I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5450 

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 

JUNE 10, 2016 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself and Ms. BONAMICI) 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 2016’’. 

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. 

TITLE I—ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 101. American Savings Account Board of Directors. 


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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. 

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

16 9 members appointed by the President in consultation 


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1 with the Secretary of Labor and with the advice and con2 sent of the Senate, to include— 

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

4 Secretary; 

5 (2) 1 representative of employers; 

6 (3) 1 representative of the private retirement 

7 savings investment industry; 

8 (4) 1 representative of employees; 

9 (5) 1 representative of retirees; and 

10 (6) the Executive Director and 3 additional 

11 members of the Federal Retirement Thrift Invest12 ment Board established under section 8472(a) of 

13 title 5, United States Code. 

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

15 of the Board as the Chair. 

16 (d) TERMS AND VACANCIES.— 

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

18 appointed for a term of 4 years and, after the expi19 ration of such term, may be reappointed immediately 

20 to a subsequent term. 

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

22 be filled in the manner in which the original appoint23 ment was made and shall be subject to any condi24 tions which applied with respect to the original ap25 pointment. An individual chosen to fill a vacancy 


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1 shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the 

2 member replaced. 

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

4 shall not expire before the date on which the mem5 ber’s successor takes office. 

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

7 shall discharge their responsibilities solely in the interest 

8 of participants and beneficiaries under this title. 

9 (f) COMPENSATION.— 

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

11 who is not an officer or employee of the Federal 

12 Government shall be compensated at the daily rate 

13 of basic pay for grade GS–18 of the General Sched14 ule under subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, 

15 United States Code, for each day during which such 

16 member is engaged in performing a function of the 

17 Board. 

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

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

20 expenses while traveling away from such member’s 

21 home or regular place of business in the perform22 ance of the duties of the Board. 

23 (3) PAYMENTS.—Payments authorized under 

24 this subsection shall be paid from the American Sav25 ings Account Fund. 


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1 SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES OF AMERICAN SAVINGS AC2 COUNT BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INVESTMENT FUNDS AND

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

5 investment funds and options similar to those described 

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

7 Code, among which an individual participating in an 

8 American Savings Account established under section 

9 103(a) may elect under subsection (b)(2). 

10 (b) INVESTMENT OF SUMS.— 

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

12 shall invest the sums available in the American Sav13 ings Account Fund for investment as provided in 

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

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

16 American Savings Account Fund available for in17 vestment, the Chair shall invest such sums in a port18 folio similar to the age-appropriate target date asset 

19 allocation portfolio established by the Federal Re20 tirement Thrift Investment Board under section 

21 8438(b) of title 5, United States Code, in the same 

22 manner as sums in the Thrift Savings Fund estab23 lished under section 8437 of title 5, United States 

24 Code, are invested under such section. 

25 (2) ELECTION.— 


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

2 year, an individual participating in an American 

3 Savings Account established under subsection 

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

5 and options referred to in subsection (a) into 

6 which the sums in the American Savings Ac7 count Fund credited to such individual’s Amer8 ican Savings Account are to be invested or rein9 vested in the same manner as sums in the 

10 Thrift Savings Fund are invested under section 

11 8438 of title 5, United States Code. 

12 (B) FORM AND MANNER OF ELECTION.— 

13 An election may be made under subparagraph 

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

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

16 (c) ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION.— 

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

18 shall establish and maintain— 

19 (A) an American Savings Account de20 scribed in paragraph (1) of section 301(a); or 

21 (B) at the election of the individual pursu22 ant to section 301(b)(2), an American Savings 

23 Account described in paragraph (2) of section 

24 301(a); 


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1 for each individual who makes contributions under 

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

3 made under section 302, to the American Savings 

4 Account Fund. 

5 (2) BALANCE; ALLOCATION OF EARNINGS AND

6 LOSSES, ETC.—Rules similar to the rules of para7 graphs (2) and (3) of section 8439(a) of title 5, 

8 United States Code, shall apply for purposes of an 

9 individual’s American Savings Account established 

10 under paragraph (1). 

11 (3) EXAMINATION BY QUALIFIED PUBLIC AC12 COUNTANT; REPORTING, ETC.—Rules similar to the 

13 requirements of subsections (b), (c), and (d) of sec14 tion 8439 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply 

15 with respect to individuals for whom an American 

16 Savings Account is maintained under this subsection 

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

18 such individual were an employee described in such 

19 subsection). 

20 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

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

23 an annual report on the operations of the American 

24 Savings Account Fund. Such report shall include, 

25 for the prior calendar year, information on the numVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jun 14, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5450.IH H5450

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1 ber of participants as of the last day of such prior 

2 calendar year, the median balance in participants’ 

3 accounts as of such last day, demographic informa4 tion on participants, the percentage allocation of 

5 amounts among investment funds or options, the 

6 status of the development and implementation of the 

7 mutual fund window, the diversity demographics of 

8 any company, investment adviser, or other entity re9 tained to invest and manage the assets of the Amer10 ican Savings Account Fund, and such other informa11 tion as the Board considers appropriate. A copy of 

12 each annual report under this subsection shall be 

13 made available to the public through an Internet 

14 website. 

15 (2) REPORTING OF FEES AND OTHER INFORMA16 TION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall pro18 vide to each individual for whom an account is 

19 maintained— 

20 (i) a periodic statement relating to the 

21 individual’s account; 

22 (ii) a summary description of the in23 vestment funds and options under sub24 section (a) covering, and an evaluation of, 

25 each such option during the 5-year period 


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1 preceding the date as of which such eval2 uation is made; 

3 (iii) a statement of the amount of the 

4 investment management fees, administra5 tive expenses, and any other fees or ex6 penses paid with respect to each such in7 vestment fund and option; and 

8 (iv) a statement notifying participants 

9 as to how they may access the annual re10 port described in paragraph (1), as well as 

11 any other information concerning Amer12 ican Savings Accounts that might be use13 ful. 

