I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3586

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to protect the health benefits 

of retired miners and to restore stability and equity to the financing 

of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund by 

providing additional sources of revenue to the Fund, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2003

Mr. CANTOR (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. ROGERS of 

Michigan, Mr. SESSIONS, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Ms. DUNN, Mr. WICKER, 

Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. CAMP, and Mr. POMEROY) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 

Means 

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to protect 

the health benefits of retired miners and to restore stability and equity to the financing of the United Mine 

Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund by providing additional sources of revenue to the Fund, and 

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Stability and Fair4 ness Act’’. 

5 (b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as other6 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend7 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 

8 to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference 

9 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi10 sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

11 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

12 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—FINANCING PROVISIONS 

Subtitle A—Federal Funds 

Sec. 101. Mandatory transfer of general funds to Combined Benefit Fund. 

Sec. 102. Annual audit. 

Sec. 103. Appointment of Government trustees. 

Subtitle B—Premiums 

Sec. 111. Modifications of premiums to reflect transfers from general fund. 

Sec. 112. Refunds to certain operators. 

Sec. 113. Reduction in annual premiums to Combined Benefit Fund if surplus 

exists. 

Sec. 114. Refund of contributions paid by certain small entities to United Mine 

Workers Combined Benefit Fund. 

Sec. 115. First year payments of 1988 operators. 

Sec. 116. Prepayment of premium liability for coal industry health benefits. 

Sec. 117. Definition of successor in interest. 

TITLE II—RETROACTIVE PROVISIONS 

Sec. 201. Reform of retroactive provisions of Coal Industry Health Benefit System.
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1 TITLE I—FINANCING 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 Subtitle A—Federal Funds 

4 SEC. 101. MANDATORY TRANSFER OF GENERAL FUNDS TO 

5 COMBINED BENEFIT FUND. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9705 (relating to trans7 fers to the Combined Benefit Fund) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(c) MANDATORY TRANSFERS FROM GENERAL

10 FUND.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby author12 ized and appropriated, out of any amounts in the 

13 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the Com14 bined Fund such sums as may be necessary to—

15 ‘‘(A) pay any benefit or administrative 

16 costs of unassigned beneficiaries of the Com17 bined Fund remaining after the transfer under 

18 subsection (b); and 

19 ‘‘(B) eliminate any annual deficit in any 

20 premium account of the Combined Fund as cer21 tified by the Trustees of the Combined Fund. 

22 Deficits referred to in subparagraph (B) shall be 

23 certified by the trustees only after utilizing and tak24 ing into account all premiums and other government 

25 reimbursements to the Fund. 
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1 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Any amounts trans2 ferred under paragraph (1) shall be available with3 out fiscal year limitation. 

4 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER.—The Secretary of the Treas5 ury shall transfer amounts appropriated under para6 graph (1) on October 1 of each fiscal year.’’. 

7 (b) TRANSFER FROM ABANDONED MINE RECLAMA8 TION FUND.—Section 9705(b)(2) (relating to use of 

9 funds) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Any amount transferred 

11 under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year shall be used 

12 to pay any benefit or administrative costs of unas13 signed beneficiaries of the Combined Fund for the 

14 plan year in which transferred.’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to fiscal years beginning after Sep17 tember 30, 2003. 

18 SEC. 102. ANNUAL AUDIT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9702 (relating to estab20 lishment of the Combined Fund) is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL AUDIT.—

23 ‘‘(1) AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the 

24 United States shall conduct an annual audit of the 

25 Combined Fund. Such audit shall include—
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1 ‘‘(A) a review of the progress the Com2 bined Fund is making toward a managed care 

3 system as required under this subchapter; and 

4 ‘‘(B) a review of the use of, and necessity 

5 for, amounts transferred to the Combined Fund 

6 under section 9705(c). 

7 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall 

8 report the results of any audit under paragraph (1) 

9 to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the appro10 priate committees of Congress, including the Comp11 troller General’s recommendations (if any) as to any 

12 administrative savings which may be achieved with13 out reducing the effective level of benefits under sec14 tion 9703.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

16 subsection (a) shall apply to plan years of the Combined 

17 Fund beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 SEC. 103. APPOINTMENT OF GOVERNMENT TRUSTEES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9702(b)(1) (relating to 

21 the Board of Trustees), as amended by section 201(c), is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph 

23 (B), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph 

24 (C) and inserting ‘‘; or’’, and by inserting after subpara25 graph (C) the following new subparagraph:
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1 ‘‘(D) 2 persons designated by the Sec2 retary of the Treasury.’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act. 

