Andrew Saul
Encyclopedia
Andrew Marshall Saul is an American millionaire businessman from Katonah
, New York
who serves as the Chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
(FRTIB) and Vice Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) in New York City
, United States
. Saul has been a General Partner
in the investment firm Saul Partners, L.P., since 1986.
As Chairman of the Thrift Investment Board, he is responsible for overseeing the Thrift Savings Plan
(TSP) which is the retirement savings account for employees of the Federal Government and soldiers of the armed services
. The TSP is known to reap higher returns for their retirement than comparable private-sector workers, and is immune from many of the problems that plague mutual funds. During Saul's tenure, the TSP was grown to over $200 billion in assets by 2007, making it twice as large as when he began in 2003. He also cut operating expenses by over $20 million. The TSP is the largest defined contribution plan in the world with over 3.7 million participants and assets worth over $210 billion. The plan is expected to grow to at least $300 billion by 2010.
His largest accomplishment with the Thrift Savings Board was to eliminate open enrollment periods, which allows eligible participants to enroll year-round, and the launch of lifecycle funds, which automatically allocate investments to minimize risk as a federal employee nears retirement. During monthly FRTIB board meetings, Saul pushed for improvements in technology and customer service, and was instrumental in having the board hire an outside auditor to review TSP financial statements and bring any concerns directly to the board rather than to TSP staff. He is required by law to be independent and act in the best interests of plan participants. As chairman, Saul has urged the board to send a signal to Congress that the Thrift Savings Plan cannot be drawn into social or political debates, even for good causes. He also opposes so-called "terror-free" investments
which would divest the plan from holdings in any government designated by the State Department as a terrorist-sponsoring state, or in businesses with substantial investments in those nations. He is a major advocate for ensuring that its computer systems and offerings keep pace with the program's expanding size.
Saul has been active in Republican Party
politics. In 2007 he began a campaign for the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Representative
John Hall in the 2008 election, but withdrew from the race in November 2007.
. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
in 1968 and began his career with Brooks
Fashion Stores, rising to become its President, and growing the company into a large corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange
. Along with his father Joseph, he then purchased the bankrupt South Florida women's apparel company Caché Inc. (NASDAQ:CACH), and restored it to solvency. The company is now an upscale fashion store with 300 outlets around the world, and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ
. He has served on the board of directors since 1986, and as Chairman of the Board
from February 1993 to October 2000. In 1986, he founded an investment firm with his father, Saul Partners, L.P. as a partner. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, the United Jewish Appeal Federation, the Sarah Neuman Nursing Home, the Wharton School of Business, the Manhattan Institute
, and Mount Sinai Hospital
, New York
. He is also a member of the Chairman's Council of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and a patron of the Museum of Modern Art
, and is one of the top art collectors in New York, with extensive holdings of modern art and contemporary art, especially post war American and Chinese bronzes
.
He and his wife Denise have two daughters, one of whom is active in Republican politics. His father suffered a stroke in 1996, and Saul became the primary caregiver, making a three-hour round trip drive to Long Island several times a week in order to check on his parents and accompany them to physician appointments while still the CEO of a major corporation. Joseph Saul died in 2007.
George Pataki
to a six-year term as a Vice-Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority after nine years as a board member. He was recommended by Westchester County Executive
Andy Spano. He also serves as Chair of the Finance Committee, and is a member of each of the other eleven board committees of the MTA. Saul was originally appointed to the board to represent Westchester County in 1996 by County Executive Andrew O'Rourke
.
In 2005, Saul was one of only two members to vote against a one-time $50 million holiday fare discount from the MTA's budget surplus.
and confirmed by the United States Senate
in 2002 as chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the agency which manages the Thrift Savings Plan
for employees of Federal Government
agencies, and soldiers in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, providing retirement security for more than 3.7 million participants. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate, which was controlled by the Democrats
. Saul replaced James H. Atkins of Arkansas
, who had been nominated to a third term by President Bill Clinton
in a recess appointment
. Since being appointed by President Bush, Saul has pushed for more rigorous audits of TSP operations. The General Accounting Office concurred with Saul's efforts in a 2003 report, urging Congress to set up procedures that would keep it better informed about the operations and policy decisions at the federal employee retirement program, suggesting that Congress could "establish a formal process by which the Secretary of Labor can report to the Congress issues of critical concern associated with the actions of the TSP board and executive director."
During his confirmation hearing, Senator Daniel Akaka
told Saul he would be facing a difficult situation, as the outgoing Executive Director had taken a number of actions before his sudden departure which led to "demoralization of the TSP staff, expensive lawsuits, investigations, rancorous battles with other agencies, along with the costs of a failed record keeping system project" that were all eventually dealt with by the FRTIB. Shortly after Saul assumed office, TSP Executive Director James Petrick resigned. It has been alleged by former FRTIB Chairman and Executive Director Roger Mehle that this occurred when Petrick wished to pursue a lawsuit against the contractor for the record keeping system which led to a conflict with the Justice Department over whether the board had standing to sue. Saul pursued a settlement and dropped the lawsuit. In 2007, Mehle launched his own lawsuit against Saul and the board which alleges that the board violated its fiduciary duty to TSP participants by forcing out Petrick in order to settle the lawsuit against the contractor.
Saul and his executive director Gary Amelio inherited a mishandled computer project for a new record-keeping system, which had been started in 1997 and wasted $36 million. The system was eventually brought online in 2003. Under the direction of Saul and Amelio, a new mainframe computer was installed that runs ten times faster than the old system, with an emergency backup computer that can be used in the event of a disaster in the Washington DC area. The agency also acquired its first toll-free line, opened two new call centers, and extended hours for customer service. On May 3, 2007, President George W. Bush renominated Saul to two more consecutive terms on the board expiring September 25, 2012. Following the resignation of Gary Amelio in 2007, Saul appointed Gregory T. Long as executive director for the Thrift Savings Plan, who was previously the director of product development for the TSP.
In June 2007, the Federal Thrift Retirement Investment Board approved a resolution to prohibit Congress from proposing that companies that do business in Iran
or Sudan
be removed from the Thrift Savings Plan, in order to reduce support for Iran's oil and gas industry or to reprimand the Sudanese government for its role in the Darfur conflict
. Saul said such changes would not be in the TSP participants' best interest since the changes would go against past precedent that the TSP not interfere in social or political matters. Members of Congress including Reps. Tom Davis
, Jon Porter
, Henry Waxman
, and Danny Davis
, wrote Saul in July 2005 claiming that they wanted to have an independent professional investment consultant examine whether new investment choices would benefit TSP participants, which led to a conflict between Congress and the board regarding Real estate investment trust
funds.
Saul and other board members have discussed several future options for the TSP, including asking Congress to require automatic enrollment in the TSP for new hires, as Government employees now must sign up for a payroll deduction. Other proposals have included asking Congress whether to designate a new default fund for FERS employees who do not enroll but receive a mandatory agency contribution of 1 percent of salary, since that money now goes into the government securities fund, but TSP officials think the L Funds would be a more appropriate, long-term investment. Saul has also suggested adding Roth 401(k)
-style feature to the TSP that is similar to Roth individual savings accounts, by allowing participants to make contributions with money that has been taxed, with the contributions growing tax-free and account balances being withdrawn tax-free. Employees now contribute pre-tax dollars to the TSP and pay taxes when they withdraw their savings. President Bush likened his social security privatization
plan to the TSP, although it was never adopted. Bush believed that the TSP could serve as a model for his proposed personal accounts.
