Read more at WSJ
If I walked into Byron’s Smokehouse in Auburn, Ala., and asked folks if they’d want their retirement savings invested in Chinese companies, I’d get laughed out of the restaurant. So why would we allow the federal Thrift Savings Plan, which serves approximately six million government employees and retirees, including military veterans, to do just that?
The board that governs the TSP wants to invest a considerable portion of its more than $700 billion in assets in companies with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party. President Trump stopped that move from going into effect last year, but with a new president in office, the order blocking the board’s decision no longer carries weight.
Congressional action is needed to provide a permanent solution, rather than relying on the whims of executive action. That’s why I am introducing the Prohibiting TSP Investment in China Act. This bill would bar TSP funds from being invested in any security of an entity based in China or in a subsidiary that is owned or operated by a Chinese company.