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The Senate Banking Committee, by a 17-4 vote, has agreed on a compromise version of broad reforms of the accounting profession. The agreement focuses on setting boundaries on accounting firms providing consulting services and on establishing standards for the oversight of accounting procedures.

Three New England Republican senators (Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Scott Brown of Massachusetts) introduced a bill that would prevent the Department of Labor from implementing regulations that would make ESOP appraisers fiduciaries of those plans.

The Senate has passed the Pension Security and Transparency Act (S. 1783), a bill providing comprehensive reform of defined benefit plans and significant changes for defined contribution plans.

On September 17, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed the "National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act" ("NESTEG"-even Congress has a sense of humor). The bill contains a variety of reforms of defined benefit and contribution plans.

The Senate Finance Committee has passed S. 219, the National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act ("NESTEG"). This wide-ranging bill covers a variety of areas of retirement law. A major provision covers the use of employer stock in retirement plans.

The Senate Banking Committee is close to agreement on a compromise version of broad reforms of the accounting profession. The agreement focuses on setting boundaries on accounting firms providing consulting services and on establishing standards for the oversight of accounting procedures.

Negotiators are reportedly close to an agreement on a pension reform bill that will merge versions passed by the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee.

The Senate passed an accounting reform bill that makes major changes in accounting procedures but leaves stock options accounting rules untouched.

The "Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019" passed the Senate in April and is expected to pass in the House. It makes many changes to retirement law, but only one is likely to affect ESOPs.

As part of a bill extending expiring tax incentives (S. 1792), the Senate adopted legislation introduced by Congressman James Ramstad (R-MN) and Senator Donald Breaux (D-AL) (HR 3082 and S 1732) designed to curb abuses of the S corporation ESOP law.