To advance responsible policies.
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. McGovern introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Responsible Legislating Act is an omnibus bill that packages together multiple bipartisan provisions affecting retirement savings, federal employees, veterans, small businesses, and other areas. Its primary focus is implementing major retirement reforms (known as SECURE 2.0 provisions) that expand access to retirement plans, increase contribution limits, and reduce penalties for retirement account errors.
Who Benefits and How
Retirement Savers: Workers of all income levels gain from automatic enrollment in new 401(k) plans, expanded catch-up contribution limits (up to $10,000 for workers aged 62-64), a higher age for required minimum distributions (75), and reduced penalties for missed distributions (from 50% to 25%). Low-income savers receive an enhanced Savers Credit of 50%.
Small Businesses: Employers with 50 or fewer employees receive 100% tax credits for pension plan startup costs. Small employers also get new credits for hiring military spouses and making them immediately eligible for retirement benefits.
Federal First Responders: Law enforcement officers, firefighters, and air traffic controllers who are injured on duty can continue accruing enhanced retirement benefits even after being reassigned to desk positions.
Employees with Student Loans: Workers repaying student loans can receive employer 401(k) matching contributions as if their loan payments were retirement contributions.
Veterans and Military Spouses: The Boots to Business entrepreneurship program is expanded, and the DOL must create a searchable website for veteran apprenticeship opportunities. Military spouses gain faster access to employer retirement plans.
Insurance Companies and Financial Services: Annuity providers benefit from expanded options for life annuities and qualifying longevity annuity contracts in retirement plans.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Medium and Large Employers: New 401(k) and 403(b) plans must automatically enroll employees at 3-10% contribution rates with annual escalation. Employers also face new requirements to include part-time workers in retirement plans after 2 years (down from 3).
Plan Administrators: Must provide at least one paper benefit statement per year and meet new reporting requirements, though some disclosure burdens are reduced for unenrolled participants.
Higher-Income Workers Over 50: Catch-up contributions above $145,000 in wages must be made on a Roth (after-tax) basis rather than pre-tax.
Federal Agencies: The Department of Labor must create a Retirement Savings Lost and Found database, and various agencies face new study and reporting requirements.
Key Provisions
- Automatic 401(k) Enrollment: New employer plans must auto-enroll workers at 3-10% with annual 1% increases (small businesses exempted)
- Enhanced Savers Credit: Increased to flat 50% rate for low-income retirement savers
- Student Loan Matching: Employers can match student loan payments with retirement contributions
- RMD Age Raised to 75: Delays required minimum distributions, allowing more tax-deferred growth
- Reduced RMD Penalty: Penalty for missed distributions cut from 50% to 25% (10% if corrected promptly)
- First Responder Protections: Injured federal first responders keep enhanced retirement benefits
- Military Spouse Tax Credit: New credit for small employers making military spouses immediately eligible for retirement plans
- Boots to Business Expansion: Extended entrepreneurship training for veterans and service members
- Asian Pacific American Museum: Establishes a commission to study feasibility of a national museum
- Credit Union Governance: Reduces required board meetings from monthly to quarterly
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Omnibus legislation that extends various program authorizations, enhances retirement savings rules, expands veteran and federal employee benefits, increases penalties for human trafficking, creates a commission for an Asian Pacific American museum, and makes various technical corrections across multiple government programs.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Omnibus packaging of diverse bipartisan provisions to advance multiple policy priorities in a single vehicle, including SECURE 2.0 retirement reforms, veteran support programs, federal employee benefits, child protection enhancements, and semiconductor investment coordination."
Likely Beneficiaries
- Retirement plan participants (automatic enrollment, higher contribution limits, lower penalties)
- Federal law enforcement and first responders injured on duty (retirement credit preservation)
- Veterans transitioning to civilian careers (apprenticeship programs, small business training)
- Military spouses (employer tax credits for retirement plan participation)
- Small employers offering retirement plans (enhanced tax credits)
- Part-time workers (improved retirement plan access)
- Domestic abuse victims (penalty-free retirement withdrawals)
- Firefighters (expanded distribution options)
- Disabled first responders (tax exclusion for disability payments)
- Credit unions (reduced board meeting requirements)
- NASA and private sector partners (extended property leasing authority)
- Semiconductor manufacturers seeking to invest in the US (coordinated federal investment support)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Larger employers (mandatory automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans)
- Plan administrators (new compliance requirements for part-time worker coverage)
- Human traffickers and child predators (enhanced criminal penalties near schools)
- Department of Labor (new database creation for Retirement Savings Lost and Found)
- Federal agencies (new reporting and implementation requirements)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_assistant_secretary"
- → Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and Training
- "director_cia"
- → Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Office of Personnel Management
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of State (for Foreign Service)
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
- "secretary_of_labor"
- → Secretary of Labor
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Small Business Administration
- "the_commission"
- → Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture
- "the_executive_director"
- → Executive Director of SelectUSA
- "the_administrator"
- → FEMA Administrator
- "the_chairman"
- → Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission
Note: The Secretary refers to different officials depending on title: Secretary of Agriculture (Title I), Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Title II), Secretary of State (Title III for Foreign Service), Secretary of the Treasury (Title IV).
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An individual covered under federal retirement who: is performing service in a covered position; becomes ill or injured while on duty; is permanently unable to continue in their covered position; and is reappointed to a civil service position that is not a covered position.
The SelectUSA program of the Department of Commerce established by Executive Order No. 13577.
In or on school grounds, or within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a public or private elementary or secondary school.
A position as a law enforcement officer, customs and border protection officer, firefighter, air traffic controller, nuclear materials courier, member of the Capitol Police, or member of the Supreme Court Police.
A member of the Armed Forces (including National Guard or Reserves), an individual in the Transition Assistance Program, or a veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
An individual who is a victim of domestic abuse by a spouse or domestic partner, occurring within the 1-year period ending on the date of the distribution request, self-certified by the individual.
A payment by an employee to repay an education loan, treated as elective deferrals for purposes of employer matching contributions.
A retirement plan arrangement that automatically enrolls employees with default contribution rates starting at 3-10% and escalating annually.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology