Cass Ballenger: “In my opinion, this issue is fairly simple. The Federal Government should not engage in the business of encouraging a…”

“In my opinion, this issue is fairly simple. The Federal Government should not engage in the business of encouraging a specific type of investment which jeopardizes pensions of Americans. Economically targeted investments, or ETI's are social investments in which the social good or benefit of the investment is considered more important than the financial benefit created for the pension participant. In other words, the Clinton administration wants to risk the retirement funds of workers to promote its own liberal social agenda. H.R. 1594 would void this practice. If one is concerned about the security of America's retirees, this investment principle is unacceptable. As we know, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act [ERISA] is the statute which protects the investment interests of retirees. Under the act, the Department of Labor is to act as the guardian of pensions. ERISA requires that private pension funds be invested for the sole financial benefit of plan participants and beneficiaries. The Department, through its promotion of ETI's, strays from the fiduciary standards mandated through ERISA and abdicates its role as the entity charged with private pension guardianship.”