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

15 exceed the fees charged to a similarly situated 

16 individual who contributes to the Thrift Savings 

17 Fund established under section 8437 of title 5, 

18 United States Code, the information required 

19 under the preceding sentence shall include a 

20 statement identifying the reason for such ex21 cess. 

22 (B) TIME WHEN SENT.—Information 

23 under subparagraph (A) with respect to each 

24 participant shall be provided immediately upon 

25 payment of the participant’s first contribution 


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1 to the American Savings Account Fund and on 

2 a regular basis thereafter, in a manner designed 

3 to facilitate informed decisionmaking with re4 spect to elections under subsection (b)(2). 

5 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be consid6 ered to limit the dissemination of information 

7 only to the times required under the preceding 

8 sentence. 

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

10 providing the information required under this 

11 paragraph, the Board may provide a reasonable 

12 and representative estimate of any fees or ex13 penses described in subparagraph (A) and shall 

14 indicate any such estimate as being such an es15 timate. Any such estimate shall be based on the 

16 previous year’s experience. 

17 SEC. 103. FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES; LIABILITY AND 

18 PENALTIES. 

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

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

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

22 there is a generally recognized market— 

23 (i) the price of the security prevailing 

24 on a national securities exchange which is 


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1 registered under section 6 of the Securities 

2 Exchange Act of 1934; or 

3 (ii) if the security is not traded on 

4 such a national securities exchange, a price 

5 not less favorable to the American Savings 

6 Account Fund than the offering price for 

7 the security as established by the current 

8 bid and asked prices quoted by persons 

9 independent of the issuer and of any party 

10 in interest; and 

11 (B) in the case of an asset other than a se12 curity for which there is a generally recognized 

13 market, the fair market value of the asset as 

14 determined in good faith by a fiduciary or fidu15 ciaries in accordance with regulations pre16 scribed by the Secretary of Labor; 

17 (2) the term ‘‘fiduciary’’ means— 

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

19 Chair; 

20 (B) any person who has or exercises dis21 cretionary authority or discretionary control 

22 over the management or disposition of the as23 sets of the American Savings Account Fund; 

24 and 


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

2 American Savings Account Fund, is described 

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

4 Income Security Act of 1974; and 

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

6 (A) any fiduciary; 

7 (B) any counsel to a person who is a fidu8 ciary, with respect to the actions of such person 

9 as a fiduciary; 

10 (C) any participant; 

11 (D) any person providing services to the 

12 Board and, with respect to the actions of the 

13 Chair as a fiduciary, any person providing serv14 ices to the Chair; 

15 (E) a labor organization, the members of 

16 which are participants; 

17 (F) a spouse, sibling, ancestor, lineal de18 scendant, or spouse of a lineal descendant of a 

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

20 (D); 

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

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

23 of— 

24 (i) the combined voting power of all 

25 classes of stock entitled to vote or the total 


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1 value of shares of all classes of stock of 

2 such corporation; 

3 (ii) the capital interest or profits in4 terest of such partnership; or 

5 (iii) the beneficial interest of such 

6 trust or estate, 

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

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

9 or (E); 

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

11 an individual employed by, a person described 

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

13 an individual having powers or responsibilities 

14 similar to those of such an official; 

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

16 least 10 percent of the shares in a person de17 scribed in any subparagraph referred to in sub18 paragraph (H); and 

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

20 at least a 10 percent partner or joint venturer 

21 (measured in capital or profits) in a person de22 scribed in any subparagraph referred to in sub23 paragraph (H). 

24 (b) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (1) DISCHARGE OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—To the 

2 extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this 

3 title and the policies prescribed by the Board, a fidu4 ciary shall discharge the fiduciary’s responsibilities 

5 with respect to the American Savings Account Fund 

6 or applicable portion thereof solely in the interest of 

7 the participants and beneficiaries and— 

8 (A) for the exclusive purpose of— 

9 (i) providing benefits to participants 

10 and their beneficiaries; and 

11 (ii) defraying reasonable expenses of 

12 administering the American Savings Ac13 count Fund or applicable portions thereof; 

14 (B) with the care, skill, prudence, and dili15 gence under the circumstances then prevailing 

16 that a prudent individual acting in a like capac17 ity and familiar with such matters would use in 

18 the conduct of an enterprise of a like character 

19 and with like objectives; and 

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

21 diversifying the investments of the American 

22 Savings Account Fund or applicable portions 

23 thereof so as to minimize the risk of large 

24 losses, unless under the circumstances it is 

25 clearly prudent not to do so. 


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1 (2) OWNERSHIP.—No fiduciary may maintain 

2 the indicia of ownership of any assets of the Amer3 ican Savings Account Fund outside the jurisdiction 

4 of the district courts of the United States. 

5 (c) PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS.— 

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

7 the American Savings Account Fund to engage in 

8 any of the following transactions, except in exchange 

9 for adequate consideration: 

10 (A) A transfer of any assets of the Amer11 ican Savings Account Fund to any person the 

12 fiduciary knows or should know to be a party 

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

14 person. 

15 (B) An acquisition of any property from or 

16 sale of any property to the American Savings 

17 Account Fund by any person the fiduciary 

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

19 (C) A transfer or exchange of services be20 tween the American Savings Account Fund and 

21 any person the fiduciary knows or should know 

22 to be a party in interest. 

