I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1083 

To establish an American Savings Account Fund and create a retirement 

savings plan available to all employees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2017 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. LEE, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. VARGAS, 

Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. MEEKS, and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To establish an American Savings Account Fund and create 

a retirement savings plan available to all employees, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Savings Ac5 count Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 


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TITLE I—ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 101. American Savings Account Board of Directors. 

Sec. 102. Responsibilities of American Savings Account Board of Directors. 

Sec. 103. Fiduciary responsibilities; liability and penalties. 

Sec. 104. American Savings Account Fund Advisory Council. 

TITLE II—AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND 

Sec. 201. American Savings Account Fund. 

Sec. 202. Tax treatment of the American Savings Account Fund. 

TITLE III—AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNTS 

Sec. 301. American Savings Accounts. 

Sec. 302. Employer requirements. 

Sec. 303. State retirement savings plans. 

Sec. 304. Definitions. 

TITLE IV—CONFORMING AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 401. American Savings Accounts. 

Sec. 402. Penalty for employer noncompliance. 

Sec. 403. Outreach. 

Sec. 404. Independent contractors. 

1 TITLE I—ADMINISTRATION 

2 SEC. 101. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT BOARD OF DIREC3 TORS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established an American 

5 Savings Account Board of Directors (hereafter referred to 

6 in this title as the ‘‘Board’’) as a federally chartered orga7 nization. Except as otherwise provided, such Board has 

8 perpetual existence. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Board is— 

10 (1) to establish policies for the investment and 

11 management of the American Savings Account 

12 Fund; and 

13 (2) to carry out the responsibilities of the 

14 Board under section 102. 


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1 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be composed of 

2 9 members appointed by the President in consultation 

3 with the Secretary of Labor and with the advice and con4 sent of the Senate, to include— 

5 (1) the Secretary of Labor or a delegate of the 

6 Secretary; 

7 (2) 1 representative of employers; 

8 (3) 1 representative of the private retirement 

9 savings investment industry; 

10 (4) 1 representative of employees; 

11 (5) 1 representative of retirees; and 

12 (6) the Executive Director and 3 additional 

13 members of the Federal Retirement Thrift Invest14 ment Board established under section 8472(a) of 

15 title 5, United States Code. 

16 Of such 9 members, 1 shall be elected by the members 

17 of the Board as the Chair. 

18 (d) TERMS AND VACANCIES.— 

19 (1) TERM.—A member of the Board shall be 

20 appointed for a term of 4 years and, after the expi21 ration of such term, may be reappointed immediately 

22 to a subsequent term. 

23 (2) VACANCY.—A vacancy on the Board shall 

24 be filled in the manner in which the original appoint25 ment was made and shall be subject to any condiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1083.IH H1083

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1 tions which applied with respect to the original ap2 pointment. An individual chosen to fill a vacancy 

3 shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the 

4 member replaced. 

5 (3) EXPIRATION.—The term of any member 

6 shall not expire before the date on which the mem7 ber’s successor takes office. 

8 (e) RESPONSIBILITY.—The members of the Board 

9 shall discharge their responsibilities solely in the interest 

10 of participants and beneficiaries under this title. 

11 (f) COMPENSATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Board 

13 who is not an officer or employee of the Federal 

14 Government shall be compensated at the daily rate 

15 of basic pay for grade GS–18 of the General Sched16 ule under subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, 

17 United States Code, for each day during which such 

18 member is engaged in performing a function of the 

19 Board. 

20 (2) PER DIEM, ETC.—A member of the Board 

21 shall be paid travel, per diem, and other necessary 

22 expenses while traveling away from such member’s 

23 home or regular place of business in the perform24 ance of the duties of the Board. 


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1 (3) PAYMENTS.—Payments authorized under 

2 this subsection shall be paid from the American Sav3 ings Account Fund. 

4 SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES OF AMERICAN SAVINGS AC5 COUNT BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INVESTMENT FUNDS AND

7 OPTIONS.—The Board shall select or establish a list of 

8 investment funds and options similar to those described 

9 in subsection (b) of section 8438 of title 5, United States 

10 Code, among which an individual participating in an 

11 American Savings Account established under section 

12 103(a) may elect under subsection (b)(2). 

13 (b) INVESTMENT OF SUMS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chair of the Board 

15 shall invest the sums available in the American Sav16 ings Account Fund for investment as provided in 

17 elections made under paragraph (2). If an election 

18 has not been made with respect to any sums in the 

19 American Savings Account Fund available for in20 vestment, the Chair shall invest such sums in a port21 folio similar to the age-appropriate target date asset 

22 allocation portfolio established by the Federal Re23 tirement Thrift Investment Board under section 

24 8438(b) of title 5, United States Code, in the same 

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1 lished under section 8437 of title 5, United States 

2 Code, are invested under such section. 

3 (2) ELECTION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—At least twice each 

5 year, an individual participating in an American 

6 Savings Account established under subsection 

7 (c)(1) may elect any of the investment funds 

8 and options referred to in subsection (a) into 

9 which the sums in the American Savings Ac10 count Fund credited to such individual’s Amer11 ican Savings Account are to be invested or rein12 vested in the same manner as sums in the 

13 Thrift Savings Fund are invested under section 

14 8438 of title 5, United States Code. 

15 (B) FORM AND MANNER OF ELECTION.— 

16 An election may be made under subparagraph 

17 (A) only in such manner and within such period 

18 as shall be provided by the Chair of the Board. 

19 (c) ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chair of the Board 

21 shall establish and maintain— 

22 (A) an American Savings Account de23 scribed in paragraph (1) of section 301(a); or 

24 (B) at the election of the individual pursu25 ant to section 301(b)(2), an American Savings 


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1 Account described in paragraph (2) of section 

2 301(a), 

3 for each individual who makes contributions under 

4 section 301(b)(3), or for whom contributions are 

5 made under section 302, to the American Savings 

6 Account Fund. 

7 (2) BALANCE; ALLOCATION OF EARNINGS AND

8 LOSSES, ETC.—Rules similar to the rules of para9 graphs (2) and (3) of section 8439(a) of title 5, 

10 United States Code, shall apply for purposes of an 

11 individual’s American Savings Account established 

12 under paragraph (1). 

13 (3) EXAMINATION BY QUALIFIED PUBLIC AC14 COUNTANT; REPORTING, ETC.—Rules similar to the 

15 requirements of subsections (b), (c), and (d) of sec16 tion 8439 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply 

17 with respect to individuals for whom an American 

18 Savings Account is maintained under this subsection 

19 (in the case of such subsection (d), applied as if each 

20 such individual were an employee described in such 

21 subsection). 

