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; 6 are original cosponsors, there from 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 | |
| I-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 | |
| R-AL | Martha Roby | Feb 16, 2017 | |
| R-UT | Mia B. Love | Feb 16, 2017 | |
| R-AL | Mike Rogers | Feb 16, 2017 | |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Feb 17, 2017 | |
| R-IN | Todd Rokita | Feb 17, 2017 | |
| R-OH | Bob Gibbs | Feb 28, 2017 | |
| R-KY | Brett Guthrie | Feb 28, 2017 | |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Feb 28, 2017 | |
| D-CO | Jared Polis | Mar 1, 2017 | |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Mar 1, 2017 | |
| R-KY | Andy Barr | Mar 8, 2017 | |
| D-MO | Emanuel Cleaver | Mar 8, 2017 | |
| D-MS | Bennie G. Thompson | Mar 16, 2017 | |
| R-PA | Bill Shuster | Mar 16, 2017 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Mar 16, 2017 | |
| R-IN | Larry Bucshon | Mar 16, 2017 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Mar 16, 2017 | |
| D-PA | Matt Cartwright | Mar 16, 2017 | |
| D-AL | Terri A. Sewell | Mar 16, 2017 | |
| D-PA | Brendan F. Boyle | Mar 21, 2017 | |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Mar 21, 2017 | |
| R-IL | Rodney Davis | Mar 21, 2017 | |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Mar 21, 2017 | |
| D-AZ | Tom O'Halleran | Mar 21, 2017 | |
| D-MO | Wm. Lacy Clay | Mar 21, 2017 | |
| D-PA | Robert A. Brady | Mar 22, 2017 | |
| D-GA | Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. | Mar 22, 2017 | |
| R-OH | Steve Stivers | Mar 22, 2017 | |
| R-OH | James B. Renacci | Mar 27, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Mar 29, 2017 | |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Mar 29, 2017 | |
| D-NJ | Donald Norcross | Mar 30, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Nanette Diaz Barragán | Apr 4, 2017 | |
| R-NJ | Leonard Lance | Apr 5, 2017 | |
| D-NM | Michelle Lujan Grisham | Apr 5, 2017 | |
| D-LA | Cedric L. Richmond | Apr 6, 2017 | |
| R-NJ | Christopher H. Smith | Apr 6, 2017 | |
| R-NY | Claudia Tenney | Apr 20, 2017 | |
| D-KY | John A. Yarmuth | Apr 20, 2017 | |
| R-OH | Michael R. Turner | Apr 20, 2017 | |
| R-AL | Mo Brooks | Apr 20, 2017 | |
| R-AL | Robert B. Aderholt | Apr 26, 2017 | |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Apr 26, 2017 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Apr 26, 2017 | |
| R-OK | Tom Cole | Apr 26, 2017 | |
| D-VA | Donald S. Beyer, Jr. | May 2, 2017 | |
| R-NY | John Katko | May 2, 2017 | |
| R-IL | Adam Kinzinger | May 4, 2017 | |
| D-TX | Al Green | May 4, 2017 | |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | May 4, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | May 11, 2017 | |
| D-TX | Eddie Bernice Johnson | May 11, 2017 | |
| D-NC | G. K. Butterfield | May 11, 2017 | |
| D-OH | Joyce Beatty | May 11, 2017 | |
| D-DE | Lisa Blunt Rochester | May 11, 2017 | |
| D-CT | Elizabeth H. Esty | May 17, 2017 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | May 22, 2017 | |
| D-IL | Robin L. Kelly | May 22, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Karen Bass | May 23, 2017 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Jul 12, 2017 | |
| D-VA | A. Donald McEachin | Aug 22, 2017 | |
| D-NY | Grace Meng | Nov 8, 2017 | |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Feb 7, 2018 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Jan 3, 2017 |
| Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee | Referred Feb 10, 2017 | |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Jan 3, 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.
In the Congressional Record 3
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H2700 | Evan H. Jenkins R-WV | Apr 5, 2017 |
| House | Debate and remarks H1952 | Evan H. Jenkins R-WV | Mar 9, 2017 |
| House | Debate and remarks H58 | Evan H. Jenkins R-WV | Jan 4, 2017 |
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.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 1, January 3, 2017, page H51.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 115-8 | LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE AND PROVIDE LOWER COSTS FOR FAMILIES139 pages | Education and Workforce Committee | Mar 1, 2017 |
CRS reports 3
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 3
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R44922 | The U.S. Coal Industry: Historical Trends and Recent Developments Archived | Report | Aug 18, 2017 |
| IF10616 | Health Benefits for United Mine Workers of America Retirees Archived | Resource | Mar 15, 2017 |
| IF10617 | Pension Benefits for United Mine Workers of America Retirees Archived | Resource | Mar 15, 2017 |
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 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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 2017
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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