23 (2) SPECIAL RULES.—Notwithstanding para24 graph (1), a fiduciary with respect to the American 

25 Savings Account Fund shall not— 


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1 (A) deal with any assets of the American 

2 Savings Account Fund in the fiduciary’s own 

3 interest or for the fiduciary’s own account; 

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

5 other capacity, in any transaction involving the 

6 American Savings Account Fund on behalf of a 

7 party, or representing a party, whose interests 

8 are adverse to the interests of the American 

9 Savings Account Fund or the interests of its 

10 participants or beneficiaries; or 

11 (C) receive any consideration for the fidu12 ciary’s own personal account from any party 

13 dealing with sums credited to the American 

14 Savings Account Fund in connection with a 

15 transaction involving assets of the American 

16 Savings Account Fund. 

17 (3) GRANTING OF EXEMPTIONS.— 

18 (A) The Secretary may, in accordance with 

19 procedures which the Secretary shall by regula20 tion prescribe, grant a conditional or uncondi21 tional exemption of any fiduciary or trans22 action, or class of fiduciaries or transactions, 

23 from all or part of the restrictions imposed by 

24 paragraph (2). 


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1 (B) An exemption granted under this para2 graph shall not relieve a fiduciary from any 

3 other applicable provision of this title. 

4 (C) The Secretary may not grant an ex5 emption under this paragraph unless the Sec6 retary finds that such exemption is— 

7 (i) administratively feasible; 

8 (ii) in the interests of the American 

9 Savings Account Fund and of its partici10 pants and beneficiaries; and 

11 (iii) protective of the rights of partici12 pants and beneficiaries of such Fund. 

13 (D) An exemption under this paragraph 

14 may not be granted unless— 

15 (i) notice of the proposed exemption is 

16 published in the Federal Register; 

17 (ii) interested persons are given an 

18 opportunity to present views; and 

19 (iii) the Secretary affords an oppor20 tunity for a hearing and makes a deter21 mination on the record with respect to the 

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

23 and (iii) of subparagraph (C). 

24 (E) Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), 

25 the Secretary may determine that an exemption 


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1 granted for any class of fiduciaries or trans2 actions under section 408(a) of the Employee 

3 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 shall, 

4 upon publication of notice in the Federal Reg5 ister under this subparagraph, constitute an ex6 emption for purposes of the provisions of para7 graph (2). 

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

9 any fiduciary from— 

10 (1) receiving any benefit which the fiduciary is 

11 entitled to receive under this title as a participant or 

12 beneficiary; 

13 (2) receiving any reasonable compensation au14 thorized by this title for services rendered, or for re15 imbursement of expenses properly and actually in16 curred, in the performance of the fiduciary’s duties 

17 under this title; or 

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

19 an officer, employee, agent, or other representative 

20 of a party in interest. 

21 (e) LIABILITY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (A) Any fiduciary that breaches the re24 sponsibilities, duties, and obligations set out in 

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


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1 personally liable to the American Savings Ac2 count Fund for any losses to such Fund result3 ing from each such breach or violation and to 

4 restore to such Fund any profits made by the 

5 fiduciary through use of assets of such Fund by 

6 the fiduciary, and shall be subject to such other 

7 equitable or remedial relief as a court considers 

8 appropriate, except as provided in paragraphs 

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

10 breach referred to in the preceding sentence. 

11 (B) The Secretary may assess a civil pen12 alty against a party in interest with respect to 

13 each transaction which is engaged in by the 

14 party in interest and is prohibited by subsection 

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

16 to 5 percent of the amount involved in each 

17 such transaction (as defined in section 

18 4975(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986) for each year or part thereof during 

20 which the prohibited transaction continues, ex21 cept that, if the transaction is not corrected (in 

22 such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by 

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

24 such Code) within 90 days after the date the 

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1 est (or such longer period as the Secretary may 

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

3 more than 100 percent of the amount involved. 

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

5 subparagraph (A) with respect to a breach of fi6 duciary duty under subsection (b) committed 

7 before becoming a fiduciary or after ceasing to 

8 be a fiduciary. 

9 (ii) A fiduciary shall not be liable under 

10 subparagraph (A), and no civil action may be 

11 brought against a fiduciary— 

12 (I) for providing for the automatic en13 rollment of a participant in accordance 

14 with this title; or 

15 (II) for enrolling a participant or ben16 eficiary in a default investment fund or op17 tion in accordance with this title. 

18 (D) A fiduciary shall be jointly and sever19 ally liable under subparagraph (A) for a breach 

20 of fiduciary duty under subsection (b) by an21 other fiduciary only if— 

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1 ciary, knowing such act or omission is such 

2 a breach; 

3 (ii) by the fiduciary’s failure to com4 ply with subsection (b) in the administra5 tion of the fiduciary’s specific responsibil6 ities which give rise to the fiduciary status, 

7 the fiduciary has enabled such other fidu8 ciary to commit such a breach; or 

9 (iii) the fiduciary has knowledge of a 

10 breach by such other fiduciary, unless the 

11 fiduciary makes reasonable efforts under 

12 the circumstances to remedy the breach. 

13 (E) The Secretary shall prescribe, in regu14 lations, procedures for allocating fiduciary re15 sponsibilities among fiduciaries, including in16 vestment managers. Any fiduciary who, pursu17 ant to such procedures, allocates to a person or 

18 persons any fiduciary responsibility shall not be 

19 liable for an act or omission of such person or 

20 persons unless— 

21 (i) such fiduciary violated subsection 

22 (b) with respect to the allocation, with re23 spect to the implementation of the proce24 dures prescribed by the Secretary, or in 

25 continuing such allocation; or 


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1 (ii) such fiduciary would otherwise be 

2 liable in accordance with subparagraph 

3 (D). 

