Tim Kaine

ESOP Valuation Safe Harbor Bill Awaits Final House Action

Sen. Tim Kaine used his keynote at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum to press the House to pass the Retire Through Ownership Act, a bipartisan ESOP bill he said would reduce uncertainty around company valuations. Kaine argued the measure would create a safe harbor for sellers who use existing IRS rules when selling to an employee stock ownership plan, protecting legitimate transactions from later challenges over whether workers were left carrying excessive debt.