District of Columbia Retirement Protection Improvement Act of 2004
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RETIREMENT PROTECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - September 28, 2004)
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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support The District of Columbia Retirement Protection Improvement Act of 2004, which I sponsored with Representative TOM DAVIS. This bill makes simple and commonsense improvements to streamline the administration of pension benefits for District of Columbia teachers, police officers, and firefighters.
This legislation eliminates duplication and promotes efficiency in the investment and accounting of D.C. pension funds. In 1997 Congress created two separate funds that operated under different rules. However, Congress has long since acted to eliminate the distinctions between the two funds. This legislation will take the logical next step of consolidating the two funds and replacing them with the newly created D.C. Teachers, Police, and Firefighters Pension Fund.
I am also pleased that we were able to include provisions supported by Congresswoman ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON and the City government to transfer administration of retirement programs for D.C. Police Officers, Firefighters, and Teachers from the office of the Chief Financial Officer to the D.C. Retirement Board. This provision will consolidate responsibility of retirement benefits and has already been approved by the D.C. Government, but can only go into effect with Congressional action.
Last year, I was pleased to join Congressman DAVIS in sponsoring another bill affecting retirement funds for D.C. Police Officers and Firefighters, the D.C. Military Retirement Equity Act, which was signed into law on November 22, 2003. That law allowed retired D.C. Police Officers, Firefighters, Park Police Officers, and Secret Service employees to "buy back" military service time and credit it toward their retirement in order to avoid cost reductions in their monthly benefit payments.
These changes today will improve the management of pension funds for D.C. Police Officers, Firefighters, and Teachers, many of whom work in the District of Columbia but reside in my home State of Maryland. Police Officers, Firefighters, and Teachers serve our communities every day to ensure that our children are educated, our streets are safer, and our neighborhoods are protected. I am pleased to take this small step to improve the administration of pension benefits for these workers.