Under the Saul's stewardship, the board tightened the rules for the TSP loan program in 2004, imposing a waiting period for new loans and charging a loan-processing fee, which dropped the number of loans issued from about 1,800 loans per day to an average of 534 per day. Currently, TSP participants may hold two loans at the same time and pay them back through payroll deductions, and may pay off a loan early and immediately request a new loan. The board felt the loan program was partially responsible for the slowdown during the launch of the new-record keeping system. The board also felt that participants are asked to absorb the cost of a loan program that they rarely use use, and that the borrowers were also tying up the TSP's limited staff resources, leading to the changes. During a 2005 audit called for by Saul, representatives of Deloitte & Touche gave the TSP a clean audit and said they found no major problems with TSP's internal financial controls.
in 2000 and 2004, raising over $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney campaign, and has contributed to numerous Republican candidates and served on the National Republican Senatorial Committee
. Along with Bill Kristol and Peggy Noonan
, Saul is a trustee of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
, a prominent conservative think-tank which promotes limited government
and free-market principles whose mission is to "develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility" and has hosted policy speeches by then-National Security Advisor
Condoleezza Rice
in 2002 and both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
in 2006. His daughter, Jennifer Saul Yaffa, is the National Committeewoman of the Republican National Committee
from the New York Republican State Committee
. She is also head of the Manhattan
GOP
.
In 2007, Saul was for several months a candidate for the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Representative
John Hall in the 2008 election. Saul had been eyeing the seat for New York's 19th congressional district
since 1993, when Sue Kelly won a crowded primary. She won the seat and held it until being defeated by Hall in 2006.
Saul's 2007 campaign began well when he raised more money than Hall in the second quarter of 2007, although Hall had more total money on hand. A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee
described Saul as a "top recruit". Another Republican candidate, Iraq War veteran Kieran Lalor
, criticized Saul as being too liberal
, saying he was "Sue Kelly all over again".
On November 20, 2007, Saul announced that he was dropping out of the race because of unspecified "personal reasons".
|-
Katonah, New York
Katonah, New York is one of three unincorporated hamlets within the town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, United States.-History:Katonah is named for Chief Katonah, an American Indian from whom the land of Bedford was purchased by a group of English colonists...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
who serves as the Chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board was established as an independent agency of the United States government by the Federal Employees Retirement System Act of 1986. It is one of the smaller executive branch agencies, with just over 80 employees...
(FRTIB) and Vice Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
(MTA) in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Saul has been a General Partner
General partner
General partner is a legal term used to describe a person who joins with at least one other person to form a business. A general partner has responsibility for the actions of the business, can legally bind the business and is personally liable for all the business's debts and obligations.General...
in the investment firm Saul Partners, L.P., since 1986.
As Chairman of the Thrift Investment Board, he is responsible for overseeing the Thrift Savings Plan
Thrift Savings Plan
The Thrift Savings Plan is a defined contribution plan for United States civil service employees and retirees as well as for members of the uniformed services....
(TSP) which is the retirement savings account for employees of the Federal Government and soldiers of the armed services
Armed Services
Armed Services is a collective term that refers to the major organisational entities of national armed forces, so named because they service a combat need in a specific combat environment. In most states Armed Services include the Army also known as Land Force or Ground Force, Navy also know a...
. The TSP is known to reap higher returns for their retirement than comparable private-sector workers, and is immune from many of the problems that plague mutual funds. During Saul's tenure, the TSP was grown to over $200 billion in assets by 2007, making it twice as large as when he began in 2003. He also cut operating expenses by over $20 million. The TSP is the largest defined contribution plan in the world with over 3.7 million participants and assets worth over $210 billion. The plan is expected to grow to at least $300 billion by 2010.
