[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3507 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3507

   To establish a program of supplemental unemployment benefits for 
   unemployed coal miners who have exhausted their rights to regular 
 unemployment benefits, and whose separation from employment is due to 
 environmental laws or court orders directly related to the mining of 
                                 coal.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 1999

  Mr. Wise (for himself, Mr. Rahall, and Mr. Mollohan) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a program of supplemental unemployment benefits for 
   unemployed coal miners who have exhausted their rights to regular 
 unemployment benefits, and whose separation from employment is due to 
 environmental laws or court orders directly related to the mining of 
                                 coal.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coal Miners' Unemployment Assistance 
Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN UNEMPLOYED COAL 
              MINERS.

    (a) General Rule.--The Secretary of Labor (hereinafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall make payments of Federal 
supplemental benefits to individuals who are eligible unemployed coal 
miners for any week of unemployment which begins in the individual's 
period of eligibility. Such benefits may be provided through agreements 
with State unemployment agencies.
    (b) Eligible Unemployed Coal Miners.--For purposes of this Act, the 
term ``eligible unemployed coal miner'' means any individual if--
            (1) such individual is separated from employment as a coal 
        miner as a result of the application of--
                    (A) environmental statutes,
                    (B) environmental regulations,
                    (C) environmental policy directives, or
                    (D) court orders,
        directly related to the mining of coal, as certified by the 
        Governor of the State involved under regulations prescribed by 
        the Secretary;
            (2) the date of such individual's separation from 
        employment occurs on or after January 1, 1999;
            (3) such individual has exhausted his rights to regular 
        compensation under State law;
            (4) such individual has no rights to compensation 
        (including both regular compensation and extended compensation) 
        with respect to the week under any State unemployment 
        compensation law or under any other Federal law (and is not 
        paid or entitled to be paid any additional compensation under 
        any State or Federal law); and
            (5) at least 30 percent of the individual's base period 
        wages were for services performed directly in connection with 
        the mining of coal.
    (c) Period of Eligibility.--For purposes of this Act, the term 
``period of eligibility'' means, with respect to any individual, the 3-
year period beginning on the date of the separation on the basis of 
which that individual satisfies the requirements of subsection (b).
    (d) Amount of Weekly Benefits, Etc.--For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the amount of the Federal supplemental benefit payable 
        to any individual for any week of total unemployment shall be 
        equal to the amount of the regular compensation (including 
        dependents' allowances) payable to him during his benefit year 
        under State law for a week of total unemployment, and
            (2) the terms and conditions of the State law which apply 
        to claims for regular compensation and to the payment thereof 
        shall (except where inconsistent with the provisions of this 
        Act or regulations of the Secretary prescribed to carry out the 
        purposes of this Act) apply to claims for Federal supplemental 
        benefits and the payment thereof.
    (e) Federal Supplemental Account.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish, for each 
        eligible unemployed coal miner who files a claim for Federal 
        supplemental benefits, a Federal supplemental account with 
        respect to each miner's benefit year.
            (2) Amount in account.--The amount established in each 
        eligible unemployed coal miner's supplemental account shall be 
        equal to the lesser of--
                    (A) 100 percent of the total amount of regular 
                compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable 
                to him with respect to the benefit year (as determined 
                under the State law) on the basis of which he most 
                recently received regular compensation, or
                    (B) 26 times the amount of regular compensation 
                (including dependents' allowances) under the State law 
                payable to such individual during such benefit year for 
                a week of total unemployment.
            (3) Limitation.--The amount of Federal supplemental 
        benefits payable to an eligible unemployed coal miner shall not 
        exceed the amount in such miner's account established under 
        this subsection.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated, from the general fund of 
the Treasury, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 
of this Act.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``State unemployment agency'' means the agency 
        administering the State law.
            (2) The terms ``compensation'', ``regular compensation'', 
        ``extended compensation'', ``additional compensation'', ``base 
        period'', ``benefit year'', ``State'', ``State law'', and 
        ``week'' have the respective meanings given such terms under 
        section 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment 
        Compensation Act of 1970.
            (3) The term ``Governor'' means the chief executive officer 
        of a State.
            (4) The determination of whether an individual has 
        exhausted his rights to regular compensation shall be made as 
        provided in section 202(a)(1) of the Federal-State Extended 
        Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970.
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