Miners Protection Act of 2017
Latest action · Feb 10, 2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
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.
- IntroducedJan 3, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Miners Protection Act of 2017
This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) to transfer certain funds to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan and the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan to provide health and pension benefits to retired coal miners and their families.
The bill expands the group whose retiree health benefits are taken into account in determining the amount that the Department of the Treasury must transfer from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and the General Fund of the Treasury to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan.
A voluntary employees' beneficiary association (VEBA) established as a result of certain bankruptcy proceedings must transfer to the plan any amounts received as a result of the bankruptcy proceeding, reduced by the amount of the VEBA's administrative costs. Transfers by Treasury are reduced by the amount of the VEBA transfers.
Treasury must also transfer additional funds to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the amounts available for transfer under SMCRA's $490 million annual limit exceed the amounts required to be transferred for other purposes (including to the UMWA Health Plans).
The bill also: (1) prohibits the pension plan from making certain changes to benefits during any year in which a transfer is received, and (2) establishes additional reporting requirements for the plan.
The bill repeals requirements for current and former signatories to labor agreements with the UMWA to pay unassigned beneficiaries premiums or backstop premiums if transfers under SMCRA are less than the amount required to be transferred.
Cosponsors 78
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 3, 2017 to Feb 7, 2018, with 6 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-WV | Alexander X. Mooney | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-WV | Evan H. Jenkins | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| D-PA | Michael F. Doyle | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-IL | Mike Bost | Original | Jan 3, 2017 |
| R-OH | Bill Johnson | Jan 9, 2017 | |
| D-AZ | Kyrsten Sinema | Jan 9, 2017 | |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Jan 30, 2017 | |
| R-OH | David P. Joyce | Feb 3, 2017 | |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Feb 3, 2017 | |
| R-AL | Bradley Byrne | Feb 13, 2017 | |
| R-NJ | Frank A. LoBiondo | Feb 13, 2017 | |
| R-CA | Paul Cook | Feb 13, 2017 | |
| R-PA | Glenn Thompson | Feb 15, 2017 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 10, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
- Jan 3, 2017Introduced in House
- Jan 3, 2017Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 5
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 175 | Miners Protection Act of 2017 | Related bill | Jan 17, 2017 |
| S 1105 | Miners Pension Protection Act | Related bill | May 11, 2017 |
| S 1911 | American Miners Pension Act of 2017 | Related bill | Oct 3, 2017 |
| HR 3913 | American Miners Pension Act of 2017 | Related bill | Oct 6, 2017 |
| HR 4426 | Sustainable Energy Development Reform Act | Related bill | May 22, 2018 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Asia
- Bankruptcy
- Coal
- Customs enforcement
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Free trade and trade barriers
- Government information and archives
- Health care costs and insurance
- Labor and Employment
- Mining
- Sales and excise taxes
- South Korea
- Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
- Trade agreements and negotiations
- User charges and fees
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 3, 2017Introduced in House
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.