22 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Board shall, not 

24 later than June 30 of each year, submit to Congress 

25 an annual report on the operations of the American 


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1 Savings Account Fund. Such report shall include, 

2 for the prior calendar year, information on the num3 ber of participants as of the last day of such prior 

4 calendar year, the median balance in participants’ 

5 accounts as of such last day, demographic informa6 tion on participants, the percentage allocation of 

7 amounts among investment funds or options, the 

8 status of the development and implementation of the 

9 mutual fund window, the diversity demographics of 

10 any company, investment adviser, or other entity re11 tained to invest and manage the assets of the Amer12 ican Savings Account Fund, and such other informa13 tion as the Board considers appropriate. A copy of 

14 each annual report under this subsection shall be 

15 made available to the public through an Internet 

16 website. 

17 (2) REPORTING OF FEES AND OTHER INFORMA18 TION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall pro20 vide to each individual for whom an account is 

21 maintained— 

22 (i) a periodic statement relating to the 

23 individual’s account; 

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1 section (a) covering, and an evaluation of, 

2 each such option during the 5-year period 

3 preceding the date as of which such eval4 uation is made; 

5 (iii) a statement of the amount of the 

6 investment management fees, administra7 tive expenses, and any other fees or ex8 penses paid with respect to each such in9 vestment fund and option; and 

10 (iv) a statement notifying participants 

11 as to how they may access the annual re12 port described in paragraph (1), as well as 

13 any other information concerning Amer14 ican Savings Accounts that might be use15 ful. 

16 If the fees and expenses described in clause (iii) 

17 exceed the fees charged to a similarly situated 

18 individual who contributes to the Thrift Savings 

19 Fund established under section 8437 of title 5, 

20 United States Code, the information required 

21 under the preceding sentence shall include a 

22 statement identifying the reason for such ex23 cess. 

24 (B) TIME WHEN SENT.—Information 

25 under subparagraph (A) with respect to each 


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1 participant shall be provided immediately upon 

2 payment of the participant’s first contribution 

3 to the American Savings Account Fund and on 

4 a regular basis thereafter, in a manner designed 

5 to facilitate informed decisionmaking with re6 spect to elections under subsection (b)(2). 

7 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be consid8 ered to limit the dissemination of information 

9 only to the times required under the preceding 

10 sentence. 

11 (C) USE OF ESTIMATES.—For purposes of 

12 providing the information required under this 

13 paragraph, the Board may provide a reasonable 

14 and representative estimate of any fees or ex15 penses described in subparagraph (A) and shall 

16 indicate any such estimate as being such an es17 timate. Any such estimate shall be based on the 

18 previous year’s experience. 

19 SEC. 103. FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES; LIABILITY AND 

20 PENALTIES. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

22 (1) the term ‘‘adequate consideration’’ means— 

23 (A) in the case of a security for which 

24 there is a generally recognized market— 


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1 (i) the price of the security prevailing 

2 on a national securities exchange which is 

3 registered under section 6 of the Securities 

4 Exchange Act of 1934; or 

5 (ii) if the security is not traded on 

6 such a national securities exchange, a price 

7 not less favorable to the American Savings 

8 Account Fund than the offering price for 

9 the security as established by the current 

10 bid and asked prices quoted by persons 

11 independent of the issuer and of any party 

12 in interest; and 

13 (B) in the case of an asset other than a se14 curity for which there is a generally recognized 

15 market, the fair market value of the asset as 

16 determined in good faith by a fiduciary or fidu17 ciaries in accordance with regulations pre18 scribed by the Secretary of Labor; 

19 (2) the term ‘‘fiduciary’’ means— 

20 (A) a member of the Board, including the 

21 Chair; 

22 (B) any person who has or exercises dis23 cretionary authority or discretionary control 

24 over the management or disposition of the asVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1083.IH H1083

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1 sets of the American Savings Account Fund; 

2 and 

3 (C) any person who, with respect to the 

4 American Savings Account Fund, is described 

5 in section 3(21)(A) of the Employee Retirement 

6 Income Security Act of 1974; and 

7 (3) the term ‘‘party in interest’’ includes— 

8 (A) any fiduciary; 

9 (B) any counsel to a person who is a fidu10 ciary, with respect to the actions of such person 

11 as a fiduciary; 

12 (C) any participant; 

13 (D) any person providing services to the 

14 Board and, with respect to the actions of the 

15 Chair as a fiduciary, any person providing serv16 ices to the Chair; 

17 (E) a labor organization, the members of 

18 which are participants; 

19 (F) a spouse, sibling, ancestor, lineal de20 scendant, or spouse of a lineal descendant of a 

21 person described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

22 (D); 

23 (G) a corporation, partnership, or trust or 

24 estate of which, or in which, at least 50 percent 

25 of— 


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1 (i) the combined voting power of all 

2 classes of stock entitled to vote or the total 

3 value of shares of all classes of stock of 

4 such corporation; 

5 (ii) the capital interest or profits in6 terest of such partnership; or 

7 (iii) the beneficial interest of such 

8 trust or estate, 

9 is owned, directly or indirectly, or held by a 

10 person described in subparagraph (A), (B), (D), 

11 or (E); 

12 (H) an official (including a director) of, or 

13 an individual employed by, a person described 

14 in subparagraph (A), (B), (D), (E), or (G), or 

15 an individual having powers or responsibilities 

16 similar to those of such an official; 

17 (I) a holder (directly or indirectly) of at 

18 least 10 percent of the shares in a person de19 scribed in any subparagraph referred to in sub20 paragraph (H); and 

21 (J) a person who, directly or indirectly, is 

22 at least a 10 percent partner or joint venturer 

23 (measured in capital or profits) in a person de24 scribed in any subparagraph referred to in sub25 paragraph (H). 


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1 (b) IN GENERAL.— 

2 (1) DISCHARGE OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—To the 

3 extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this 

4 title and the policies prescribed by the Board, a fidu5 ciary shall discharge the fiduciary’s responsibilities 

6 with respect to the American Savings Account Fund 

7 or applicable portion thereof solely in the interest of 

8 the participants and beneficiaries and— 

9 (A) for the exclusive purpose of— 

10 (i) providing benefits to participants 

11 and their beneficiaries; and 

12 (ii) defraying reasonable expenses of 

13 administering the American Savings Ac14 count Fund or applicable portions thereof; 

15 (B) with the care, skill, prudence, and dili16 gence under the circumstances then prevailing 

17 that a prudent individual acting in a like capac18 ity and familiar with such matters would use in 

19 the conduct of an enterprise of a like character 

20 and with like objectives; and 

21 (C) to the extent permitted by this title, by 

22 diversifying the investments of the American 

23 Savings Account Fund or applicable portions 

24 thereof so as to minimize the risk of large 


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1 losses, unless under the circumstances it is 

2 clearly prudent not to do so. 

