Title: Postal Service Financial Improvement Act of 2019
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Postal Service Financial Improvement Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to invest part of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund in market-based index funds and establishes a Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund Investment Committee to advise Treasury on investments made from the fund.
Specifically, Treasury shall (1) invest a specified percentage of the fund, using one or more qualified professional asset managers, in index funds modeled after those established for Thrift Savings Fund investments; and (2) ensure that the investment replicates the performance of the longest-term target date asset allocation investment fund established by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.
The specified percentage to be invested is defined as 25% of the currently available portions of the fund as are not immediately required for payments from the fund, except that the committee may specify a higher percentage, not to exceed 30%, not earlier than five years after this bill's enactment and as appropriate thereafter.
Treasury shall annually engage an independent qualified public accountant to audit the financial statements of such investments and shall submit an annual management report that includes

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2553 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2553

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for certain index fund 
 investments from the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 7, 2019

Mr. Lynch (for himself and Mr. McKinley) introduced the following bill; 
      which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for certain index fund 
 investments from the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Postal Service Financial Improvement 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. INVESTMENT OF THE POSTAL SERVICE RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND.

    Section 8909a(c) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(c) The Secretary'' and inserting 
        ``(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2)(A) The Secretary of the Treasury shall immediately invest a 
specified percentage of the Fund, using one or more qualified 
professional asset managers, in index funds modeled after those 
established under subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (E) of section 
8438(b)(1). The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent 
practicable, that the investment replicates the performance of the 
longest-term target date asset allocation investment fund established 
by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.
    ``(B) In exercising authority under subparagraph (A), including in 
the selection of specific qualified professional asset managers and in 
the development of specific investment guidelines to meet the 
requirement of such subparagraph, the Secretary shall consult with the 
Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund Investment Committee.
    ``(C)(i) There is established a Postal Service Retiree Health 
Benefits Fund Investment Committee that shall consist of--
            ``(I) the Secretary;
            ``(II) the Chair of the Board of Governors of the United 
        States Postal Service;
            ``(III) the Chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift 
        Investment Board; and
            ``(IV) 2 members to represent the interests of Postal 
        Service employees and annuitants who--
                    ``(aa) are appointed by the President;
                    ``(bb) have experience and expertise in the 
                management of financial investments and Postal Service 
                employee benefits; and
                    ``(cc) shall serve for a term of 3 years.
    ``(ii) The Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund Investment 
Committee and each member of such Committee shall be subject to the 
requirements of subsections (b)(1) and (c)(2) of section 8477, in the 
same manner as applied to a fiduciary with respect to the Thrift 
Savings Fund under such subsections.
    ``(D)(i) The Secretary shall annually engage an independent 
qualified public accountant to audit the financial statements of the 
investments made pursuant to subparagraph (A).
    ``(ii) The Secretary shall submit an annual management report to 
the Congress not later than 180 days after the end of each fiscal year 
that includes--
            ``(I) a statement of financial position;
            ``(II) a statement of operations;
            ``(III) a statement of cash flows;
            ``(IV) a statement on internal accounting and 
        administrative control systems;
            ``(V) the report resulting from an audit of the financial 
        statements of the investments conducted under clause (i); and
            ``(VI) any other comments and information necessary to 
        inform the Congress about the operations and financial 
        condition of the investments.
    ``(E) In this paragraph--
            ``(i) `specified percentage' means 25 percent of the 
        currently available portions of the Fund as are not immediately 
        required for payments from the Fund, except that the Postal 
        Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund Investment Committee may 
        specify a higher percentage, not to exceed 30 percent, not 
        earlier than 5 years after the date of enactment of the Postal 
        Service Financial Improvement Act of 2019, and as appropriate 
        thereafter; and
            ``(ii) `qualified professional asset manager' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 8438(a).''.
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