[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S343-S344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Casey, Mr. Brown,
Mr. Kaine, Mr. Warner, Mr. Portman, Mr. Tester, Mrs. Murray,
Mr. Sanders, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Franken, Mr. Booker, Mr. Donnelly,
Mr. Heinrich, Mrs. McCaskill, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Nelson, Mr.
Burr, and Mr. Sullivan):
S. 175. A bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Act of 1977 to transfer certain funds to the Multiemployer Health
Benefit Plan and the 1974 United Mine Workers of America Pension Plan,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I am back again to introduce the Miners
Protection Act.
It is bipartisan. We worked on it in a bipartisan manner, and we
said: If it comes to the floor, we will pass it. So we are here again.
This is a promise that was made since 1946. These are men who have
worked hard. They paid through the hard work they have accomplished
through their own sweat, and we are trying to make sure they have their
permanent fix to their health care and to their pensions. This is
something that has a pay-for. It is back up again. It should have been
done last year. We had an extension at the end until April. April is
going to come and go again, and then we are going to start playing
politics with this. If we get this done now and get it done quickly, it
is something that we can move on, and we can take care of the other
problems we have.
Again, this is the Miners Protection Act, which our miners have
worked for, earned, and deserved. Their widows and families are
expecting this. They need this in order to live any type of a quality
life.
I thank you, again. I thank all of my colleagues--my Republican
friends for signing onto this piece of legislation and all of my
Democratic caucus, which unanimously signed onto it. It is something
that should be done and done quickly.
______
By Mr. McCONNELL:
S. 176. A bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Act of 1977 to transfer certain funds to the Multiemployer Health
Benefit Plan, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text
of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 176
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 ``Helping Ensure Long-Term
Protection for Coal Miners Health Care Act of 2017'' or the
``HELP for Coal Miners Health Care Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Over the 8 years preceding the date of the introduction
of this Act, the coal industry and the communities supported
by that industry have struggled, in large part due to
overregulation.
(2) Excessive regulation has, in large part, made coal more
expensive to mine and use and has put it at an unfair
disadvantage in the marketplace.
(3) Because of these struggles--
(A) the coal mining industry has lost over 30,000 jobs
since President Obama's inauguration;
(B) over 600 coal mines have shuttered since President
Obama's inauguration;
(C) more than 25 coal mining companies have filed for
bankruptcy since President Obama's inauguration;
(D) Kentucky alone has lost over 10,000 coal mining jobs
since President Obama's inauguration; and
(E) the total number of operating coal mines has hit its
lowest point on record.
(4) Because of the health risks often associated with
mining, robust health benefits are vital to coal miner
retirees; however, coal company bankruptcies, job cuts, and
closures have exhausted the ability of many coal companies to
continue providing health benefits to retirees and their
dependents.
(5) Congress has stepped in twice before, in 1992 and in
2006, to assist retired miners and to secure their health
benefits. When thousands more were at risk of losing their
benefits at the end of 2016, Congress intervened again to
provide a 4-month extension in health benefits for orphaned
retired miners and their dependents.
(6) While this extension helped prevent the loss of health
benefits for thousands of miners, it did not provide a long-
term solution.
[[Page S344]]
(7) It is necessary to provide a permanent extension of
health care benefits for the orphaned retirees who are at
risk of losing their retirement health benefits at the end of
April 2017.
SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF CERTAIN RETIREES IN THE MULTIEMPLOYER
HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN.
(a) In General.--Section 402(h)(2)(C) of the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C.
1232(h)(2)(C)), as amended by the Further Continuing and
Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017, is amended--
(1) by striking clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv); and
(2) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
``(ii) Calculation of excess.--The excess determined under
clause (i) shall be calculated by taking into account only--
``(I) those beneficiaries actually enrolled in the Plan as
of the date of the enactment of the HELP for Coal Miners
Health Care Act of 2017 who are eligible to receive health
benefits under the Plan on the first day of the calendar year
for which the transfer is made, other than those
beneficiaries enrolled in the Plan under the terms of a
participation agreement with the current or former employer
of such beneficiaries; and
``(II) those beneficiaries whose health benefits, defined
as those benefits payable, following death or retirement or
upon a finding of disability, directly by an employer in the
bituminous coal industry under a coal wage agreement (as
defined in section 9701(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986), would be denied or reduced as a result of a bankruptcy
proceeding commenced in 2012 or 2015.