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

5 civil action may be maintained against any fiduciary 

6 with respect to the responsibilities, liabilities, and 

7 penalties authorized or provided for in this section 

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

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

10 action may be brought in the district courts of the 

11 United States— 

12 (A) by the Secretary against any fiduciary 

13 other than a Member of the Board or the Chair 

14 of the Board— 

15 (i) to determine and enforce a liability 

16 under paragraph (1)(A); 

17 (ii) to collect any civil penalty under 

18 paragraph (1)(B); 

19 (iii) to enjoin any act or practice 

20 which violates any provision of subsection 

21 (b) or (c); 

22 (iv) to obtain any other appropriate 

23 equitable relief to redress a violation of any 

24 such provision; or 


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1 (v) to enjoin any act or practice which 

2 violates section 101(e); 

3 (B) by any participant, beneficiary, or fi4 duciary against any fiduciary— 

5 (i) to enjoin any act or practice which 

6 violates any provision of subsection (b) or 

7 (c); 

8 (ii) to obtain any other appropriate 

9 equitable relief to redress a violation of any 

10 such provision; or 

11 (iii) to enjoin any act or practice 

12 which violates section 101(e); or 

13 (C) by any participant or beneficiary— 

14 (i) to recover benefits of such partici15 pant or beneficiary under the provisions of 

16 this title, to enforce any right of such par17 ticipant or beneficiary under such provi18 sions, or to clarify any such right to future 

19 benefits under such provisions; or 

20 (ii) to enforce any claim otherwise 

21 cognizable under sections 1346(b) and 

22 2671 through 2680 of title 28, United 

23 States Code, provided that the remedy 

24 against the United States provided by sec25 tions 1346(b) and 2672 of title 28, United 


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1 States Code, for damages for injury or loss 

2 of property caused by the negligent or 

3 wrongful act or omission of any fiduciary 

4 while acting within the scope of the fidu5 ciary’s duties or employment shall be ex6 clusive of any other civil action or pro7 ceeding by the participant or beneficiary 

8 for recovery of money by reason of the 

9 same subject matter against the fiduciary 

10 (or the estate of such fiduciary) whose act 

11 or omission gave rise to such action or pro12 ceeding, whether or not such action or pro13 ceeding is based on an alleged violation of 

14 subsection (b) or (c). 

15 (4) OTHER RULES.— 

16 (A) In all civil actions under paragraph 

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

18 may represent the Secretary (except as provided 

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

20 Code), however all such litigation shall be sub21 ject to the direction and control of the Attorney 

22 General. 

23 (B) The Attorney General shall defend any 

24 civil action or proceeding brought in any court 

25 against any fiduciary referred to in paragraph 


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

2 any such injury. Any fiduciary against whom 

3 such a civil action or proceeding is brought 

4 shall deliver, within such time after date of 

5 service or knowledge of service as determined 

6 by the Attorney General, all process served 

7 upon such fiduciary (or an attested copy there8 of) to the Chair of the Board, who shall 

9 promptly furnish copies of the pleading and 

10 process to the Attorney General and the United 

11 States Attorney for the district wherein the ac12 tion or proceeding is brought. 

13 (C) Upon certification by the Attorney 

14 General that a fiduciary described in paragraph 

15 (3)(C)(ii) was acting in the scope of such fidu16 ciary’s duties or employment as a fiduciary at 

17 the time of the occurrence or omission out of 

18 which the action arose, any such civil action or 

19 proceeding commenced in a State court shall 

20 be— 

21 (i) removed without bond at any time 

22 before trial by the Attorney General to the 

23 district court of the United States for the 

24 district and division in which it is pending; 

25 and 


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1 (ii) deemed a tort action brought 

2 against the United States under the provi3 sions of title 28, United States Code, and 

4 all references thereto. 

5 (D) The Attorney General may com6 promise or settle any claim asserted in such 

7 civil action or proceeding in the manner pro8 vided in section 2677 of title 28, United States 

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

10 section 2672 of title 28, United States Code, 

11 provides that persons other than the Attorney 

12 General or the Attorney General’s designee may 

13 compromise and settle claims, and that pay14 ment of such claims may be made from agency 

15 appropriations, such provisions shall not apply 

16 to claims based upon an alleged violation of 

17 subsection (b) or (c). 

18 (E) For the purposes of paragraph 

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

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

21 any claim based upon an alleged violation of 

22 subsection (b) or (c). 

23 (F) Notwithstanding sections 1346(b) and 

24 2671 through 2680 of title 28, United States 

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1 tlement is made under such sections upon any 

2 claim based upon an alleged violation of sub3 section (b) or (c), payment of such award, com4 promise, or settlement shall be made to the ap5 propriate account within the American Savings 

6 Account Fund, or where there is no such appro7 priate account, to the participant or beneficiary 

8 bringing the claim. 

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

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

11 of the Board and the Board’s Chair. 

12 (5) PROHIBITION OF MONETARY RELIEF.—Any 

13 relief awarded against a Member of the Board or the 

14 Chair of the Board in a civil action authorized by 

15 paragraph (3) may not include any monetary dam16 ages or any other recovery of money. 

