[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 127 (Thursday, July 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4513-S4514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 499. Mr. BROWN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill H.R. 1628, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to 
title II of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 
2017; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PROTECTION.

       (a) Notification of Extent to Which Health Benefits Can Be 
     Modified or Terminated.--
       (1) Inclusion in summary plan description.--Section 102(b) 
     of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
     U.S.C. 1022) is amended by inserting ``; in the case of a 
     group health plan (as so defined), whether the provisions of 
     the plan permit the plan sponsor or any employer 
     participating in the plan to unilaterally modify or terminate 
     the benefits under the plan with respect to employees, 
     retired employees, and beneficiaries, and when and to what 
     extent benefits under the plan are fully vested with respect 
     to employees, retired employees, and beneficiaries'' after 
     ``the name and address of such issuer''.
       (2) Presumption that retired employee health benefits 
     cannot be modified or terminated.--Section 502 of the 
     Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
     1132) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(n) In the case of a suit brought under this title by a 
     participant or beneficiary relating to benefits of a retired 
     employee or the dependents of a retired employee under a 
     group health plan (as defined in section 733(a)(1)), the 
     presumption for purposes of such suit shall be that as of the 
     date an employee retires or completes 20 years of service 
     with the employer, benefits available under the plan during 
     retirement of the employee are fully vested and cannot be 
     modified or terminated for the life of the employee or, if 
     longer, the life of the employee's spouse. This presumption 
     can be overcome only upon a showing, by clear and convincing 
     evidence, that the terms of the group health plan allow for a 
     modification or termination of benefits available under the 
     plan and that the employee, prior to becoming a participant 
     in the plan, was made aware, in clear and unambiguous terms, 
     that the plan allowed for such modification or termination of 
     benefits.''.
       (b) Protection of Retirees Under Certain Collectively 
     Bargained Agreements.--Section 8 of the National Labor 
     Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(h) It shall be an unfair labor practice for any labor 
     organization and any employer to enter into any contract or 
     agreement, express or implied, whereby the organization and 
     employer agree to modify the terms of any previous agreement 
     in a manner that would result in a reduction or termination 
     of retiree health insurance benefits provided to an employee 
     or a dependent of an employee under the previous agreement, 
     if such modification of the terms of the previous agreement 
     occurs after the date on which the employee retires.''.

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