[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9459]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF TIAA-CREF

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                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2008

  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, in keeping with his philosophy that ``the 
man who dies rich thus dies disgraced,'' Andrew Carnegie took care in 
distributing his substantial wealth, largerly toward the goal of 
promoting education. When Mr. Carnegie became a trustee at Cornell 
University, in my home State of New York, he was appalled to learn how 
little professors earned and thought they deserved financial security. 
As a result, he donated $10 million to fund a system of pensions that 
today allows colleges and universities in the United States to offer 
some of the best retirement plans in the Nation.
  In 1918, the Carnegie Foundation established the Teachers Insurance 
and Annuity Association, known today as TIAA, a fully-funded system of 
pensions for professors. By the end of its first year, 30 public and 
private institutions had signed on. After World War II, facing 
inflation and increased longevity, TIAA created the College Retirement 
Equities Fund, the world's first variable annuity in 1952. As TIAA-CREF 
evolved over the years to meet new challenges, its noble mission 
bestowed on them by Carnegie never changed: to aid and strengthen the 
institutions they serve and to provide financial products that are 
suited to the needs of such entities, their employees, and their 
families on the best terms practicable.
  In his autobiography, Carnegie wrote: ``Many college pension fund 
beneficiaries and their widows have written to me most affecting 
letters. These I can never destroy, for if I ever have a fit of 
melancholy, I know the cure lies in re-reading these letters.''
  TIAA-CREF continues to have a special relationship with those in 
higher education and also serves those who work in the medical, 
cultural, and research fields. Today TIAA-CREF celebrates its 90th 
Anniversary and continues to serve those whose life work advances the 
greater good.

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