I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1420 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
of a precious metals investment option in the Thrift Savings Fund. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 10, 2009 
Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. JONES, and Mr. BART-
LETT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for the 
establishment of a precious metals investment option in 
the Thrift Savings Fund. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Thrift Savings Fund 
Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PRECIOUS METALS INVESTMENT FUND. 
(a) FUND DEFINED.—Section 8438(a) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(11) the term ‘Precious Metals Investment 
Fund’ means the Precious Metals Investment Fund 
established under subsection (b)(1)(F).’’. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8438(b)(1) of title 
5, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 
period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(F) a Precious Metals Investment Fund 
as provided in paragraph (5).’’. 
(2) FUND REQUIREMENTS.—Section 8438(b) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(5)(A) The Board shall establish a Precious Metals 
Investment Fund. 
‘‘(B) Contributions to the Precious Metals Invest-
ment Fund shall be invested in physical gold, silver, or 
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platinum bullion (rather than any mining company shares, 
certificates, derivatives, or futures options), and any bul-
lion so acquired shall constitute the assets of the Precious 
Metals Investment Fund and shall be stored in a vault 
in a federally chartered or State chartered bank. Each 
share in the Precious Metals Investment Fund shall rep-
resent a direct investment in the precious metal itself.’’. 
(c) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RISK.—Section 8439(d) 
of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or the Small Capitalization 
Stock Index Investment Fund,’’ and inserting ‘‘the 
Small Capitalization Stock Index Investment Fund, 
or the Precious Metals Investment Fund,’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘and (10),’’ and inserting ‘‘(10), 
and (11),’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE; DEFINITIONS. 
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Federal Retirement 
Thrift Investment Board— 
(1) shall study the operation of existing pre-
cious metals funds to determine the best practices of 
those funds; and 
(2) not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act— 
(A) shall establish the Precious Metals In-
vestment Fund, incorporating the best practices 
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referred to in paragraph (1) to such extent and 
in such manner as the Board shall determine; 
and 
(B) shall make the Precious Metals Invest-
ment Fund available to individuals participating 
in the Thrift Savings Plan. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘Precious Metals Investment 
Fund’’ has the meaning given such term by section 
8438(a)(11) of title 5, United States Code (as 
amended by section 2(a)); and 
(2) the term ‘‘Thrift Savings Plan’’ refers to 
the plan described in subchapter III of chapter 84 
of such title 5. 
Æ 
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