6 Subtitle B—Premiums 

7 SEC. 111. MODIFICATIONS OF PREMIUMS TO REFLECT 

8 TRANSFERS FROM GENERAL FUND. 

9 (a) ELIMINATION OF UNASSIGNED BENEFICIARIES

10 PREMIUM.—Section 9704(d) (establishing unassigned 

11 beneficiaries premium) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(d) UNASSIGNED BENEFICIARIES PREMIUM.—

13 ‘‘(1) PLAN YEARS ENDING ON OR BEFORE SEP14 TEMBER 30, 2003.—For plan years ending on or be15 fore September 30, 2003, the unassigned bene16 ficiaries premium for any assigned operator shall be 

17 equal to the applicable percentage of the product of 

18 the per beneficiary premium for the plan year multi19 plied by the number of eligible beneficiaries who are 

20 not assigned under section 9706 to any person for 

21 such plan year. 

22 ‘‘(2) PLAN YEARS BEGINNING ON OR AFTER OC23 TOBER 1, 2003.—For plan years beginning on or 

24 after October 1, 2003, there shall be no unassigned 

25 beneficiaries premium.’’. 
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1 (b) PREMIUM ACCOUNTS.—

2 (1) CREDITING OF ACCOUNTS.—Section 

3 9704(e)(1) (relating to premium accounts; adjust4 ments) is amended by inserting ‘‘and amounts trans5 ferred under section 9705 (b) or (c)’’ after ‘‘pre6 miums received’’. 

7 (2) SHORTFALLS.—Section 9704(e)(3) (relating 

8 to shortfalls and surpluses) is amended—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘shortfall or’’ each place it 

10 appears in subparagraph (A); 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘reduced or increased, 

12 whichever is applicable,’’ in subparagraph (A) 

13 and inserting ‘‘reduced’’; 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘or the unassigned bene15 ficiaries premium account’’ in subparagraph 

16 (B); and 

17 (D) by striking ‘‘SHORTFALLS AND SUR18 PLUSES’’ in the heading and inserting ‘‘SUR19 PLUSES’’. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall apply to plan years of the Combined 

22 Fund beginning after September 30, 2003. 
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1 SEC. 112. REFUNDS TO CERTAIN OPERATORS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9704 (relating to the li3 ability of assigned operators) is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(j) REFUNDS TO CERTAIN OPERATORS.—The Com6 bined Fund shall, before December 31, 2003, refund to 

7 an assigned operator which was an assigned operator prior 

8 to the date of the enactment of this subsection (and any 

9 related person to such operator) an amount equal to the 

10 sum of—

11 ‘‘(1) any amount paid by such operator or per12 son to the Combined Fund (and not previously re13 funded) by reason of the operator having been a sig14 natory to a pre-1974 coal wage agreement, and 

15 ‘‘(2) interest on the amount under paragraph 

16 (1) at the overpayment rate established under sec17 tion 6621 for the period from the payment of such 

18 amount to the refund under this subsection.’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

20 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 113. REDUCTION IN ANNUAL PREMIUMS TO COM23 BINED BENEFIT FUND IF SURPLUS EXISTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter B of chap25 ter 99 (relating to financing of Combined Benefit Fund) 
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1 is amended by inserting after section 9704 the following 

2 new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 9704A. REDUCTIONS IN HEALTH BENEFIT PREMIUM 

4 IF SURPLUS EXISTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—If this section applies to any 

6 plan year, the per beneficiary premium used for purposes 

7 of computing the health benefit premium under section 

8 9704(b) for the plan year shall be the reduced per bene9 ficiary premium determined under subsection (c). 