3 (2) OWNERSHIP.—No fiduciary may maintain 

4 the indicia of ownership of any assets of the Amer5 ican Savings Account Fund outside the jurisdiction 

6 of the district courts of the United States. 

7 (c) PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A fiduciary shall not permit 

9 the American Savings Account Fund to engage in 

10 any of the following transactions, except in exchange 

11 for adequate consideration: 

12 (A) A transfer of any assets of the Amer13 ican Savings Account Fund to any person the 

14 fiduciary knows or should know to be a party 

15 in interest or the use of such assets by any such 

16 person. 

17 (B) An acquisition of any property from or 

18 sale of any property to the American Savings 

19 Account Fund by any person the fiduciary 

20 knows or should know to be a party in interest. 

21 (C) A transfer or exchange of services be22 tween the American Savings Account Fund and 

23 any person the fiduciary knows or should know 

24 to be a party in interest. 


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1 (2) SPECIAL RULES.—Notwithstanding para2 graph (1), a fiduciary with respect to the American 

3 Savings Account Fund shall not— 

4 (A) deal with any assets of the American 

5 Savings Account Fund in the fiduciary’s own 

6 interest or for the fiduciary’s own account; 

7 (B) act, in an individual capacity or any 

8 other capacity, in any transaction involving the 

9 American Savings Account Fund on behalf of a 

10 party, or representing a party, whose interests 

11 are adverse to the interests of the American 

12 Savings Account Fund or the interests of its 

13 participants or beneficiaries; or 

14 (C) receive any consideration for the fidu15 ciary’s own personal account from any party 

16 dealing with sums credited to the American 

17 Savings Account Fund in connection with a 

18 transaction involving assets of the American 

19 Savings Account Fund. 

20 (3) GRANTING OF EXEMPTIONS.— 

21 (A) The Secretary may, in accordance with 

22 procedures which the Secretary shall by regula23 tion prescribe, grant a conditional or uncondi24 tional exemption of any fiduciary or trans25 action, or class of fiduciaries or transactions, 


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1 from all or part of the restrictions imposed by 

2 paragraph (2). 

3 (B) An exemption granted under this para4 graph shall not relieve a fiduciary from any 

5 other applicable provision of this title. 

6 (C) The Secretary may not grant an ex7 emption under this paragraph unless the Sec8 retary finds that such exemption is— 

9 (i) administratively feasible; 

10 (ii) in the interests of the American 

11 Savings Account Fund and of its partici12 pants and beneficiaries; and 

13 (iii) protective of the rights of partici14 pants and beneficiaries of such Fund. 

15 (D) An exemption under this paragraph 

16 may not be granted unless— 

17 (i) notice of the proposed exemption is 

18 published in the Federal Register; 

19 (ii) interested persons are given an 

20 opportunity to present views; and 

21 (iii) the Secretary affords an oppor22 tunity for a hearing and makes a deter23 mination on the record with respect to the 

24 respective requirements of clauses (i), (ii), 

25 and (iii) of subparagraph (C). 


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1 (E) Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), 

2 the Secretary may determine that an exemption 

3 granted for any class of fiduciaries or trans4 actions under section 408(a) of the Employee 

5 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 shall, 

6 upon publication of notice in the Federal Reg7 ister under this subparagraph, constitute an ex8 emption for purposes of the provisions of para9 graph (2). 

10 (d) ALLOWANCES.—This section does not prohibit 

11 any fiduciary from— 

12 (1) receiving any benefit which the fiduciary is 

13 entitled to receive under this title as a participant or 

14 beneficiary; 

15 (2) receiving any reasonable compensation au16 thorized by this title for services rendered, or for re17 imbursement of expenses properly and actually in18 curred, in the performance of the fiduciary’s duties 

19 under this title; or 

20 (3) serving as a fiduciary in addition to being 

21 an officer, employee, agent, or other representative 

22 of a party in interest. 

23 (e) LIABILITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (A) Any fiduciary that breaches the re2 sponsibilities, duties, and obligations set out in 

3 subsection (b) or violates subsection (c) shall be 

4 personally liable to the American Savings Ac5 count Fund for any losses to such Fund result6 ing from each such breach or violation and to 

7 restore to such Fund any profits made by the 

8 fiduciary through use of assets of such Fund by 

9 the fiduciary, and shall be subject to such other 

10 equitable or remedial relief as a court considers 

11 appropriate, except as provided in paragraphs 

12 (3) and (4). A fiduciary may be removed for a 

13 breach referred to in the preceding sentence. 

14 (B) The Secretary may assess a civil pen15 alty against a party in interest with respect to 

16 each transaction which is engaged in by the 

17 party in interest and is prohibited by subsection 

18 (c). The amount of such penalty shall be equal 

19 to 5 percent of the amount involved in each 

20 such transaction (as defined in section 

21 4975(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986) for each year or part thereof during 

23 which the prohibited transaction continues, ex24 cept that, if the transaction is not corrected (in 

25 such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by 


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1 regulation consistent with section 4975(f)(5) of 

2 such Code) within 90 days after the date the 

3 Secretary transmits notice to the party in inter4 est (or such longer period as the Secretary may 

5 permit), such penalty may be in an amount not 

6 more than 100 percent of the amount involved. 

7 (C)(i) A fiduciary shall not be liable under 

8 subparagraph (A) with respect to a breach of fi9 duciary duty under subsection (b) committed 

10 before becoming a fiduciary or after ceasing to 

11 be a fiduciary. 

12 (ii) A fiduciary shall not be liable 

13 under subparagraph (A), and no civil ac14 tion may be brought against a fiduciary— 

15 (I) for providing for the auto16 matic enrollment of a participant in 

17 accordance with this title; or 

18 (II) for enrolling a participant or 

19 beneficiary in a default investment 

20 fund or option in accordance with this 

21 title. 