His largest accomplishment with the Thrift Savings Board was to eliminate open enrollment periods, which allows eligible participants to enroll year-round, and the launch of lifecycle funds, which automatically allocate investments to minimize risk as a federal employee nears retirement. During monthly FRTIB board meetings, Saul pushed for improvements in technology and customer service, and was instrumental in having the board hire an outside auditor to review TSP financial statements and bring any concerns directly to the board rather than to TSP staff. He is required by law to be independent and act in the best interests of plan participants. As chairman, Saul has urged the board to send a signal to Congress that the Thrift Savings Plan cannot be drawn into social or political debates, even for good causes. He also opposes so-called "terror-free" investments
Terror-free investing
Terror-free investing describes an investment strategy which seeks to maximize financial return while assuring investors that the financial instruments in the portfolio are "terror-free"....
which would divest the plan from holdings in any government designated by the State Department as a terrorist-sponsoring state, or in businesses with substantial investments in those nations. He is a major advocate for ensuring that its computer systems and offerings keep pace with the program's expanding size.
Saul has been active in Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politics. In 2007 he began a campaign for the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
John Hall in the 2008 election, but withdrew from the race in November 2007.
Early career and background
Saul was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
in 1968 and began his career with Brooks
Brooks Brothers
Brooks Brothers is the oldest men's clothier chain in the United States. Founded in 1818 as a family business, the privately owned company is now owned by Retail Brand Alliance, also features clothing for women, and is headquartered on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.-History:On April 7,...
Fashion Stores, rising to become its President, and growing the company into a large corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
. Along with his father Joseph, he then purchased the bankrupt South Florida women's apparel company Caché Inc. (NASDAQ:CACH), and restored it to solvency. The company is now an upscale fashion store with 300 outlets around the world, and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
. He has served on the board of directors since 1986, and as Chairman of the Board
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
from February 1993 to October 2000. In 1986, he founded an investment firm with his father, Saul Partners, L.P. as a partner. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, the United Jewish Appeal Federation, the Sarah Neuman Nursing Home, the Wharton School of Business, the Manhattan Institute
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
, and Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He is also a member of the Chairman's Council of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and a patron of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, and is one of the top art collectors in New York, with extensive holdings of modern art and contemporary art, especially post war American and Chinese bronzes
Bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...
.
He and his wife Denise have two daughters, one of whom is active in Republican politics. His father suffered a stroke in 1996, and Saul became the primary caregiver, making a three-hour round trip drive to Long Island several times a week in order to check on his parents and accompany them to physician appointments while still the CEO of a major corporation. Joseph Saul died in 2007.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
In 2006, Saul was appointed by GovernorGovernor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
to a six-year term as a Vice-Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority after nine years as a board member. He was recommended by Westchester County Executive
Westchester County Executive
Westchester County Executive is the head of the executive branch of the Westchester County government. The county executive has power to veto acts of Westchester County Board of Legislators-History:...
Andy Spano. He also serves as Chair of the Finance Committee, and is a member of each of the other eleven board committees of the MTA. Saul was originally appointed to the board to represent Westchester County in 1996 by County Executive Andrew O'Rourke
Andrew O'Rourke
Andrew P. O'Rourke is a judge and politician from New York State. A Republican, he served as the County Executive of Westchester County, New York from 1983 to 1998....
.
In 2005, Saul was one of only two members to vote against a one-time $50 million holiday fare discount from the MTA's budget surplus.
Federal Thrift Retirement Investment Board
Saul was nominated by President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 2002 as chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the agency which manages the Thrift Savings Plan
Thrift Savings Plan
The Thrift Savings Plan is a defined contribution plan for United States civil service employees and retirees as well as for members of the uniformed services....
for employees of Federal Government
Federal government
The federal government is the common government of a federation. The structure of federal governments varies from institution to institution. Based on a broad definition of a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and...
agencies, and soldiers in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, providing retirement security for more than 3.7 million participants. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate, which was controlled by the Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Saul replaced James H. Atkins of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, who had been nominated to a third term by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
. Since being appointed by President Bush, Saul has pushed for more rigorous audits of TSP operations. The General Accounting Office concurred with Saul's efforts in a 2003 report, urging Congress to set up procedures that would keep it better informed about the operations and policy decisions at the federal employee retirement program, suggesting that Congress could "establish a formal process by which the Secretary of Labor can report to the Congress issues of critical concern associated with the actions of the TSP board and executive director."