10 ‘‘(b) YEARS TO WHICH SECTION APPLIES.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section applies to any 

12 plan year beginning after September 30, 2003, if the 

13 trustees determine that the Combined Fund has an 

14 excess reserve for the plan year. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXCESS RESERVE.—For purposes of this 

16 section—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘excess re18 serve’ means, with respect to any plan year, the 

19 excess (if any) of—

20 ‘‘(i) the projected net assets as of the 

21 close of the test period for the plan year, 

22 over 

23 ‘‘(ii) the projected 3-month asset re24 serve as of such time. 
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1 ‘‘(B) PROJECTED NET ASSETS.—For pur2 poses of subparagraph (A)(i), the projected net 

3 assets shall be the amount of the net assets 

4 which the trustees determine will be available at 

5 the end of the test period for projected fund 

6 benefits. Such determination shall be made in 

7 the same manner used by the Combined Fund 

8 to calculate net assets available for projected 

9 fund benefits in the Statement of Net Assets 

10 (Deficits) Available for Fund Benefits for pur11 poses of the monthly financial statements of the 

12 Combined Fund for the plan year beginning Oc13 tober 1, 2003. 

14 ‘‘(C) PROJECTED 3-MONTH ASSET RE15 SERVE.—For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), 

16 the projected 3-month asset reserve is an 

17 amount equal to 25 percent of the projected ex18 penses (including administrative expenses) from 

19 the health benefit premium account and unas20 signed beneficiaries premium account for the 

21 plan year immediately following the test period. 

22 The determination of such amount shall be 

23 based on the 10-year forecast of the projected 

24 net assets and cash balance of the Combined
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1 Fund prepared annually by an actuary retained 

2 by the Combined Fund. 

3 ‘‘(D) TEST PERIOD.—For purposes of this 

4 section, the term ‘test period’ means, with re5 spect to any plan year, that plan year and the 

6 following plan year. 

7 ‘‘(c) REDUCED PER BENEFICIARY PREMIUM.—For 

8 purposes of this section, the reduced per beneficiary pre9 mium for any plan year to which this section applies is 

10 the per beneficiary premium determined under section 

11 9704(b)(2) without regard to this section, reduced (but 

12 not below zero) by—

13 ‘‘(1) the excess reserve for the plan year, di14 vided by 

15 ‘‘(2) the total number of eligible beneficiaries 

16 which are assigned to assigned operators under sec17 tion 9706 as of the close of the preceding plan year. 

18 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION OF PREMIUM REDUCTION.—If, 

19 on any day during a plan year to which this section ap20 plies, the Combined Fund has net assets available for pro21 jected fund benefits (determined in the same manner as 

22 projected net assets under subsection (b)(2)(B)) in an 

23 amount less than the projected 3-month asset reserve de24 termined under subsection (b)(2)(C) for the plan year—
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1 ‘‘(1) this section shall not apply to months in 

2 the plan year beginning after such day, and 

3 ‘‘(2) the monthly installment under section 

4 9704(g)(1) for such months shall be equal to the 

5 amount which would have been determined if the 

6 health benefits premium under section 9704(b) had 

7 not been reduced under this section for the plan 

8 year.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

10 (1) Section 9704(a) (relating to annual pre11 miums) is amended by striking ‘‘Each’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘Subject to section 9704A, each’’. 

13 (2) The table of sections for part II of sub14 chapter B of chapter 99 is amended by inserting 

15 after the item relating to section 9704 the following 

16 new item:

‘‘Sec. 9704A. Reductions in health benefit premium if surplus exists.’’.

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall apply to plan years of the Combined 

19 Fund beginning after September 30, 2003. 

20 SEC. 114. REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS PAID BY CERTAIN 

21 SMALL ENTITIES TO UNITED MINE WORKERS 

22 COMBINED BENEFIT FUND. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter B of chap24 ter 99, as amended by section 113, is amended by insert25 ing after section 9704A the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 9704B. REFUNDS OF ANNUAL PREMIUMS OF CERTAIN 

2 SMALL ENTITIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—The Combined Fund shall re4 fund to each eligible small entity any premiums paid by 

5 the entity to the Combined Fund under section 9704 for 

6 any plan year of the Combined Fund which began before 

7 October 1, 2003. This section shall not apply to any pre8 mium which was previously refunded. 

9 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE SMALL ENTITY.—For purposes of 

10 this section, the term ‘eligible small entity’ means an as11 signed operator, but only if, as determined under the 

12 records of the Combined Fund, such operator (or any re13 lated person of such operator)—

14 ‘‘(1) was not a signatory to the 1981 or later 

15 National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement or any 

16 ‘me too’ agreement related to such Coal Wage 

17 Agreement; 

18 ‘‘(2) reported credit hours to the UMWA 1974 

19 Pension Plan on fewer than ten classified mine 

20 workers in every month during its last year of oper21 ations under the National Bituminous Coal Wage 