22 (D) A fiduciary shall be jointly and sever23 ally liable under subparagraph (A) for a breach 

24 of fiduciary duty under subsection (b) by an25 other fiduciary only if— 


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1 (i) the fiduciary participates know2 ingly in, or knowingly undertakes to con3 ceal, an act or omission of such other fidu4 ciary, knowing such act or omission is such 

5 a breach; 

6 (ii) by the fiduciary’s failure to com7 ply with subsection (b) in the administra8 tion of the fiduciary’s specific responsibil9 ities which give rise to the fiduciary status, 

10 the fiduciary has enabled such other fidu11 ciary to commit such a breach; or 

12 (iii) the fiduciary has knowledge of a 

13 breach by such other fiduciary, unless the 

14 fiduciary makes reasonable efforts under 

15 the circumstances to remedy the breach. 

16 (E) The Secretary shall prescribe, in regu17 lations, procedures for allocating fiduciary re18 sponsibilities among fiduciaries, including in19 vestment managers. Any fiduciary who, pursu20 ant to such procedures, allocates to a person or 

21 persons any fiduciary responsibility shall not be 

22 liable for an act or omission of such person or 

23 persons unless— 

24 (i) such fiduciary violated subsection 

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1 spect to the implementation of the proce2 dures prescribed by the Secretary, or in 

3 continuing such allocation; or 

4 (ii) such fiduciary would otherwise be 

5 liable in accordance with subparagraph 

6 (D). 

7 (2) CIVIL ACTION ONLY AS PROVIDED.—No 

8 civil action may be maintained against any fiduciary 

9 with respect to the responsibilities, liabilities, and 

10 penalties authorized or provided for in this section 

11 except in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4). 

12 (3) RULES REGARDING CIVIL ACTIONS.—A civil 

13 action may be brought in the district courts of the 

14 United States— 

15 (A) by the Secretary against any fiduciary 

16 other than a Member of the Board or the Chair 

17 of the Board— 

18 (i) to determine and enforce a liability 

19 under paragraph (1)(A); 

20 (ii) to collect any civil penalty under 

21 paragraph (1)(B); 

22 (iii) to enjoin any act or practice 

23 which violates any provision of subsection 

24 (b) or (c); 


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1 (iv) to obtain any other appropriate 

2 equitable relief to redress a violation of any 

3 such provision; or 

4 (v) to enjoin any act or practice which 

5 violates section 101(e); 

6 (B) by any participant, beneficiary, or fi7 duciary against any fiduciary— 

8 (i) to enjoin any act or practice which 

9 violates any provision of subsection (b) or 

10 (c); 

11 (ii) to obtain any other appropriate 

12 equitable relief to redress a violation of any 

13 such provision; or 

14 (iii) to enjoin any act or practice 

15 which violates section 101(e); or 

16 (C) by any participant or beneficiary— 

17 (i) to recover benefits of such partici18 pant or beneficiary under the provisions of 

19 this title, to enforce any right of such par20 ticipant or beneficiary under such provi21 sions, or to clarify any such right to future 

22 benefits under such provisions; or 

23 (ii) to enforce any claim otherwise 

24 cognizable under sections 1346(b) and 

25 2671 through 2680 of title 28, United 


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1 States Code, provided that the remedy 

2 against the United States provided by sec3 tions 1346(b) and 2672 of title 28, United 

4 States Code, for damages for injury or loss 

5 of property caused by the negligent or 

6 wrongful act or omission of any fiduciary 

7 while acting within the scope of the fidu8 ciary’s duties or employment shall be ex9 clusive of any other civil action or pro10 ceeding by the participant or beneficiary 

11 for recovery of money by reason of the 

12 same subject matter against the fiduciary 

13 (or the estate of such fiduciary) whose act 

14 or omission gave rise to such action or pro15 ceeding, whether or not such action or pro16 ceeding is based on an alleged violation of 

17 subsection (b) or (c). 

18 (4) OTHER RULES.— 

19 (A) In all civil actions under paragraph 

20 (3)(A), attorneys appointed by the Secretary 

21 may represent the Secretary (except as provided 

22 in section 518(a) of title 28, United States 

23 Code), however all such litigation shall be sub24 ject to the direction and control of the Attorney 

25 General. 


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1 (B) The Attorney General shall defend any 

2 civil action or proceeding brought in any court 

3 against any fiduciary referred to in paragraph 

4 (3)(C)(ii) (or the estate of such fiduciary) for 

5 any such injury. Any fiduciary against whom 

6 such a civil action or proceeding is brought 

7 shall deliver, within such time after date of 

8 service or knowledge of service as determined 

9 by the Attorney General, all process served 

10 upon such fiduciary (or an attested copy there11 of) to the Chair of the Board, who shall 

12 promptly furnish copies of the pleading and 

13 process to the Attorney General and the United 

14 States Attorney for the district wherein the ac15 tion or proceeding is brought. 

16 (C) Upon certification by the Attorney 

17 General that a fiduciary described in paragraph 

18 (3)(C)(ii) was acting in the scope of such fidu19 ciary’s duties or employment as a fiduciary at 

20 the time of the occurrence or omission out of 

21 which the action arose, any such civil action or 

22 proceeding commenced in a State court shall 

23 be— 

24 (i) removed without bond at any time 

25 before trial by the Attorney General to the 


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1 district court of the United States for the 

2 district and division in which it is pending; 

3 and 

4 (ii) deemed a tort action brought 

5 against the United States under the provi6 sions of title 28, United States Code, and 

7 all references thereto. 

8 (D) The Attorney General may com9 promise or settle any claim asserted in such 

10 civil action or proceeding in the manner pro11 vided in section 2677 of title 28, United States 

12 Code, and with the same effect. To the extent 

13 section 2672 of title 28, United States Code, 

14 provides that persons other than the Attorney 

15 General or the Attorney General’s designee may 

16 compromise and settle claims, and that pay17 ment of such claims may be made from agency 

18 appropriations, such provisions shall not apply 

19 to claims based upon an alleged violation of 

20 subsection (b) or (c). 

21 (E) For the purposes of paragraph 

22 (3)(C)(ii) the provisions of sections 2680(h) of 

23 title 28, United States Code, shall not apply to 

24 any claim based upon an alleged violation of 

25 subsection (b) or (c). 


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1 (F) Notwithstanding sections 1346(b) and 

2 2671 through 2680 of title 28, United States 

3 Code, whenever an award, compromise, or set4 tlement is made under such sections upon any 

5 claim based upon an alleged violation of sub6 section (b) or (c), payment of such award, com7 promise, or settlement shall be made to the ap8 propriate account within the American Savings 

9 Account Fund, or where there is no such appro10 priate account, to the participant or beneficiary 

11 bringing the claim. 

