On the recordJune 21, 2012
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.
