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‘‘(2) a description in simple terms of the com-
mon types of retirement income savings arrangements
available to both individuals and employers (specifi-
cally including small employers), including informa-
tion on the amount of money that can be placed into
a given vehicle, the tax treatment of the money, the
amount of accumulation possible through different
typical investment options and interest rate projec-
tions, and a directory of resources of more descriptive
information;
‘‘(3) materials explaining to employers in simple
terms, the characteristics and operation of the dif-
ferent retirement savings arrangements for their
workers and what the basic legal requirements are
under this Act and the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, including the steps to establish each such ar-
rangement;
‘‘(4) copies of all educational materials developed
by the Department of Labor, and by other Federal
agencies in consultation with such Department, to
promote retirement income savings by workers and
employers; and
‘‘(5) links to other sites maintained on the
Internet by governmental agencies and nonprofit or-
ganizations that provide additional detail on retire-
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ment income savings arrangements and related topics
on savings or investing.
‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate
the outreach program under this section with similar efforts
undertaken by other public and private entities.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 514 the following new items:
‘‘Sec. 515. Delinquent contributions.
‘‘Sec. 516. Outreach to promote retirement income savings.’’.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL SUMMIT ON RETIREMENT SAVINGS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part 5 of subtitle B of title I of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended by section 3 of this Act, is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
‘‘NATIONAL SUMMIT ON RETIREMENT SAVINGS
‘‘SEC. 517. (a) AUTHORITY TO CALL SUMMIT.—Not
later than July 15, 1998, the President shall convene a Na-
tional Summit on Retirement Income Savings at the White
House, to be co-hosted by the President and the Speaker
and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives
and the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the Sen-
ate. Such a National Summit shall be convened thereafter
in 2001 and 2005 on or after September 1 of each year
involved. Such a National Summit shall—
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‘‘(1) advance the public’s knowledge and under-
standing of retirement savings and its critical impor-
tance to the future well-being of American workers
and their families;
‘‘(2) facilitate the development of a broad-based,
public education program to encourage and enhance
individual commitment to a personal retirement sav-
ings strategy;
‘‘(3) develop recommendations for additional re-
search, reforms, and actions in the field of private
pensions and individual retirement savings; and
‘‘(4) disseminate the report of, and information
obtained by, the National Summit and exhibit mate-
rials and works of the National Summit.
‘‘(b) PLANNING AND DIRECTION.—The National Sum-
mit shall be planned and conducted under the direction of
the Secretary, in consultation with, and with the assistance
of, the heads of such other Federal departments and agencies
as the President may designate. Such assistance may in-
clude the assignment of personnel. The Secretary shall, in
planning and conducting the National Summit, consult
with the congressional leaders specified in subsection (e)(2).
The Secretary shall also, in carrying out the Secretary’s
duties under this subsection, consult and coordinate with
at least one organization made up of private sector busi-
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nesses and associations partnered with Government entities
to promote long-term financial security in retirement
through savings.
‘‘(c) PURPOSE OF NATIONAL SUMMIT.—The purpose of
the National Summit shall be—
‘‘(1) to increase the public awareness of the value
of personal savings for retirement;
‘‘(2) to advance the public’s knowledge and un-
derstanding of retirement savings and its critical im-
portance to the future well-being of American workers
and their families;
‘‘(3) to facilitate the development of a broad-
based, public education program to encourage and en-
hance individual commitment to a personal retire-
ment savings strategy;
‘‘(4) to identify the problems workers have in set-
ting aside adequate savings for retirement;
‘‘(5) to identify the barriers which employers, es-
pecially small employers, face in assisting their work-
ers in accumulating retirement savings;
‘‘(6) to examine the impact and effectiveness of
individual employers to promote personal savings for
retirement among their workers and to promote par-
ticipation in company savings options;
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‘‘(7) to examine the impact and effectiveness of
government programs at the Federal, State, and local
levels to educate the public about, and to encourage,
retirement income savings;
‘‘(8) to develop such specific and comprehensive
recommendations for the legislative and executive
branches of the Government and for private sector ac-
tion as may be appropriate for promoting private
pensions and individual retirement savings; and
‘‘(9) to develop recommendations for the coordi-
nation of Federal, State, and local retirement income
savings initiatives among the Federal, State, and
local levels of government and for the coordination of
such initiatives.
‘‘(d) SCOPE OF NATIONAL SUMMIT.—The scope of the
National Summit shall consist of issues relating to individ-
ual and employer-based retirement savings and shall not
include issues relating to the old-age, survivors, and disabil-
ity insurance program under title II of the Social Security
Act.
‘‘(e) NATIONAL SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes of
the National Summit, the National Summit shall
bring together—
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‘‘(A) professionals and other individuals
working in the fields of employee benefits and re-
tirement savings;
‘‘(B) Members of Congress and officials in
the executive branch;
‘‘(C) representatives of State and local gov-
ernments;
‘‘(D) representatives of private sector insti-
tutions, including individual employers, con-
cerned about promoting the issue of retirement
savings and facilitating savings among Amer-
ican workers; and
‘‘(E) representatives of the general public.