12 (G) For purposes of paragraph (3)(C)(ii), 

13 the term ‘‘fiduciary’’ includes only the Members 

14 of the Board and the Board’s Chair. 

15 (5) PROHIBITION OF MONETARY RELIEF.—Any 

16 relief awarded against a Member of the Board or the 

17 Chair of the Board in a civil action authorized by 

18 paragraph (3) may not include any monetary dam19 ages or any other recovery of money. 

20 (6) LIMITATION.—An action may not be com21 menced under paragraph (3)(A) or (B) with respect 

22 to a fiduciary’s breach of any responsibility, duty, or 

23 obligation under subsection (b) or a violation of sub24 section (c) after the earlier of— 

25 (A) 6 years after— 


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1 (i) the date of the last action which 

2 constituted a part of the breach or viola3 tion; or 

4 (ii) in the case of an omission, the lat5 est date on which the fiduciary could have 

6 cured the breach or violation; or 

7 (B) 3 years after the earliest date on 

8 which the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the 

9 breach or violation, except that, in the case of 

10 fraud or concealment, such action may be com11 menced not later than 6 years after the date of 

12 discovery of such breach or violation. 

13 (7) JURISDICTION.— 

14 (A) The district courts of the United 

15 States shall have exclusive jurisdiction of civil 

16 actions under this subsection. 

17 (B) An action under this subsection may 

18 be brought in the District Court of the United 

19 States for the District of Columbia or a district 

20 court of the United States in the district where 

21 the breach alleged in the complaint or petition 

22 filed in the action took place or in the district 

23 where a defendant resides or may be found. 

24 Process may be served in any other district 

25 where a defendant resides or may be found. 


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1 (8) SERVICE.— 

2 (A) A copy of the complaint or petition 

3 filed in any action brought under this sub4 section (other than by the Secretary) shall be 

5 served on the Chair, the Secretary, and the Sec6 retary of the Treasury by certified mail. 

7 (B) Any officer referred to in subpara8 graph (A) shall have the right in the officer’s 

9 discretion to intervene in any action. If the Sec10 retary brings an action under paragraph (2) on 

11 behalf of a participant or beneficiary, the Sec12 retary shall notify the Chair and the Secretary 

13 of the Treasury. 

14 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may prescribe 

15 regulations to carry out this section. 

16 (g) AUDITS BY SECRETARY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

18 establish a program to carry out audits to determine 

19 the level of compliance with the requirements of this 

20 section relating to fiduciary responsibilities and pro21 hibited activities of fiduciaries. 

22 (2) CONTRACTS, ETC.—An audit under this 

23 subsection may be conducted by the Secretary, by 

24 contract with a qualified nongovernmental organiza25 tion, or in cooperation with the Comptroller General 


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1 of the United States, as the Secretary considers ap2 propriate. 

3 SEC. 104. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND ADVISORY 

4 COUNCIL. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish an 

6 American Savings Account Fund Advisory Council, to be 

7 composed of 14 members appointed by the Chair of the 

8 Board. The Chair of the Board shall designate 1 member 

9 of the Council to serve as head of the Council. 

10 (b) TERMS AND VACANCIES.— 

11 (1) TERM.—A member of the Council shall be 

12 appointed for a term of 4 years. 

13 (2) VACANCIES.— 

14 (A) A vacancy in the Council shall be filled 

15 in the manner in which the original appoint16 ment was made and shall be subject to any con17 ditions which applied with respect to the origi18 nal appointment. 

19 (B) An individual chosen to fill a vacancy 

20 shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the 

21 member replaced. 

22 (C) The term of any member shall not ex23 pire before the date on which the member’s suc24 cessor takes office. 


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1 (c) ACTION BY MAJORITY RESOLUTION.—The Coun2 cil shall act by resolution of a majority of the members. 

3 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Council shall— 

4 (1) advise the Board and the Chair of the 

5 Board on matters relating to— 

6 (A) investment policies for the American 

7 Savings Account Fund; and 

8 (B) the administration of this title; and 

9 (2) perform such other duties as the Board may 

10 direct with respect to investment funds established 

11 in accordance with this title. 

12 TITLE II—AMERICAN SAVINGS 

13 ACCOUNT FUND 

14 SEC. 201. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas16 ury of the United States an American Savings Account 

17 Fund. 

18 (b) AMOUNTS IN FUND.—The American Savings Ac19 count Fund consists of the sum of all amounts contributed 

20 under section 302, increased by the total net earnings 

21 from investments of sums in the American Savings Ac22 count Fund or reduced by the total net losses from invest23 ments of the American Savings Account Fund, and re24 duced by the total amount of payments made from the 


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1 American Savings Account Fund (including payments for 

2 administrative expenses). 

3 (c) APPROPRIATIONS FROM FUND.—The sums in the 

4 American Savings Account Fund are appropriated and 

5 shall remain available without fiscal year limitation— 

6 (1) to invest as provided in section 102(b)(1); 

7 (2) to pay benefits or purchase annuity con8 tracts under section 301(b); 

9 (3) to pay the administrative expenses of the 

10 Board relating to the responsibilities under section 

11 102; and 

12 (4) at the discretion of the Chair of the Board, 

13 to purchase insurance to cover potential liability of 

14 persons who serve in a fiduciary capacity with re15 spect to the American Savings Account Fund, in a 

16 manner consistent with rules similar to the provi17 sions of section 8479 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (d) BENEFITS INALIENABLE AND NONFORFEIT19 ABLE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (3) 

21 and (4) of subsection (c) and paragraphs (3) and (4) 

22 of this subsection, sums in the American Savings 

23 Account Fund credited to the American Savings Ac24 count of a participant may not be used for, or di25 verted to, purposes other than for the exclusive benVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1083.IH H1083

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1 efit of the participant or the participant’s bene2 ficiaries. 

3 (2) PROTECTION FROM ALIENATION.—Except 

4 as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), sums in the 

5 American Savings Account Fund may not be as6 signed or alienated and are not subject to execution, 

7 levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal proc8 ess. 

9 (3) CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS.—Moneys due or 

10 payable from the American Savings Account Fund 

11 to any individual shall be subject to legal process for 

12 the enforcement of the individual’s legal obligations 

13 to provide child support or make alimony payments 

14 as provided in section 459 of the Social Security 

15 Act, the enforcement of an order for restitution 

16 under section 3663A of title 18, United States Code, 

17 or an obligation of the Chair of the Board to make 

18 a payment to another person under paragraph (4), 

19 and shall be subject to a Federal tax levy under sec20 tion 6331 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 (4) COURT ORDERS.—Rules similar to the rules 

22 of section 8467 of title 5, United States Code, shall 

23 apply with respect to payments which would other24 wise be made to a participant under section 301(b). 