22 Agreement of 1978 or any ‘me too’ agreement re23 lated to such Coal Wage Agreement; 

24 ‘‘(3) has had not more than 60 beneficiaries, in25 cluding eligible dependents of retired miners, as26 signed to it under section 9706 (determined without 
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1 regard to beneficiary assignments relieved by the So2 cial Security Administration); 

3 ‘‘(4) was assessed premiums by the Combined 

4 Fund, made payments pursuant to those assess5 ments, and has no delinquency as of September 30, 

6 2003; and 

7 ‘‘(5) is not directly engaged in the production 

8 or sale of coal engaged in the production of coal as 

9 of September 30, 2003.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions for part II of subchapter B of chapter 99 is amended 

12 by inserting after the item relating to section 9704A the 

13 following new item:

‘‘Sec. 9704B. Refunds of annual premiums of certain small entities.’’.

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 SEC. 115. FIRST YEAR PAYMENTS OF 1988 OPERATORS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—So much of section 9704(i)(1)(D) 

19 as precedes clause (ii) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(D) PREMIUM REDUCTIONS AND RE21 FUNDS.—

22 ‘‘(i) 1ST YEAR PAYMENTS.—In the 

23 case of a 1988 agreement operator making 

24 payments under subparagraph (A)—
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1 ‘‘(I) the premium of such oper2 ator under subsection (a) shall be re3 duced by the amount paid under sub4 paragraph (A) by such operator for 

5 the plan year beginning February 1, 

6 1993; and 

7 ‘‘(II) if the amount so paid ex8 ceeds the operator’s liability under 

9 subsection (a), the excess shall be re10 funded to the operator before Decem11 ber 31, 2003.’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

13 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact14 ment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 116. PREPAYMENT OF PREMIUM LIABILITY FOR COAL 

16 INDUSTRY HEALTH BENEFITS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9704 (relating to liability 

18 of assigned operators) is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(j) PREPAYMENT OF PREMIUM LIABILITY.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If—

22 ‘‘(A) any assigned operator who is a mem23 ber of a controlled group of corporations (with24 in the meaning of section 52(a)) makes a pay-
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1 ment meeting the requirements of paragraph 

2 (2) to the Combined Fund; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the common parent of such group is 

4 jointly and severally liable for any premium 

5 which would (but for this subsection) be re6 quired to be paid by such operator, then no per7 son (other than such common parent) shall be 

8 liable for any premium for which such operator 

9 would otherwise be liable. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A payment meets the 

11 requirements of this paragraph if—

12 ‘‘(A) the amount of the payment is not less 

13 than the present value of the total premium li14 ability of the assigned operator for its assignees 

15 under this chapter with respect to the Com16 bined Fund (as determined by the operator’s 

17 enrolled actuary, as defined in section 

18 7701(a)(35)), using actuarial methods and as19 sumptions each of which is reasonable and 

20 which are reasonable in the aggregate, as deter21 mined by such enrolled actuary; 

22 ‘‘(B) a signed actuarial report is filed with 

23 the Secretary of Labor by such enrolled actuary 

24 containing—
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1 ‘‘(i) the date of the actuarial valuation 

2 applicable to the report; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) a statement by the enrolled actu4 ary signing the report that to the best of 

5 the actuary’s knowledge the report is com6 plete and accurate and that in the actu7 ary’s opinion the actuarial assumptions 

8 used are in the aggregate reasonably re9 lated to the experience of the operator and 

10 to reasonable expectations; and 

11 ‘‘(C) 30 calendar days have elapsed after 

12 the report required by subparagraph (B), and 

13 the description required by subparagraph (C), 

14 are filed with the Secretary of Labor, and the 

15 Secretary of Labor has not notified the as16 signed operator in writing that the require17 ments of this paragraph have not been satis18 fied.’’. 

19 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 9711 subsection (c) relat20 ing to continued obligations of individual employer plans; 

21 joint and several liability of related persons) is amended 

22 to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(c) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY OF RELATED

24 PERSONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Each related person of a last signatory op2 erator to which subsection (a) or (b) applies shall be 

3 jointly and severally liable with the last signatory op4 erator for the provision of health care coverage de5 scribed in subsection (a) or (b), provided, however, 

6 that related persons of any last signatory operator 

7 that has met the requirements of section 9704(j) (1) 

8 and (2) and has provided security described in para9 graph 9711(c)(2) shall be relieved of all such joint 

10 and several liability as of the date upon which such 

11 requirements are met. 