During his confirmation hearing, Senator Daniel Akaka
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Kahikina Akaka is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only member of the Senate who has Chinese ancestry....
told Saul he would be facing a difficult situation, as the outgoing Executive Director had taken a number of actions before his sudden departure which led to "demoralization of the TSP staff, expensive lawsuits, investigations, rancorous battles with other agencies, along with the costs of a failed record keeping system project" that were all eventually dealt with by the FRTIB. Shortly after Saul assumed office, TSP Executive Director James Petrick resigned. It has been alleged by former FRTIB Chairman and Executive Director Roger Mehle that this occurred when Petrick wished to pursue a lawsuit against the contractor for the record keeping system which led to a conflict with the Justice Department over whether the board had standing to sue. Saul pursued a settlement and dropped the lawsuit. In 2007, Mehle launched his own lawsuit against Saul and the board which alleges that the board violated its fiduciary duty to TSP participants by forcing out Petrick in order to settle the lawsuit against the contractor.
Saul and his executive director Gary Amelio inherited a mishandled computer project for a new record-keeping system, which had been started in 1997 and wasted $36 million. The system was eventually brought online in 2003. Under the direction of Saul and Amelio, a new mainframe computer was installed that runs ten times faster than the old system, with an emergency backup computer that can be used in the event of a disaster in the Washington DC area. The agency also acquired its first toll-free line, opened two new call centers, and extended hours for customer service. On May 3, 2007, President George W. Bush renominated Saul to two more consecutive terms on the board expiring September 25, 2012. Following the resignation of Gary Amelio in 2007, Saul appointed Gregory T. Long as executive director for the Thrift Savings Plan, who was previously the director of product development for the TSP.
In June 2007, the Federal Thrift Retirement Investment Board approved a resolution to prohibit Congress from proposing that companies that do business in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
or Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
be removed from the Thrift Savings Plan, in order to reduce support for Iran's oil and gas industry or to reprimand the Sudanese government for its role in the Darfur conflict
Darfur conflict
The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...
. Saul said such changes would not be in the TSP participants' best interest since the changes would go against past precedent that the TSP not interfere in social or political matters. Members of Congress including Reps. Tom Davis
Thomas M. Davis
Thomas Milburn "Tom" Davis III was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Virginia's 11th congressional district in Northern Virginia. Davis was considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by five-term incumbent and fellow Republican John...
, Jon Porter
Jon Porter
Jonathan Christopher "Jon" Porter , an American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, the first representative elected from the new 3rd Congressional District of Nevada....
, Henry Waxman
Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...
, and Danny Davis
Danny K. Davis
For other persons named Danny Davis, please see Daniel Davis .Daniel K. Davis is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...
, wrote Saul in July 2005 claiming that they wanted to have an independent professional investment consultant examine whether new investment choices would benefit TSP participants, which led to a conflict between Congress and the board regarding Real estate investment trust
Real estate investment trust
A real estate investment trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporate entity investing in real estate. The purpose of this designation is to reduce or eliminate corporate tax. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income into the hands of investors...
funds.
Saul and other board members have discussed several future options for the TSP, including asking Congress to require automatic enrollment in the TSP for new hires, as Government employees now must sign up for a payroll deduction. Other proposals have included asking Congress whether to designate a new default fund for FERS employees who do not enroll but receive a mandatory agency contribution of 1 percent of salary, since that money now goes into the government securities fund, but TSP officials think the L Funds would be a more appropriate, long-term investment. Saul has also suggested adding Roth 401(k)
Roth IRA
A Roth IRA is a special type of retirement plan under US law that is generally not taxed, provided certain conditions are met. The tax law of the United States allows a tax reduction on a limited amount of saving for retirement. The Roth IRA is named for its chief legislative sponsor, Senator...