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1 (e) LIMITATION ON FURTHER APPROPRIATION.— 

2 The sums in the American Savings Account Fund shall 

3 not be appropriated for any purpose other than the pur4 poses specified in this section and may not be used for 

5 any other purpose. 

6 (f) AMOUNTS HELD IN TRUST.—All sums contrib7 uted to the American Savings Account Fund by a partici8 pant or by an employer for the benefit of such participant 

9 and all net earnings in such Fund attributable to invest10 ment of such sums are held in such Fund in trust for 

11 such participant. 

12 SEC. 202. TAX TREATMENT OF THE AMERICAN SAVINGS AC13 COUNT FUND. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal Rev15 enue Code of 1986— 

16 (1) the American Savings Account Fund shall 

17 be treated as a trust described in section 401(a) of 

18 such Code which is exempt from taxation under sec19 tion 501(a) of such Code; 

20 (2) any contribution to, or distribution from, 

21 the American Savings Account Fund shall be treated 

22 in the same manner as contributions to or distribu23 tions from such a trust; 

24 (3) contributions to the American Savings Ac25 count Fund shall not be treated as distributed or 


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1 made available to a participant nor as a contribution 

2 made to the Fund by an individual merely because 

3 the individual has, under section 302(b)(1)(C), made 

4 an election whether the contribution will be made to 

5 the American Savings Account Fund or received by 

6 the individual in cash; and 

7 (4) the rules of section 414(w) of such Code 

8 shall apply with respect to American Savings Ac9 counts, except that paragraph (2)(B) thereof shall 

10 be applied by substituting ‘‘the due date for the re11 turn of tax for the taxable year in which the first 

12 elective contribution is made with respect to the em13 ployee under the arrangement’’ for ‘‘the date which 

14 is 90 days after the date of the first elective con15 tribution with respect to the employee under the ar16 rangement’’. 

17 (b) COORDINATION WITH SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.— 

18 Subsection (a) shall not be construed to provide that any 

19 amount of the employee’s compensation which is contrib20 uted to the American Savings Account Fund shall not be 

21 included in the term ‘‘wages’’ for the purposes of section 

22 209 of the Social Security Act or section 3121(a) of the 

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 


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1 TITLE III—AMERICAN SAVINGS 

2 ACCOUNTS 

3 SEC. 301. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, the 

5 term ‘‘American Savings Account’’ means— 

6 (1) an individual retirement account (as defined 

7 in section 408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986); and 

9 (2) in the case of an individual making the elec10 tion under subsection (b)(2), a Roth IRA (as defined 

11 in section 408A(b) of such Code), 

12 established and maintained by the Board, as trustee of 

13 such account. 

14 (b) SPECIAL RULES.— 

15 (1) ELIGIBILITY.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—All qualified employees 

17 shall be eligible to participate in an American 

18 Savings Account. 

19 (B) QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE.—For purposes 

20 of this subtitle— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified 

22 employee’’ means an employee (other than 

23 an employee described in section 

24 410(b)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code 

25 of 1986) of an American employer if the 


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1 employer does not provide the opportunity 

2 for the employee to participate in a defined 

3 contribution plan (within the meaning of 

4 section 414(i) of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986) maintained by the employer 

6 that satisfies the requirements of section 

7 401(a) or 403(b) of the Internal Revenue 

8 Code of 1986. 

9 (ii) EXCEPTION FOR EMPLOYEES COV10 ERED BY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE11 MENTS.—Such term shall not include any 

12 employee who is included in a group of em13 ployees covered by a collective bargaining 

14 agreement described in section 

15 410(b)(3)(A) of such Code. 

16 (iii) AMERICAN EMPLOYER.—The 

17 term ‘‘American employer’’ has the mean18 ing given such term by section 3121(h) of 

19 such Code. 

20 (2) ELECTION TO CONVERT TO ROTH IRA.— 

21 Subject to the rules of section 408A(d)(3) of the In22 ternal Revenue Code of 1986, an individual may 

23 elect at any time to convert all or a portion of the 

24 individual retirement account established for the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1083.IH H1083

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1 dividual under section 102(c)(1)(A) to a Roth IRA 

2 (as defined in section 408A(b) of such Code). 

3 (3) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 

5 302(b)(1), an individual may contribute to the 

6 American Savings Account Fund in any year, 

7 pursuant to an election under section 

8 102(b)(2), an amount not to exceed the limita9 tion described in subparagraph (C). Contribu10 tions pursuant to such an election shall, with 

11 respect to each pay period for which such elec12 tion remains in effect, be made in accordance 

13 with a program of regular contributions as pre14 scribed by the Chair. 

15 (B) ELIGIBLE ROLLOVER DISTRIBU16 TIONS.—An individual may contribute to the 

17 American Savings Account Fund an eligible 

18 rollover that an individual retirement account 

19 or Roth IRA could accept under section 408 or 

20 408A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

21 whichever is applicable (after the application of 

22 subparagraph (C)). In the case of an eligible 

23 rollover distribution (as defined in section 

24 402(c)(4) of such Code), the maximum amount 

25 transferred to the American Savings Account 


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1 Fund shall not exceed the amount which would 

2 otherwise have been included in the individual’s 

3 gross income for Federal income tax purposes. 

4 (C) MODIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTION LIM5 ITATION.—In lieu of the contribution limita6 tions for individual retirement accounts or Roth 

7 IRAs, whichever is applicable, under part I of 

8 subchapter D of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986, the annual contribution lim10 itation applicable to an American Savings Ac11 count shall be equal to the limitation applicable 

12 under section 415(c) of the Internal Revenue 

13 Code of 1986 to contributions to a defined con14 tribution plan. 

15 (4) ANNUITIES, ETC.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall pre17 scribe methods of payment of annuities similar 

18 to the methods available under section 

19 8434(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code. 

20 (B) RULES APPLICABLE.—Rules similar to 

21 the rules of subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of 

22 section 8434 of title 5, United States Code, 

23 shall apply for purposes of this paragraph. 

24 (5) PROTECTIONS FOR SPOUSES AND FORMER

25 SPOUSES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (A), rules similar to the rules of 

3 sections 8433(e) and 8435 of title 5, United 

4 States Code, shall apply for purposes of this 

5 subsection. 

