Church Plan Investment Clarification Act

CHURCH PLAN INVESTMENT CLARIFICATION ACT

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Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 33, ``The Church Plan Investment Clarification Act.'' This legislation will allow church pension plans to participate in collective trusts.

Collective trusts allow pension plans to combine assets to invest in various stock and non stock options. This provides pension plans an opportunity to diversify investment portfolios, while sharing risks and transaction costs with other pension plans.

Under current law, thousands of church pension plans are denied participation in collective trusts, rendering them unable to pool their assets and reap the benefits of collective buying power. Many churches, as a result, experience difficulties and incur expenses when diversifying pension plan investments.

I support the Church Plan Investment Clarifications Act to amend the Securities Act of 1933. Amending current securities legislation will broaden the existing exemption to collective trusts to include church pension plans. This bill will clarify that clergy and lay workers are able to invest in collective trusts, despite their unique tax status. The Act affords church pension plans the same securities law treatment that is extended to governmental plans.

Churches provide invaluable services to our communities. Across the Nation, church pension plans will benefit from this bipartisan bill, including churches in Houston, Texas, where I represent the 18th Congressional District. Churches such as the Bellfort Seventh Day Adventist Church, New Light Christian Church and the Community of Faith Church. This legislation will be of great significance to the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, the St. John Missionary Baptist Church on Dowling, the Brooks Hollow Baptist Church, and Houses of worship throughout our community and Nation.

These faith institutions in Houston, as well as throughout the country, will no longer have to individually bear the burden of high fees on investment transactions for their retirement plans. The clergy and lay workers that will benefit from this legislation have spent their entire careers serving others. The least we can offer in return is the opportunity for these pension plans to pool their resources in order to decrease costs associated with funding their retirement plans.

This bill is also supported by The Church Alliance, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the YMCA Retirement Fund, the Church Pension Group, and others. I thank my friend from Illinois for sponsoring this important legislation, and urge my colleagues to work together to pass the Church Plan Investment Clarification Act.

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