For purposes of subclause (I), a beneficiary enrolled in the
Plan as of the date of the enactment of the HELP for Coal
Miners Health Care Act of 2017 shall be deemed to have been
eligible to receive health benefits under the Plan on January
1, 2017.
``(iii) Eligibility of certain retirees.--Individuals
referred to in clause (ii)(II) shall be treated as eligible
to receive health benefits under the Plan.
``(iv) Requirements for transfer.--The amount of the
transfer otherwise determined under this subparagraph for a
fiscal year shall be reduced by any amount transferred for
the fiscal year to the Plan, to pay benefits required under
the Plan, from a voluntary employees' beneficiary association
established as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding described
in clause (ii).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to fiscal years beginning after September 30,
2016.
(c) GAO Audit.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a
study of the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan described in
section 402(h)(2)(C)(i) of the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(h)(2)(C)(i)) and
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report analyzing whether Federal funds are being spent
appropriately by such Plan.
SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF FINANCING OBLIGATIONS.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 9704 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (3),
(2) by striking ``three premiums'' and inserting ``two
premiums'', and
(3) by striking ``, plus'' at the end of paragraph (2) and
inserting a period.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 9704 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is
amended--
(A) by striking subsection (d), and
(B) by redesignating subsections (e) through (j) as
subsections (d) through (i), respectively.
(2) Subsection (d) of section 9704 of such Code, as so
redesignated, is amended--
(A) by striking ``3 separate accounts for each of the
premiums described in subsections (b), (c), and (d)'' in
paragraph (1) and inserting ``2 separate accounts for each of
the premiums described in subsections (b) and (c)'', and
(B) by striking ``or the unassigned beneficiaries premium
account'' in paragraph (3)(B).
(3) Subclause (I) of section 9703(b)(2)(C)(ii) of such Code
is amended by striking ``9704(e)(3)(B)(i)'' and inserting
``9704(d)(3)(B)(i)''.
(4) Paragraph (3) of section 9705(a) of such Code is
amended--
(A) by striking ``the unassigned beneficiary premium under
section 9704(a)(3) and'' in subparagraph (B), and
(B) by striking ``9704(i)(1)(B)'' and inserting
``9704(h)(1)(B)''.
(5) Paragraph (2) of section 9711(c) of such Code is
amended--
(A) by striking ``9704(j)(2)'' in subparagraph (A)(i) and
inserting ``9704(i)(2)'',
(B) by striking ``9704(j)(2)(B)'' in subparagraph (B) and
inserting ``9704(i)(2)(B)'', and
(C) by striking ``9704(j)'' and inserting ``9704(i)''.
(6) Paragraph (4) of section 9712(d) of such Code is
amended by striking ``9704(j)'' and inserting ``9704(i)''.
(c) Elimination of Additional Backstop Premium.--
(1) In general.--Paragraph (1) of section 9712(d) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking
subparagraph (C).
(2) Conforming amendment.--Paragraph (2) of section 9712(d)
of such Code is amended--
(A) by striking subparagraph (B),
(B) by striking ``, and'' at the end of subparagraph (A)
and inserting a period, and
(C) by striking ``shall provide for--'' and all that
follows through ``annual adjustments'' and inserting ``shall
provide for annual adjustments''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to plan years beginning after September 30, 2016.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE SENATE.
It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should work
with the administration to--
(1) repeal onerous regulations that have contributed to the
downfall of the coal industry; and
(2) support economic growth in Appalachia and other coal
communities by promoting growth-oriented economic development
efforts.
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