6 (B) ADDITIONAL PROTECTION FOR SUR7 VIVING SPOUSES.—A surviving spouse shall be 

8 the first party entitled to receive benefits (be9 fore any designated beneficiary other than the 

10 surviving spouse) unless the surviving spouse 

11 consents in writing to the application of the 

12 order of precedence in effect but for this sub13 paragraph. 

14 SEC. 302. EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 

16 (a) and (b) of section 303, each United States employer 

17 shall make contributions meeting the requirements of sub18 section (b) on behalf of such qualified employee to the 

19 American Savings Account Fund, beginning with the later 

20 of— 

21 (1) the first pay period for which the employee 

22 receives compensation from the employer; or 

23 (2) the first pay period beginning on or after 

24 the contribution beginning date. 


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1 (b) CONTRIBUTIONS.—The requirements of this sub2 section are met for a taxable year with respect to contribu3 tions to the American Savings Account Fund on behalf 

4 of a qualified employee if— 

5 (1) CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT.—With respect to 

6 any pay period beginning in such taxable year— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

8 subparagraphs (B) and (C), such contributions 

9 are equal to 3 percent of the compensation of 

10 the employee for such period. 

11 (B) COORDINATION WITH LIMITATIONS.— 

12 The total contributions to the Fund on behalf 

13 of the employee for pay periods in any taxable 

14 year do not exceed the contribution limitation 

15 described in section 301(b)(3)(C). 

16 (C) ELECTION.—After the first pay period 

17 with respect to which a contribution is made 

18 with respect to a qualified employee under sub19 section (a), the qualified employee may elect— 

20 (i) to change the percentage of com21 pensation which is contributed to the Fund 

22 on behalf of such employee, except that 

23 such percentage may not be less than 2 

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1 tributions during the taxable year to ex2 ceed the limitation under subparagraph 

3 (B); or 

4 (ii) to discontinue contributions to the 

5 Fund and withdraw all contributions pre6 viously made through a salary reduction 

7 arrangement in the same calendar year 

8 other than nonelective contributions made 

9 by the employer on behalf of the employee. 

10 In the event a qualified employee elects to with11 draw all contributions previously made to the 

12 Fund under the preceding sentence, the amount 

13 of any nonelective contributions made by the 

14 employer on behalf of the employee shall be 

15 withdrawn and paid to the employer. 

16 (D) CONTRIBUTIONS MAY BE MADE

17 THROUGH SALARY REDUCTION ARRANGE18 MENT.—Contributions by an employer shall not 

19 fail to meet the requirements of this subsection 

20 solely because the employee may elect to have 

21 the employer make payments— 

22 (i) to the American Savings Account 

23 of the employee; or 

24 (ii) to the employee directly in cash. 


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1 The preceding sentence shall apply only if the 

2 contributions on behalf of all qualified employ3 ees of the employer for a pay period are in a 

4 uniform dollar amount or a uniform percentage 

5 of compensation. 

6 (E) MANDATORY PERCENTAGE INCREASE

7 OFFER.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a qualified em9 ployee elects under subparagraph (C) a 

10 contribution percentage that is less than 5 

11 percent, then 12 months after such elec12 tion is made and every 12 months there13 after the Board shall notify the employee 

14 in writing that such contribution percent15 age will be increased by 0.5 percent unless 

16 the employee objects within 30 days of re17 ceipt of such notice. If the employee does 

18 not so object, upon notification by the 

19 Board, the employer shall increase the per20 centage of the employee’s compensation 

21 which is contributed to the Fund on behalf 

22 of the employee by 0.5 percent. 

23 (ii) APPLICABILITY.— 

24 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

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1 age of compensation contributed to 

2 the Fund on behalf of the employee is 

3 greater than or equal to 5 percent. 

4 (II) COORDINATION WITH LIMI5 TATIONS.—Clause (i) shall not apply 

6 during a taxable year if, as so in7 creased, the percentage of compensa8 tion contributed to the Fund on be9 half of the employee would exceed the 

10 percentage described in subparagraph 

11 (C)(i). 

12 (2) FREQUENCY AND TIMING OF CONTRIBU13 TIONS.—Contributions under subsection (a) are 

14 made not less frequently than monthly during such 

15 year, and each such contribution is made not later 

16 than 30 days after the close of the pay period to 

17 which it relates. 

18 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

19 an employer that is a church or convention or association 

20 of churches which is exempt from tax under section 501(a) 

21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. If such an employer 

22 elects to make contributions to the American Savings Ac23 count Fund on behalf of qualified employees of the em24 ployer, such contributions must meet the requirements of 

25 paragraph (1). 


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1 (d) SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS.—An indi2 vidual— 

3 (1) who has net earnings from self-employment 

4 (as defined in section 1402(a) of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986); 

6 (2) who is not a qualified employee with respect 

7 to any employer; and 

8 (3) who is not eligible to participate in a de9 fined contribution plan (within the meaning of sec10 tion 414(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) 

11 maintained by any employer; 

12 may elect to make contributions on the individual’s own 

13 behalf to the American Savings Account Fund. Such con14 tributions shall be made under rules similar to the rules 

15 of section 301(b)(3). 

16 (e) CONTRIBUTION BEGINNING DATE.—For pur17 poses of this section, the term ‘‘contribution beginning 

18 date’’ means January 1 of the third calendar year begin19 ning after the date of the enactment of the American Sav20 ings Account Act of 2017. 

21 SEC. 303. STATE RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLANS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a State— 

23 (1) maintains a public retirement savings plan 

24 that allows all covered employers in the State to enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1083.IH H1083

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1 roll all employees of the employer automatically in 

2 such plan; or 

3 (2) allows all covered employers in the State to 

4 make contributions to an individual retirement plan 

5 (as defined in section 7701(a)(37) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986) on behalf of the employees 

7 of the employer, 

8 such State may prohibit employers in the State from mak9 ing contributions to the American Savings Account Fund 

10 on behalf of their employees, and section 302 shall not 

11 apply to covered employers to which such prohibition ap12 plies. 

13 (b) EXEMPTION.—For purposes of this Act, the term 

14 ‘‘employee pension benefit plan’’ shall not include a payroll 

15 deduction program established by a State for the purpose 

16 of making contributions to one or more individual retire17 ment plans (as defined in section 7701(a)(37) of the Inter18 nal Revenue Code of 1986), including such a program 

19 which provides for automatic enrollment. 

