WASHINGTON — Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, is not giving up on his investment advice bill. Nor is the Bush administration.
Sources say Mr. Boehner, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, hopes pending legislation on the benchmark for pension liabilities will be acted upon quickly, clearing the way for the investment advice legislation to be taken up next. Kevin Smith, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner, said the advice bill could be included during House-Senate negotiations over a broader pension package, but the Senate needs to pass its version of the pension legislation first.
Mr. Boehner has two ways to proceed: he could persuade key senators to include his advice provision in the Senate pension bill, or he could hope to get his provision in during last-minute horse trading between the Senate and House versions of the pension package. Mr. Boehner is apparently choosing the latter course.
H.R. 1000 (the Pension Security Act), which includes the investment advice provision introduced by Mr. Boehner, passed the House last May but has stalled in the Senate. The advice provision of the bill would allow employers to make investment advice available to plan participants through qualified investment advisers, including the plans' own service providers.