<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><BillSummaries>
<item congress="115" measure-type="hr" measure-number="179" measure-id="id115hr179" originChamber="HOUSE" orig-publish-date="2017-01-03" update-date="2017-01-23">
<title>Miners Protection Act of 2017</title>
<summary summary-id="id115hr179v00" currentChamber="HOUSE" update-date="2017-01-23">
<action-date>2017-01-03</action-date>
<action-desc>Introduced in House</action-desc>
<summary-text><![CDATA[<p><b>Miners Protection Act of 2017</b></p> <p>This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) to transfer certain funds to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan and the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan to provide health and pension benefits to retired coal miners and their families. </p> <p>The bill expands the group whose retiree health benefits are taken into account in determining the amount that the Department of the Treasury must transfer from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and the General Fund of the Treasury to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan. </p> <p>A voluntary employees' beneficiary association (VEBA) established as a result of certain bankruptcy proceedings must transfer to the plan any amounts received as a result of the bankruptcy proceeding, reduced by the amount of the VEBA's administrative costs. Transfers by Treasury are reduced by the amount of the VEBA transfers. </p> <p>Treasury must also transfer additional funds to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the amounts available for transfer under SMCRA's $490 million annual limit exceed the amounts required to be transferred for other purposes (including to the UMWA Health Plans). </p> <p>The bill also: (1) prohibits the pension plan from making certain changes to benefits during any year in which a transfer is received, and (2) establishes additional reporting requirements for the plan.</p> <p>The bill repeals requirements for current and former signatories to labor agreements with the UMWA to pay unassigned beneficiaries premiums or backstop premiums if transfers under SMCRA are less than the amount required to be transferred.</p>]]></summary-text>
</summary>
</item>
<dublinCore xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
<dc:format>text/xml</dc:format>
<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
<dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
<dc:description>This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.</dc:description>
</dublinCore>
</BillSummaries>
