S1368

1) **What happened:** Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced S.1368 on April 9, 2025. The bill amends 5 U.S.C. §8477 to add a duty for FRTIB fiduciaries to prevent TSP investments that harm national security, specifically targeting entities on DOD's Chinese military company list and DOC's entity lists. Personal fiduciary liability for monetary damages begins January 1, 2027. The bill has been read twice and referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. A companion bill, H.R.7357, was introduced in the House and referred to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. 2) **The money trail:** The bill authorizes ZERO spending. It imposes a regulatory standard on FRTIB fiduciaries but does not appropriate any funds for implementation, enforcement, or DOL rulemaking. The TSP's administrative expenses are paid by participants via expense ratios, not taxpayers. There is no direct federal spending or contract authorization. 3) **Structural winners and losers:** This bill is precatory at this stage. The only potential operational impact is on index providers — MSCI ($MSCI) and S&P Global ($SPGI) via S&P Dow Jones Indices — who may be asked to provide custom screened index versions for TSP's passive funds. However, the TSP, while large (~$900B AUM), represents a single client. Neither MSCI nor S&P Global's revenue is measurably affected by a single fund's customized screening requirement. BlackRock ($BLK), which manages the TSP's I Fund, may face minor administrative adjustments but no material financial impact. 4) **Market data context:** As of April 30, 2026, MSCI closed at $591.11, up 9.67% over 30 days and trading within its 52-week range of $501.08–$626.28. S&P Global closed at $431.65, up 1.48% over 30 days and within a 52-week range of $381.61–$579.05. BlackRock closed at $1,057.67. None of these stocks show any movement correlated with this April 2025 bill — the market has priced in zero impact, which is consistent with the bill's early stage and zero funding authorization. 5) **Timeline:** The bill was introduced on April 9, 2025, and immediately referred to committee. No hearings, markups, or floor votes have occurred in over 12 months. A companion bill (H.R.7357) exists in the House but is also in committee. The bill requires: (a) committee markup and Senate passage, (b) House passage, (c) presidential signature, (d) DOL rulemaking within one year of enactment, and (e) fiduciary liability delayed until January 1, 2027. The legislative path is very long, and a single-sponsor bill by a junior committee member (Sen. Scott, R-FL) faces low odds of enactment in this Congress without significant committee chair support or broader national security legislation.