20 (c) WAIVER OF PENALTY.—The penalty under sec21 tion 6672(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall 

22 not apply to a failure to make a contribution on behalf 

23 of a qualified employee if the employer makes contribu24 tions to a State plan described in subsection (a) or (b) 

25 on behalf of such employee that satisfy the applicable reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1083.IH H1083

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1 quirements of such State plan. The employer shall certify 

2 to the Secretary of the Treasury, in such manner as shall 

3 be determined by such Secretary, that such contributions 

4 have been made. 

5 (d) COVERED EMPLOYER.—For purposes of this sec6 tion, the term ‘‘covered employer’’ means an employer— 

7 (1) that does not provide the opportunity for 

8 employees to participate in a defined contribution 

9 plan (within the meaning of section 414(i) of the In10 ternal Revenue Code of 1986) maintained by the 

11 employer; and 

12 (2) whose employees are not covered by a collec13 tive bargaining agreement described in section 

14 410(b)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

15 SEC. 304. DEFINITIONS. 

16 Any term used in this title which is also used in sec17 tion 408(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 has the 

18 same meaning as when used in such section. 

19 TITLE IV—CONFORMING 

20 AMENDMENTS 

21 SEC. 401. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. 

22 (a) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7701 of the 

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesig24 nating subsection (p) as subsection (q) and by inserting 

25 after subsection (o) the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(p) TAX TREATMENT OF AMERICAN SAVINGS AC2 COUNT FUND.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title— 

4 ‘‘(A) the American Savings Account Fund 

5 shall be treated as a trust described in section 

6 401(a) which is exempt from taxation under 

7 section 501(a); 

8 ‘‘(B) any contribution to, or distribution 

9 from, the American Savings Account Fund shall 

10 be treated in the same manner as contributions 

11 to or distributions from such a trust; 

12 ‘‘(C) contributions to the American Sav13 ings Account Fund shall not be treated as dis14 tributed or made available to a participant nor 

15 as a contribution made to the Fund by an indi16 vidual merely because the individual has, under 

17 section 302(b)(1)(C) of the American Savings 

18 Account Act of 2017, made an election whether 

19 the contribution will be made to the American 

20 Savings Account Fund or received by the indi21 vidual in cash; and 

22 ‘‘(D) the rules of section 414(w) shall 

23 apply with respect to American Savings Ac24 counts, except that paragraph (2)(B) thereof 

25 shall be applied by substituting ‘the due date 


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1 for the return of tax for the taxable year in 

2 which the first elective contribution is made 

3 with respect to the employee under the arrange4 ment’ for ‘the date which is 90 days after the 

5 date of the first elective contribution with re6 spect to the employee under the arrangement’. 

7 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH SOCIAL SECURITY

8 ACT.—Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to pro9 vide that any amount of the employee’s compensa10 tion which is contributed to the American Savings 

11 Account Fund shall not be included in the term 

12 ‘wages’ for the purposes of section 209 of the Social 

13 Security Act or section 3121(a) of this title. 

14 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub15 section, the terms ‘employee’ and ‘American Savings 

16 Account Fund’ shall have the same respective mean17 ings as when used in the American Savings Account 

18 Act of 2017. 

19 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS

20 OF LAW.—No provision of law not contained in this 

21 title shall apply for purposes of determining the 

22 treatment under this title of the American Savings 

23 Account Fund or any contribution to, or distribution 

24 from, such Fund.’’. 


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•HR 1083 IH

1 (b) TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN

2 SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of 

4 chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

5 amended by inserting after section 139E the fol6 lowing new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 139F. AMOUNTS CONTRIBUTED TO AMERICAN SAV8 INGS ACCOUNTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Gross income does not include 

10 so much of the contributions made to the American Sav11 ings Account Fund on behalf of an individual for pay peri12 ods in the taxable year as does not exceed the limitation 

13 applicable under section 415(c) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986 to contributions to a defined contribution 

15 plan. 

16 ‘‘(b) AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND.—For pur17 poses of this section, the term ‘American Savings Account 

18 Fund’ means the Fund established under section 201 of 

19 the American Savings Account Act of 2017.’’. 

20 (2) DENIAL OF DEDUCTION.—Subsection (b) of 

21 section 219 of such Code is amended by adding at 

22 the end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR AMERICAN SAVINGS

24 ACCOUNTS.—This section shall not apply with re25 spect to any amount contributed to an individual reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1083.IH H1083

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•HR 1083 IH

1 tirement account (as defined in section 408(a)) or a 

2 Roth IRA (as defined in section 408A(b)) which is 

3 an American Savings Account (as defined in section 

4 301 of the American Savings Account Act of 

5 2017).’’. 

6 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of 

8 such Code is amended by inserting after the item re9 lating to section 139E the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 139F. Amounts contributed to American Savings Accounts.’’. 

10 (c) TREATMENT OF DISTRIBUTIONS AS SEPARATE

11 FROM OTHER IRAS AND ROTH IRAS.—Subparagraph 

12 (A) of section 408(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

13 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘plans’’ and inserting ‘‘plans 

14 (other than American Savings Accounts, within the mean15 ing of section 301 of the American Savings Account Act 

16 of 2017)’’. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

18 (1) PROGRAM.—The Chair of the American 

19 Savings Account Board of Directors shall establish 

20 the American Savings Account program such that 

21 the American Savings Account Fund is prepared to 

22 begin receiving contributions on January 1 of the 

23 third calendar year beginning after the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act. 


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•HR 1083 IH

1 (2) TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—Except 

2 as provided in paragraph (1), the amendments made 

3 by this section shall apply to contributions made to 

4 the American Savings Account Fund, as established 

5 by the amendments made by subsection (a), after 

6 December 31 of the second calendar year beginning 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 402. PENALTY FOR EMPLOYER NONCOMPLIANCE. 

9 Section 6672 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYER NONCOMPLIANCE WITH REQUIRE13 MENTS OF AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT ACT.—Except 

14 as provided in section 303(c) of the American Savings Ac15 count Act of 2017, any employer that fails to make any 

16 contribution required by section 302 of such Act shall be 

17 treated for purposes of subsection (a) as if the employer 

18 had willfully failed to collect a tax in the amount of such 

19 required contribution.’’. 

20 SEC. 403. OUTREACH. 

21 The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall provide 

22 to any person filing Form 1099 information on contrib23 uting to the American Savings Account Fund. 


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1 SEC. 404. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS. 

2 The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate rules allow3 ing employers to— 

4 (1) request explicit authorization from inde5 pendent contractors with such employers to con6 tribute on behalf of such independent contractors to 

7 the American Savings Account Fund; and 

8 (2) automatically withhold and transmit a set 

9 amount or percentage of compensation paid to such 

10 independent contractors to such Fund. 

Æ 


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