17 (6) LIMITATION.—An action may not be com18 menced under paragraph (3)(A) or (B) with respect 

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

20 obligation under subsection (b) or a violation of sub21 section (c) after the earlier of— 

22 (A) 6 years after— 

23 (i) the date of the last action which 

24 constituted a part of the breach or viola25 tion; or 


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1 (ii) in the case of an omission, the lat2 est date on which the fiduciary could have 

3 cured the breach or violation; or 

4 (B) 3 years after the earliest date on 

5 which the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the 

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

7 fraud or concealment, such action may be com8 menced not later than 6 years after the date of 

9 discovery of such breach or violation. 

10 (7) JURISDICTION.— 

11 (A) The district courts of the United 

12 States shall have exclusive jurisdiction of civil 

13 actions under this subsection. 

14 (B) An action under this subsection may 

15 be brought in the District Court of the United 

16 States for the District of Columbia or a district 

17 court of the United States in the district where 

18 the breach alleged in the complaint or petition 

19 filed in the action took place or in the district 

20 where a defendant resides or may be found. 

21 Process may be served in any other district 

22 where a defendant resides or may be found. 

23 (8) SERVICE.— 

24 (A) A copy of the complaint or petition 

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1 section (other than by the Secretary) shall be 

2 served on the Chair, the Secretary, and the Sec3 retary of the Treasury by certified mail. 

4 (B) Any officer referred to in subpara5 graph (A) shall have the right in the officer’s 

6 discretion to intervene in any action. If the Sec7 retary brings an action under paragraph (2) on 

8 behalf of a participant or beneficiary, the Sec9 retary shall notify the Chair and the Secretary 

10 of the Treasury. 

11 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may prescribe 

12 regulations to carry out this section. 

13 (g) AUDITS BY SECRETARY.— 

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

15 establish a program to carry out audits to determine 

16 the level of compliance with the requirements of this 

17 section relating to fiduciary responsibilities and pro18 hibited activities of fiduciaries. 

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

20 subsection may be conducted by the Secretary, by 

21 contract with a qualified nongovernmental organiza22 tion, or in cooperation with the Comptroller General 

23 of the United States, as the Secretary considers ap24 propriate. 


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1 SEC. 104. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND ADVISORY 

2 COUNCIL. 

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

4 American Savings Account Fund Advisory Council, to be 

5 composed of 14 members appointed by the Chair of the 

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

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

8 (b) TERMS AND VACANCIES.— 

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

10 appointed for a term of 4 years. 

11 (2) VACANCIES.— 

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

13 in the manner in which the original appoint14 ment was made and shall be subject to any con15 ditions which applied with respect to the origi16 nal appointment. 

17 (B) An individual chosen to fill a vacancy 

18 shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the 

19 member replaced. 

20 (C) The term of any member shall not ex21 pire before the date on which the member’s suc22 cessor takes office. 

23 (c) ACTION BY MAJORITY RESOLUTION.—The Coun24 cil shall act by resolution of a majority of the members. 

25 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Council shall— 


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

2 Board on matters relating to— 

3 (A) investment policies for the American 

4 Savings Account Fund; and 

5 (B) the administration of this title; and 

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

7 direct with respect to investment funds established 

8 in accordance with this title. 

9 TITLE II—AMERICAN SAVINGS 

10 ACCOUNT FUND 

11 SEC. 201. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas13 ury of the United States an American Savings Account 

14 Fund. 

15 (b) AMOUNTS IN FUND.—The American Savings Ac16 count Fund consists of the sum of all amounts contributed 

17 under section 302, increased by the total net earnings 

18 from investments of sums in the American Savings Ac19 count Fund or reduced by the total net losses from invest20 ments of the American Savings Account Fund, and re21 duced by the total amount of payments made from the 

22 American Savings Account Fund (including payments for 

23 administrative expenses). 


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

2 American Savings Account Fund are appropriated and 

3 shall remain available without fiscal year limitation— 

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

5 (2) to pay benefits or purchase annuity con6 tracts under section 301(b); 

7 (3) to pay the administrative expenses of the 

8 Board relating to the responsibilities under section 

9 102; and 

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

11 to purchase insurance to cover potential liability of 

12 persons who serve in a fiduciary capacity with re13 spect to the American Savings Account Fund, in a 

14 manner consistent with rules similar to the provi15 sions of section 8479 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (d) BENEFITS INALIENABLE AND NONFORFEIT17 ABLE.— 

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

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

20 of this subsection, sums in the American Savings 

21 Account Fund credited to the American Savings Ac22 count of a participant may not be used for, or di23 verted to, purposes other than for the exclusive ben24 efit of the participant or the participant’s bene25 ficiaries. 


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1 (2) PROTECTION FROM ALIENATION.—Except 

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

3 American Savings Account Fund may not be as4 signed or alienated and are not subject to execution, 

5 levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal proc6 ess. 

7 (3) CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS.—Moneys due or 

8 payable from the American Savings Account Fund 

9 to any individual shall be subject to legal process for 

10 the enforcement of the individual’s legal obligations 

11 to provide child support or make alimony payments 

12 as provided in section 459 of the Social Security 

13 Act, the enforcement of an order for restitution 

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

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

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

17 and shall be subject to a Federal tax levy under sec18 tion 6331 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

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

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

21 apply with respect to payments which would other22 wise be made to a participant under section 301(b). 

23 (e) LIMITATION ON FURTHER APPROPRIATION.— 

24 The sums in the American Savings Account Fund shall 

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1 poses specified in this section and may not be used for 

2 any other purpose. 

3 (f) AMOUNTS HELD IN TRUST.—All sums contrib4 uted to the American Savings Account Fund by a partici5 pant or by an employer for the benefit of such participant 

6 and all net earnings in such Fund attributable to invest7 ment of such sums are held in such Fund in trust for 

8 such participant. 

