[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9697]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CHURCH PLAN INVESTMENT CLARIFICATION ACT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Banking 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 33.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 33) to amend the Securities Act of 1933 to 
     specify when certain securities issued in connection with 
     church plans are treated as exempted securities for purposes 
     of that Act.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I appreciate the efforts of Chairman 
Johnson in making sure that our Nation's religious leaders are able to 
have expanded opportunities for their retirement plans, while also 
ensuring that we don't create any unintended consequences. To remove 
any potential ambiguity, we want to make clear that H.R. 33 is intended 
to make clear that the offer and sale of a bank collective trust's 
securities that are exempt from the Securities Act of 1933 if sold to 
employee benefit plans described in Section 401 of the Internal Revenue 
Code, such as 401(k) plans, would not lose such exemption solely on the 
basis that such securities are sold to church plans described in 
403(b)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code (church plans described in 
Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code already receive such 
exemptive relief) or to plans that include self-employed ministers. 
H.R. 33 is not intended to expand the exemption to any interests, 
participations or securities that are sold to a person other than such 
church plans and plans that include self-employed ministers.
  Mr. JOHNSON. I agree with Senator Levin's statement.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time 
and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no 
intervening action or debate, and that any statements be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 33) was ordered to a third reading, was read the third 
time, and passed.

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