[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S8434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             REACH-BACK TAX

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am concerned about an unfair tax on 
coal companies and other businesses which is sometimes referred to as 
the ``reach-back tax.'' It was enacted as part of the Coal Act in the 
1992 Energy bill. The Coal Act requires companies to pay a tax on the 
retirement benefits of miners. The tax applies not only to companies 
active in the coal mining business but also to companies that are no 
longer in the coal mining business.
  There is one company in the State of Washington that has not employed 
any miners since the 1950s and is still obligated to pay. Another 
company that is subject to the tax is the Mississippi Lignite Mining 
Company, which operates a powerplant at Red Hills near Ackerman, MS. It 
is time for the Congress to repeal this unfair tax.
  If we do not act soon, the combined benefit fund, which provides the 
money for the retirement benefits, will be bankrupt. I understand that 
the distinguished chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Mr. 
Grassley, and the Senator from Oregon, Mr. Smith, have asked the House 
Ways and Means Committee to send a bill to the Senate to resolve this 
issue. I join them in this request and hope the Finance Committee will 
act with favor on such a bill when it comes over from the House.

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