9 SEC. 202. TAX TREATMENT OF THE AMERICAN SAVINGS AC10 COUNT FUND. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal Rev12 enue Code of 1986— 

13 (1) the American Savings Account Fund shall 

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

15 such Code which is exempt from taxation under sec16 tion 501(a) of such Code; 

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

18 the American Savings Account Fund shall be treated 

19 in the same manner as contributions to or distribu20 tions from such a trust; 

21 (3) contributions to the American Savings Ac22 count Fund shall not be treated as distributed or 

23 made available to a participant nor as a contribution 

24 made to the Fund by an individual merely because 

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


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1 an election whether the contribution will be made to 

2 the American Savings Account Fund or received by 

3 the individual in cash; and 

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

5 shall apply with respect to American Savings Ac6 counts, except that paragraph (2)(B) thereof shall 

7 be applied by substituting ‘‘the due date for the re8 turn of tax for the taxable year in which the first 

9 elective contribution is made with respect to the em10 ployee under the arrangement’’ for ‘‘the date which 

11 is 90 days after the date of the first elective con12 tribution with respect to the employee under the ar13 rangement’’. 

14 (b) COORDINATION WITH SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.— 

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

16 amount of the employee’s compensation which is contrib17 uted to the American Savings Account Fund shall not be 

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

19 209 of the Social Security Act or section 3121(a) of the 

20 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 TITLE III—AMERICAN SAVINGS 

22 ACCOUNTS 

23 SEC. 301. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. 

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

25 term ‘‘American Savings Account’’ means— 


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1 (1) an individual retirement account (as defined 

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

3 1986); and 

4 (2) in the case of an individual making the elec5 tion under subsection (b)(2), a Roth IRA (as defined 

6 in section 408A(b) of such Code); 

7 established and maintained by the Board, as trustee of 

8 such account. 

9 (b) SPECIAL RULES.— 

10 (1) ELIGIBILITY.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—All qualified employees 

12 shall be eligible to participate in an American 

13 Savings Account. 

14 (B) QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE.—For purposes 

15 of this subtitle— 

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

17 employee’’ means an employee (other than 

18 an employee described in section 

19 410(b)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code 

20 of 1986) of an American employer if the 

21 employer does not provide the opportunity 

22 for the employee to participate in a defined 

23 contribution plan (within the meaning of 

24 section 414(i) of the Internal Revenue 

25 Code of 1986) maintained by the employer 


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1 that satisfies the requirements of section 

2 401(a) or 403(b) of the Internal Revenue 

3 Code of 1986. 

4 (ii) EXCEPTION FOR EMPLOYEES COV5 ERED BY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE6 MENTS.—Such term shall not include any 

7 employee who is included in a group of em8 ployees covered by a collective bargaining 

9 agreement described in section 

10 410(b)(3)(A) of such Code. 

11 (iii) AMERICAN EMPLOYER.—The 

12 term ‘‘American employer’’ has the mean13 ing given such term by section 3121(h) of 

14 such Code. 

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

16 Subject to the rules of section 408A(d)(3) of the In17 ternal Revenue Code of 1986, an individual may 

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

19 individual retirement account established for the in20 dividual under section 102(c)(1)(A) to a Roth IRA 

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

22 (3) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 

24 302(b)(1), an individual may contribute to the 

25 American Savings Account Fund in any year, 


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1 pursuant to an election under section 

2 102(b)(2), an amount not to exceed the limita3 tion described in subparagraph (C). Contribu4 tions pursuant to such an election shall, with 

5 respect to each pay period for which such elec6 tion remains in effect, be made in accordance 

7 with a program of regular contributions as pre8 scribed by the Chair. 

9 (B) ELIGIBLE ROLLOVER DISTRIBU10 TIONS.—An individual may contribute to the 

11 American Savings Account Fund an eligible 

12 rollover that an individual retirement account 

13 or Roth IRA could accept under section 408 or 

14 408A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

15 whichever is applicable (after the application of 

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

17 rollover distribution (as defined in section 

18 402(c)(4) of such Code), the maximum amount 

19 transferred to the American Savings Account 

20 Fund shall not exceed the amount which would 

21 otherwise have been included in the individual’s 

22 gross income for Federal income tax purposes. 

23 (C) MODIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTION LIM24 ITATION.—In lieu of the contribution limita25 tions for individual retirement accounts or Roth 


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1 IRAs, whichever is applicable, under part I of 

2 subchapter D of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986, the annual contribution lim4 itation applicable to an American Savings Ac5 count shall be equal to the limitation applicable 

6 under section 415(c) of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code of 1986 to contributions to a defined con8 tribution plan. 

9 (4) ANNUITIES, ETC.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall pre11 scribe methods of payment of annuities similar 

12 to the methods available under section 

13 8434(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (B) RULES APPLICABLE.—Rules similar to 

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

16 section 8434 of title 5, United States Code, 

17 shall apply for purposes of this paragraph. 

18 (5) PROTECTIONS FOR SPOUSES AND FORMER

19 SPOUSES.— 

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

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

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

23 States Code, shall apply for purposes of this 

24 subsection. 


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1 (B) ADDITIONAL PROTECTION FOR SUR2 VIVING SPOUSES.—A surviving spouse shall be 

3 the first party entitled to receive benefits (be4 fore any designated beneficiary other than the 

5 surviving spouse) unless the surviving spouse 

6 consents in writing to the application of the 

7 order of precedence in effect but for this sub8 paragraph. 

