[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 981-982]
[From the U.S. 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.
       (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)'',

[[Page 982]]

       (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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