‘‘(2) STATUTORILY REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.—
The participants in the National Summit shall in-
clude the following individuals or their designees:
‘‘(A) the Speaker and the Minority Leader
of the House of Representatives;
‘‘(B) the Majority Leader and the Minority
Leader of the Senate;
‘‘(C) the Chairman and ranking Member of
the Committee on Education and the Workforce
of the House of Representatives;
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‘‘(D) the Chairman and ranking Member of
the Committee on Labor and Human Resources
of the Senate;
‘‘(E) the Chairman and ranking Member of
the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate;
‘‘(F) the Chairman and ranking Member of
the Subcommittees on Labor, Health and
Human Services, and Education of the Senate
and House of Representatives; and
‘‘(G) the parties referred to in subsection
(b).
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be not more
than 200 additional participants. Of such addi-
tional participants—
‘‘(i) one-half shall be appointed by the
President, in consultation with the elected
leaders of the President’s party in Congress
(either the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives or the Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives, and either the
Majority Leader or the Minority Leader of
the Senate; and
‘‘(ii) one-half shall be appointed by the
elected leaders of Congress of the party to
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which the President does not belong (one-
half of that allotment to be appointed by ei-
ther the Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives or the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives, and one-half of that allot-
ment to be appointed by either the Majority
Leader or the Minority Leader of the Sen-
ate).
‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT
REQUIREMENTS.—The
additional participants described in subpara-
graph (A) shall be—
‘‘(i) appointed not later than January
31, 1998;
‘‘(ii) selected without regard to politi-
cal affiliation or past partisan activity;
and
‘‘(iii) representative of the diversity of
thought in the fields of employee benefits
and retirement income savings.
‘‘(4) PRESIDING OFFICERS.—The National Sum-
mit shall be presided over equally by representatives
of the executive and legislative branches.
‘‘(f) NATIONAL SUMMIT ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering this
section, the Secretary shall—
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‘‘(A) request the cooperation and assistance
of such other Federal departments and agencies
and other parties referred to in subsection (b) as
may be appropriate in the carrying out of this
section;
‘‘(B) furnish all reasonable assistance to
State agencies, area agencies, and other appro-
priate organizations to enable them to organize
and conduct conferences in conjunction with the
National Summit;
‘‘(C) make available for public comment a
proposed agenda for the National Summit that
reflects to the greatest extent possible the pur-
poses for the National Summit set out in this
section;
‘‘(D) prepare and make available back-
ground materials for the use of participants in
the National Summit that the Secretary consid-
ers necessary; and
‘‘(E) appoint and fix the pay of such addi-
tional personnel as may be necessary to carry
out the provisions of this section without regard
to provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov-
erning appointments in the competitive service,
and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter
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III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi-
fication and General Schedule pay rates.
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall, in carrying
out the responsibilities and functions of the Secretary
under this section, and as part of the National Sum-
mit, ensure that—
‘‘(A) the National Summit shall be con-
ducted in a manner that ensures broad partici-
pation of Federal, State, and local agencies and
private organizations, professionals, and others
involved in retirement income savings and pro-
vides a strong basis for assistance to be provided
under paragraph (1)(B);
‘‘(B) the agenda prepared under paragraph
(1)(C) for the National Summit is published in
the Federal Register; and
‘‘(C) the personnel appointed under para-
graph (1)(E) shall be fairly balanced in terms of
points of views represented and shall be ap-
pointed without regard to political affiliation or
previous partisan activities.
‘‘(3) NONAPPLICATION OF FACA.—The provisions
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
App.) shall not apply to the National Summit.
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‘‘(g) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare a report
describing the activities of the National Summit and shall
submit the report to the President, the Speaker and Minor-
ity Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority
and Minority Leaders of the Senate, and the chief executive
officers of the States not later than 90 days after the date
on which the National Summit is adjourned.
‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘State’ means a State, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands,
American Samoa, and any other territory or possession of
the United States.
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap-
propriated for fiscal years beginning on or after Octo-
ber 1, 1997, such sums as are necessary to carry out
this section.
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION TO ACCEPT PRIVATE CON-
TRIBUTIONS.—In order to facilitate the National
Summit as a public-private partnership, the Sec-
retary may accept private contributions, in the form
of money, supplies, or services, to defray the costs of
the National Summit.
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‘‘(j) FINANCIAL
OBLIGATION
FOR
FISCAL
YEAR
1998.—The financial obligation for the Department of
Labor for fiscal year 1998 shall not exceed the lesser of—
‘‘(1) one-half of the costs of the National Sum-
mit; or
‘‘(2) $250,000.
The private sector organization described in subsection (b)
and contracted with by the Secretary shall be obligated for
the balance of the cost of the National Summit.
‘‘(k) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may enter into con-
tracts to carry out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this
section. The Secretary shall enter into a contract on a sole-
source basis to ensure the timely completion of the National
Summit in fiscal year 1998.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
in section 1 of such Act, as amended by section 3 of this
Act, is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 516 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 517. National Summit on Retirement Savings.’’.
Attest:
Secretary.
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