9 SEC. 302. EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS. 

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

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

12 shall make contributions meeting the requirements of sub13 section (b) on behalf of such qualified employee to the 

14 American Savings Account Fund, beginning with the later 

15 of— 

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

17 receives compensation from the employer; or 

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

19 the contribution beginning date. 

20 (b) CONTRIBUTIONS.—The requirements of this sub21 section are met for a taxable year with respect to contribu22 tions to the American Savings Account Fund on behalf 

23 of a qualified employee if— 

24 (1) CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT.—With respect to 

25 any pay period beginning in such taxable year— 


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

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

3 are equal to 3 percent of the compensation of 

4 the employee for such period. 

5 (B) COORDINATION WITH LIMITATIONS.— 

6 The total contributions to the Fund on behalf 

7 of the employee for pay periods in any taxable 

8 year do not exceed the contribution limitation 

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

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

11 with respect to which a contribution is made 

12 with respect to a qualified employee under sub13 section (a), the qualified employee may elect— 

14 (i) to change the percentage of com15 pensation which is contributed to the Fund 

16 on behalf of such employee, except that 

17 such percentage may not be less than 2 

18 percent or greater than the highest per19 centage that would not cause total con20 tributions during the taxable year to ex21 ceed the limitation under subparagraph 

22 (B); or 

23 (ii) to discontinue contributions to the 

24 Fund and withdraw all contributions pre25 viously made through a salary reduction 


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1 arrangement in the same calendar year 

2 other than nonelective contributions made 

3 by the employer on behalf of the employee. 

4 In the event a qualified employee elects to with5 draw all contributions previously made to the 

6 Fund under the preceding sentence, the amount 

7 of any nonelective contributions made by the 

8 employer on behalf of the employee shall be 

9 withdrawn and paid to the employer. 

10 (D) CONTRIBUTIONS MAY BE MADE

11 THROUGH SALARY REDUCTION ARRANGE12 MENT.—Contributions by an employer shall not 

13 fail to meet the requirements of this subsection 

14 solely because the employee may elect to have 

15 the employer make payments— 

16 (i) to the American Savings Account 

17 of the employee; or 

18 (ii) to the employee directly in cash. 

19 The preceding sentence shall apply only if the 

20 contributions on behalf of all qualified employ21 ees of the employer for a pay period are in a 

22 uniform dollar amount or a uniform percentage 

23 of compensation. 

24 (E) MANDATORY PERCENTAGE INCREASE

25 OFFER.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a qualified em2 ployee elects under subparagraph (C) a 

3 contribution percentage that is less than 5 

4 percent, then 12 months after such elec5 tion is made and every 12 months there6 after the Board shall notify the employee 

7 in writing that such contribution percent8 age will be increased by 0.5 percent unless 

9 the employee objects within 30 days of re10 ceipt of such notice. If the employee does 

11 not so object, upon notification by the 

12 Board, the employer shall increase the per13 centage of the employee’s compensation 

14 which is contributed to the Fund on behalf 

15 of the employee by 0.5 percent. 

16 (ii) APPLICABILITY.— 

17 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

18 shall cease to apply once the percent19 age of compensation contributed to 

20 the Fund on behalf of the employee is 

21 greater than or equal to 5 percent. 

22 (II) COORDINATION WITH LIMI23 TATIONS.—Clause (i) shall not apply 

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1 tion contributed to the Fund on be2 half of the employee would exceed the 

3 percentage described in subparagraph 

4 (C)(i). 

5 (2) FREQUENCY AND TIMING OF CONTRIBU6 TIONS.—Contributions under subsection (a) are 

7 made not less frequently than monthly during such 

8 year, and each such contribution is made not later 

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

10 which it relates. 

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

12 an employer that is a church or convention or association 

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

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

15 elects to make contributions to the American Savings Ac16 count Fund on behalf of qualified employees of the em17 ployer, such contributions must meet the requirements of 

18 paragraph (1). 

19 (d) SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS.—An indi20 vidual— 

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

22 (as defined in section 1402(a) of the Internal Rev23 enue Code of 1986); 

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

25 to any employer; and 


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1 (3) who is not eligible to participate in a de2 fined contribution plan (within the meaning of sec3 tion 414(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) 

4 maintained by any employer; 

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

6 behalf to the American Savings Account Fund. Such con7 tributions shall be made under rules similar to the rules 

8 of section 301(b)(3). 

9 (e) CONTRIBUTION BEGINNING DATE.—For pur10 poses of this section, the term ‘‘contribution beginning 

11 date’’ means January 1 of the 3rd calendar year beginning 

12 after the date of the enactment of the American Savings 

13 Account Act of 2016. 

14 SEC. 303. STATE RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLANS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a State— 

16 (1) maintains a public retirement savings plan 

17 that allows all covered employers in the State to en18 roll all employees of the employer automatically in 

19 such plan; or 

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

21 make contributions to an individual retirement plan 

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

23 Revenue Code of 1986) on behalf of the employees 

24 of the employer; 


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1 such State may prohibit employers in the State from mak2 ing contributions to the American Savings Account Fund 

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

4 apply to covered employers to which such prohibition ap5 plies. 

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

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

8 deduction program established by a State for the purpose 

9 of making contributions to one or more individual retire10 ment plans (as defined in section 7701(a)(37) of the Inter11 nal Revenue Code of 1986), including such a program 

12 which provides for automatic enrollment. 

13 (c) WAIVER OF PENALTY.—The penalty under sec14 tion 6672(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall 

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

16 of a qualified employee if the employer makes contribu17 tions to a State plan described in subsection (a) or (b) 

18 on behalf of such employee that satisfy the applicable re19 quirements of such State plan. The employer shall certify 

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

21 be determined by such Secretary, that such contributions 

22 have been made. 

