[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 80 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING TIAA-CREF'S 90TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PETER T. KING

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2008

  Mr. KING of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of TIAA-
CREF's 90th anniversary and to recognize the important contributions 
that this company has made to New York and across the country.
  TIAA-CREF is a company with a rich and distinguished history. As a 
trustee of Cornell University in my home State of New York, 
philanthropist and businessman Andrew Carnegie was appalled by how many 
college professors could not afford to retire. He then established the 
Carnegie Foundation to support pension plans for professors. Soon, he 
realized the Foundation's endowment was too limited for the increasing 
number of qualified professors and, in 1918, established the Teachers 
Insurance Annuity Association with an initial million-dollar subsidy 
from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. At the time, TIAA was the 
only large, portable, fully-funded private pension system in the 
country.
  In 1952, TIAA created CREF, the College Retirement Equities Fund, the 
world's first equity variable annuity and today the largest equity 
mutual fund. That year, an editor of Fortune magazine wrote, ``This is 
the biggest development in the insurance-investment business since the 
passage of the Social Security Act.''
  Now, TIAA-CREF is a Fortune 100 company serving 3.4 million active 
and retired employees of more than 15,000 institutions. TIAA-CREF is 
also one of the largest employers in the United States, employing 
almost 1,200 individuals in New York and over 7,000 Americans 
nationwide.
  Headquartered in New York City, TIAA-CREF provides financial services 
for over 10,400 participants with assets totaling over $1.3 billion in 
my home district and administers plans for 1,784 nonprofit educational, 
research, and health care institutions across New York State.
  The important work that this company does in helping Americans plan 
for retirement and to save for a quality education is unparalleled. I 
am proud to be honoring them today and wish TIAA-CREF continued 
success.

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