Miners Protection Act of 2015
Latest action · Jul 7, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 7, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Miners Protection Act of 2015
This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to address potential shortages in the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan for payment of health care benefits to retired coal miners by expanding the eligible uses of interest transferable to such plan from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, and supplemental payments from the General Fund of the Treasury. The calculation of such interest and payments shall be made by taking into account only those beneficiaries who are actually enrolled in the plan as of the enactment of this Act, as well as those retirees whose health care benefits, payable directly by an employer in the bituminous coal industry under a coal wage agreement, would be denied or reduced as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced in 2012.
The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer to the trustees of the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan additional funds to pay pension benefits required under that plan, if the $490 million cap on certain transfers to the UMWA Combined Benefit Fund and distributions to states and Indian tribes exceed the aggregate amount required to be transferred to them.
The bill also expands the annual reporting requirements of the trustees of the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan on plan solvency and value of plan assets.
Cosponsors 26
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 7, 2015 to Dec 9, 2016; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-VA | Mark R. Warner | Original | Jul 7, 2015 |
| R-KS | Pat Roberts | Original | Jul 7, 2015 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Original | Jul 7, 2015 |
| R-WV | Shelley Moore Capito | Original | Jul 7, 2015 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Jul 7, 2015 |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Original | Jul 7, 2015 |
| R-AR | Tom Cotton | Jul 9, 2015 | |
| R-ID | James E. Risch | Jul 16, 2015 | |
| R-SD | Mike Rounds | Sep 9, 2015 | |
| R-NC | Richard Burr | Oct 8, 2015 | |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Nov 3, 2015 | |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Nov 18, 2015 | |
| R-IL | Mark Kirk | Nov 18, 2015 | |
| R-OH | Rob Portman | Nov 30, 2015 | |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Mar 15, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Jul 7, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 7, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Jul 7, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
In the Congressional Record 10
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5942 | Ron Wyden D-OR | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5815, S5827 | Robert P. Casey Jr. D-PA, Sherrod Brown D-OH | Sep 15, 2016 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5702–S5705 | Joe Manchin III D-WV, Mark R. Warner D-VA, Rob Portman R-OH, Shelley Moore Capito R-WV, Sherrod Brown D-OH | Sep 14, 2016 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4957, S4976–S4978 | Joe Manchin III D-WV, Michael B. Enzi R-WY | Jul 12, 2016 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4690 | Harry Reid D-NV | Jun 29, 2016 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 114-541 | THE MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION PLAN SYSTEM: RECENT REFORMS AND CURRENT CHALLENGES117 pages | Finance Committee | Mar 1, 2016 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46015 | The POWER Initiative: Energy Transition as Economic Development | Report | Dec 4, 2024 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2403 | Coal Healthcare and Pensions Protection Act of 2015 | Related bill | Jun 10, 2015 |
| S 3470 | Miners Protection Act of 2016 | Related bill | Nov 16, 2016 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Miners Protection Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 7, 2015Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