23 (d) COVERED EMPLOYER.—For purposes of this sec24 tion, the term ‘‘covered employer’’ means an employer— 


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1 (1) that does not provide the opportunity for 

2 employees to participate in a defined contribution 

3 plan (within the meaning of section 414(i) of the In4 ternal Revenue Code of 1986) maintained by the 

5 employer; and 

6 (2) whose employees are not covered by a collec7 tive bargaining agreement described in section 

8 410(b)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

9 SEC. 304. DEFINITIONS. 

10 Any term used in this title which is also used in sec11 tion 408(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 has the 

12 same meaning as when used in such section. 

13 TITLE IV—CONFORMING 

14 AMENDMENTS 

15 SEC. 401. AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. 

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

17 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesig18 nating subsection (p) as subsection (q) and by inserting 

19 after subsection (o) the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(p) TAX TREATMENT OF AMERICAN SAVINGS AC21 COUNT FUND.— 

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

23 ‘‘(A) the American Savings Account Fund 

24 shall be treated as a trust described in section 


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1 401(a) which is exempt from taxation under 

2 section 501(a); 

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

4 from, the American Savings Account Fund shall 

5 be treated in the same manner as contributions 

6 to or distributions from such a trust; 

7 ‘‘(C) contributions to the American Sav8 ings Account Fund shall not be treated as dis9 tributed or made available to a participant nor 

10 as a contribution made to the Fund by an indi11 vidual merely because the individual has, under 

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

13 Account Act of 2016, made an election whether 

14 the contribution will be made to the American 

15 Savings Account Fund or received by the indi16 vidual in cash; and 

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

18 apply with respect to American Savings Ac19 counts, except that paragraph (2)(B) thereof 

20 shall be applied by substituting ‘the due date 

21 for the return of tax for the taxable year in 

22 which the first elective contribution is made 

23 with respect to the employee under the arrange24 ment’ for ‘the date which is 90 days after the 


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1 date of the first elective contribution with re2 spect to the employee under the arrangement’. 

3 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH SOCIAL SECURITY

4 ACT.—Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to pro5 vide that any amount of the employee’s compensa6 tion which is contributed to the American Savings 

7 Account Fund shall not be included in the term 

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

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

10 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub11 section, the terms ‘employee’ and ‘American Savings 

12 Account Fund’ shall have the same respective mean13 ings as when used in the American Savings Account 

14 Act of 2016. 

15 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS

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

17 title shall apply for purposes of determining the 

18 treatment under this title of the American Savings 

19 Account Fund or any contribution to, or distribution 

20 from, such Fund.’’. 

21 (b) TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN

22 SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND.— 

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

24 chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 


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1 amended by inserting after section 139E the fol2 lowing new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 139F. AMOUNTS CONTRIBUTED TO AMERICAN SAV4 INGS ACCOUNTS. 

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

6 so much of the contributions made to the American Sav7 ings Account Fund on behalf of an individual for pay peri8 ods in the taxable year as does not exceed the limitation 

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

10 Code of 1986 to contributions to a defined contribution 

11 plan. 

12 ‘‘(b) AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT FUND.—For pur13 poses of this section, the term ‘American Savings Account 

14 Fund’ means the Fund established under section 201 of 

15 the American Savings Account Act of 2016.’’. 

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

17 section 219 of such Code is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR AMERICAN SAVINGS

20 ACCOUNTS.—This section shall not apply with re21 spect to any amount contributed to an individual re22 tirement account (as defined in section 408(a)) or a 

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

24 an American Savings Account (as defined in section 


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1 301 of the American Savings Account Act of 

2 2016).’’. 

3 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of 

5 such Code is amended by inserting after the item re6 lating to section 139E the following new item: 

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

7 (c) TREATMENT OF DISTRIBUTIONS AS SEPARATE

8 FROM OTHER IRAS AND ROTH IRAS.—Subparagraph 

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

10 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘plans’’ and inserting ‘‘plans 

11 (other than American Savings Accounts, within the mean12 ing of section 301 of the American Savings Account Act 

13 of 2016)’’. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

16 Savings Account Board of Directors shall establish 

17 the American Savings Account program such that 

18 the American Savings Account Fund is prepared to 

19 begin receiving contributions on January 1 of the 

20 3rd calendar year beginning after the date of the en21 actment of this Act. 

22 (2) TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—Except 

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

24 by this section shall apply to contributions made to 

25 the American Savings Account Fund, as established 


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

2 December 31 of the 2nd calendar year beginning 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 402. PENALTY FOR EMPLOYER NONCOMPLIANCE. 

5 Section 6672 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub7 section: 

8 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYER NONCOMPLIANCE WITH REQUIRE9 MENTS OF AMERICAN SAVINGS ACCOUNT ACT.—Except 

10 as provided in section 303(c) of the American Savings Ac11 count Act of 2016, any employer that fails to make any 

12 contribution required by section 302 of such Act shall be 

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

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

15 required contribution.’’. 

16 SEC. 403. OUTREACH. 

17 The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall provide 

18 to any person filing Form 1099 information on contrib19 uting to the American Savings Account Fund. 

20 SEC. 404. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS. 

21 The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate rules allow22 ing employers to— 

23 (1) request explicit authorization from inde24 pendent contractors with such employers to conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jun 14, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5450.IH H5450

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1 tribute on behalf of such independent contractors to 

2 the American Savings Account Fund; and 

3 (2) automatically withhold and transmit a set 

4 amount or percentage of compensation paid to such 

5 independent contractors to such Fund. 

Æ 


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