacked the administrative capability to quickly 
enroll participants and to implement investment elections on a real-
time basis. With the introduction of the automatic record-keeping 
system, however, the program has outgrown its existing framework.
  Under current law, newly hired employees can sign up to contribute to 
the Thrift Savings Plan during an initial 60-day eligibility period. If 
an employee chooses not to make an election, he or she must wait until 
an open season to do so. Further, if an employee stops contributing to 
the Thrift Savings Plan outside of an open season, he or she must wait 
until the second open season after contributions stop before 
contributions can resume. These

[[Page S6106]]

restrictions can unfairly penalize employees and discourage their 
participation. But allowing employees to initiate, modify, or terminate 
contributions to the TSP in any period, provided the amount does not 
exceed existing limits for contributions, the legislation ensures that 
Federal employees' investment decisions will no longer be restricted by 
the open season requirement.
  In testimony before the Congress, Andrew Saul, Chairman of the 
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, stated that the Board 
supports the elimination of the open season requirement because it 
would expand participant access and simplify the administration of the 
Thrift Savings Plan. Jim Sauber, Chairman of the Employee Thrift 
Advisory Council, testified in March 2004 that eliminating the TSP open 
season is perhaps the single best way to reach the 13 percent of 
employees in the Federal Employees Retirement System who still do not 
make contributions to the TSP.
  In addition to the support by the Federal Retirement Thrift 
Investment Board and the Employee Thrift Advisory Council, the 
legislation is supported by the American Federation of Government 
Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union, the National 
Association of Retired Federal Employees, the Federal Managers 
Association, and the Senior Executives Association.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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