-style feature to the TSP that is similar to Roth individual savings accounts, by allowing participants to make contributions with money that has been taxed, with the contributions growing tax-free and account balances being withdrawn tax-free. Employees now contribute pre-tax dollars to the TSP and pay taxes when they withdraw their savings. President Bush likened his social security privatization
Social Security debate (United States)
This article concerns proposals to change the Social Security system in the United States. Social Security is a social insurance program officially called "Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance" , in reference to its three components. It is primarily funded through a dedicated payroll tax...
plan to the TSP, although it was never adopted. Bush believed that the TSP could serve as a model for his proposed personal accounts.
Under the Saul's stewardship, the board tightened the rules for the TSP loan program in 2004, imposing a waiting period for new loans and charging a loan-processing fee, which dropped the number of loans issued from about 1,800 loans per day to an average of 534 per day. Currently, TSP participants may hold two loans at the same time and pay them back through payroll deductions, and may pay off a loan early and immediately request a new loan. The board felt the loan program was partially responsible for the slowdown during the launch of the new-record keeping system. The board also felt that participants are asked to absorb the cost of a loan program that they rarely use use, and that the borrowers were also tying up the TSP's limited staff resources, leading to the changes. During a 2005 audit called for by Saul, representatives of Deloitte & Touche gave the TSP a clean audit and said they found no major problems with TSP's internal financial controls.
Political involvement
Saul was a Bush pioneerBush Pioneer
Bush Pioneers are people who gathered $100,000 for George W. Bush's 2000 or 2004 presidential campaign. Two new levels, Bush Rangers and Super Rangers, were bestowed upon supporters who gathered $200,000+ or $300,000+, respectively, for the 2004 campaign, after the 2002 McCain–Feingold campaign...
in 2000 and 2004, raising over $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney campaign, and has contributed to numerous Republican candidates and served on the National Republican Senatorial Committee
National Republican Senatorial Committee
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to that body. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee...
. Along with Bill Kristol and Peggy Noonan
Peggy Noonan
Peggy Noonan is an American author of seven books on politics, religion, and culture and a weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal...
, Saul is a trustee of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
, a prominent conservative think-tank which promotes limited government
Limited government
Limited government is a government which anything more than minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy is generally disallowed by law, usually in a written constitution. It is written in the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 8...
and free-market principles whose mission is to "develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility" and has hosted policy speeches by then-National Security Advisor
National Security Advisor (United States)
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
in 2002 and both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
in 2006. His daughter, Jennifer Saul Yaffa, is the National Committeewoman of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
from the New York Republican State Committee
New York Republican State Committee
The New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...
. She is also head of the Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
In 2007, Saul was for several months a candidate for the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
John Hall in the 2008 election. Saul had been eyeing the seat for New York's 19th congressional district
New York's 19th congressional district
United States House of Representatives, New York District 19 is located in the southern part of the state of New York. District 19 lies north of New York City and is composed of parts of Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Westchester Counties, in addition to the entirety of Putnam County.District 19...
since 1993, when Sue Kelly won a crowded primary. She won the seat and held it until being defeated by Hall in 2006.
Saul's 2007 campaign began well when he raised more money than Hall in the second quarter of 2007, although Hall had more total money on hand. A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
described Saul as a "top recruit". Another Republican candidate, Iraq War veteran Kieran Lalor
Kieran Lalor
Kieran Michael Lalor is an American politician, entrepreneur and author who founded Iraq Vets for Congress . He works in the defense industry, and is a former social studies teacher, and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.Lalor was the Republican candidate in New York's 19th congressional...
, criticized Saul as being too liberal
Liberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process...
, saying he was "Sue Kelly all over again".
On November 20, 2007, Saul announced that he was dropping out of the race because of unspecified "personal reasons".
External links
- Andrew Saul for Congress Campaign website
- Caché Inc. - Fashion retailing company owned by Andrew Saul
- FRTIB.gov, the official site of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
- Online Guide to New York Politics
- SEC Filings for Caché Inc.
- The Official TSP Home Page, maintained by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
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