[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1367 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1367

  To amend title 11 of the United States Code to protecting the labor 
rights of current and former employees of coal industry employers that 
                     are debtors under such title.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 2005

Mr. Boucher (for himself, Mr. Costello, Mr. Rahall, and Mr. Strickland) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 11 of the United States Code to protecting the labor 
rights of current and former employees of coal industry employers that 
                     are debtors under such title.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS; SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The workers who mine American coal have fueled nearly 2 
        centuries of industrial development, and are crucial to the 
        Nation's economic well-being.
            (2) The Federal Government has had a central role with 
        regard to both the coal industry and the health and welfare of 
        coal miners. Both the Congress and the executive branch have 
        frequently intervened in the coal industry to protect the 
        interests of both coal miners and the industry itself. For 
        example--
                    (A) the Congress enacted legislation--
                            (i) regulating the coal industry to protect 
                        the health and safety of coal miners; and
                            (ii) guaranteeing health care for coal 
                        miners and their families, and providing 
                        benefits to victims of black lung disease; and
                    (B) the Executive Branch has seized the Nation's 
                coal mines for the purpose of negotiating a collective 
                bargaining agreement on the mine owners' behalf, has 
                otherwise frequently intervened in collective 
                bargaining in the coal industry, and has created 
                numerous panels and commissions to study problems and 
                issues unique to coal mining communities and the coal 
                Industry.
            (3) Because coal is an abundant domestic resource, a strong 
        coal industry serves to reduce American dependence upon foreign 
        oil and is vital both to commerce and to the defense of the 
        United States.
            (4) As the result of the abuse of the provisions of 
        bankruptcy law, certain coal industry employers have been able 
        to gain unfair advantages over their competitors, primarily at 
        the expense of their employees.
    (b) Sense of the Congress.-- It is the sense of the Congress that 
the abuse of the provisions of bankruptcy law by certain coal industry 
employers is damaging to the economic health of the United States, as 
well as to the employees who are directly harmed by such legal abuses.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 11 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE.

    Title 11 of the United States Code is amended--
            (1) in section 101 by inserting after paragraph (5) the 
        following:
            ``(5A) Coal industry employer.--The term `coal industry 
        employer' means an employer in the coal industry, and all 
        members of the employer's controlled group of corporations and 
        all trades and businesses under common control (within the 
        meaning of sections 52(a) and 52(b) of the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986).
            ``(5B) Covered facility of a coal industry employer.--The 
        term `covered facility of a coal industry employer' means any 
        facility owned or operated by a coal industry employer that is 
        involved in the production, processing, or transportation of 
        coal.'';
            (2) in section 363 by adding at the end the following:
    ``(p) Notwithstanding subsection (f), a covered facility of a 
debtor that is coal industry employer that is sold by the trustee shall 
remain subject to the labor rights of the current and former employees 
of the debtor. For purposes of this subsection, the term `labor rights' 
means--
            ``(1) if the employees at a covered facility of a coal 
        industry employer to be sold are covered under the terms of a 
        current collective bargaining agreement (other than an 
        agreement that has been rejected pursuant to the terms of 
        sections 365 or 1113), the obligations of the debtor arising 
        under that agreement or under the National Labor Relations Act; 
        or
            ``(2) if the employees at a covered facility of a coal 
        industry employer to be sold are represented by a labor 
        organization but are not covered under the terms of an current 
        collective bargaining agreement, the obligations of the debtor 
        arising under the National Labor Relations Act.
Furthermore, in the case of the sale of a covered facility of a coal 
industry employer at which employees are represented by a labor 
organization, such labor organization shall be conclusively presumed to 
enjoy majority support for a period of 1 year from the date of such 
sale, or such longer period as required by applicable nonbankruptcy 
law.'';
            (3) in section 1113 by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no 
application for the rejection of a collective bargaining agreement 
between a coal industry employer relating to a covered facility of such 
coal industry employer shall be approved unless the following 
additional conditions are met:
            ``(A) The information provided pursuant to subsection 
        (b)(1)(B) has been personally verified by the principal 
        officers (including the principal executive officer and 
        principal financial officer) of the debtor under penalty of 
        perjury.
            ``(B) As soon as practicable after the filing of an 
        application under this section, the Secretary of Labor shall 
        submit a list of five disinterested individuals who are 
        qualified and willing to serve as trustees in the case. The 
        United States trustee shall appoint one of such individuals to 
        serve as trustee in the case.
            ``(C) The court finds that the executive management of the 
        debtor has not received any wage increases or bonuses during 
        the period that the case is pending under this title, or within 
        the year preceding the filing of the petition, or that any such 
        wage increases or bonuses have been disgorged and refunded to 
        the debtor.
            ``(D) The court finds that the proposal made pursuant to 
        subsection (b)(1)(A)--
                    ``(i) does not purport to relieve the debtor, or 
                the purchaser of a covered facility of a coal industry 
                employer, from any obligations otherwise arising under 
                the National Labor Relations Act;
                    ``(ii) provides that the purchaser of any facility 
                owned by the debtor is to be considered a `successor' 
                under the National Labor Relations Act;
                    ``(iii) does not abridge labor rights, as defined 
                in section 363(p); and
                    ``(iv) provides that existing employees retain all 
                noneconomic employment rights provided under the terms 
                of the collective bargaining agreement (including the 
                right to not be terminated without cause and any recall 
                rights following a layoff), both with regard to the 
                debtor and the purchaser of a covered facility of a 
                coal industry employer.
    ``(2) Any obligations arising under the terms of a collective 
bargaining agreement prior to the entry of relief under this section 
shall be secured by a lien on all of the assets of the debtor.''; and
            (4) in section 1114 by adding the following at the end:
    ``(m) If the court enters an order approving an application for the 
modification of retiree benefits owed by a coal industry employer 
relating to a covered facility of such coal industry employer, all 
members of the debtor's controlled group of corporations and all trades 
and businesses under common control (within the meaning of sections 
52(a) and 52(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) shall be jointly 
and severally liable for all damages arising as the result of the entry 
of such order, and all such claims shall be entitled to priority 
pursuant to section 507(a)(1).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply with respect to 
cases commenced under title 11 of the United States Code before, on, or 
after such date.
                                 <all>