12 ‘‘(2) Security meets the requirements of this 

13 paragraph if—

14 ‘‘(A) the security (in the form of a bond, 

15 letter of credit or cash escrow) is provided to 

16 the trustees of the 1992 UMWA Benefit Plan, 

17 solely for the purpose of paying premiums for 

18 beneficiaries described in section 9712(b)(2)(B), 

19 equal in amount to one year’s liability of the 

20 last signatory operator under section 9711, de21 termined by using the average cost of such op22 erator’s liability during its prior 3 calendar 

23 years; 
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1 ‘‘(B) the security is in addition to any 

2 other security required under any other provi3 sion of this Act; and 

4 ‘‘(C) the security remains in place for 5 

5 years. 

6 ‘‘(3) Upon termination of the obligations of the 

7 last signatory operator providing such security or 

8 the expiration of 5 years, whichever occurs first, the 

9 full amount of such security (and earnings thereon) 

10 shall be refunded to the last signatory operator. 

11 ‘‘(4) USE OF PREPAYMENT.—The Combined 

12 Fund shall establish and maintain an account for 

13 each assigned operator making such payment (with 

14 earnings thereon) and use all amounts in such ac15 count exclusively to pay premium that would (but 

16 for this subsection) be required to be paid by the as17 signed operator. Upon termination of the obligations 

18 for premium liability of any assigned operator for 

19 which such account is maintained, all funds remain20 ing in such account (and earnings thereon) shall be 

21 refunded to the assigned operator.’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

23 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act.
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1 SEC. 117. DEFINITION OF SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 9701 is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following new para4 graph: 

5 ‘‘(8) SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST.—

6 ‘‘(A) SAFE HARBOR.—The term ‘successor 

7 in interest’ shall not include any person—

8 ‘‘(i) who is an unrelated person to a 

9 seller; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) who purchases for fair market 

11 value assets, or all the stock of a related 

12 person, in a bona fide, arm’s-length sale 

13 which is subject to section 5 of the Securi14 ties Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77f et seq.) or 

15 the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

16 U.S.C.78a et seq.). 

17 ‘‘(B) UNRELATED PERSON.—The term 

18 ‘unrelated person’ means a purchaser who does 

19 not bear a relationship to the seller described in 

20 section 267(b). 

21 ‘‘(C) CONTINGENT LIABILITY.—This para22 graph shall only apply if the contract for sale 

23 provides that, if the seller fails to make a pre24 mium payment to the Combined Fund during 

25 the first 5 plan years beginning after the sale, 

26 then the purchaser shall be secondarily liable 
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1 for any liability to the Combined Fund it would 

2 have had but for the provisions of this para3 graph. 

4 ‘‘(D) NO INFERENCE.—Nothing in this 

5 paragraph shall be construed to infer that a 

6 purchaser in a sale not described in this para7 graph is a successor in interest.’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

9 subsection (a) shall apply to transactions after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act. 

11 TITLE II—RETROACTIVE 

12 PROVISIONS 

13 SEC. 201. REFORM OF RETROACTIVE PROVISIONS OF COAL 

14 INDUSTRY HEALTH BENEFIT SYSTEM. 

15 (a) AGREEMENTS COVERED BY HEALTH BENEFIT

16 SYSTEM.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9701(b)(1) (defining 

18 coal wage agreement) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) COAL AGREEMENTS.—

20 ‘‘(A) 1988 AGREEMENT.—The term ‘1988 

21 agreement’ means the collective bargaining 

22 agreement between the settlors which became 

23 effective on February 1, 1988. 

24 ‘‘(B) COAL WAGE AGREEMENT.—The term 

25 ‘coal wage agreement’ means the 1988 agree-
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1 ment and any predecessor to the 1988 agree2 ment.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

4 9701(b) (relating to agreements) is amended by 

5 striking paragraph (3). 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS APPLICABLE TO OPERATORS.—

7 (1) SIGNATORY OPERATOR.—Section 9701(c)(1) 

8 (defining signatory operator) is amended to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) SIGNATORY OPERATOR.—The term ‘signa11 tory operator’ means a 1988 agreement operator.’’. 

12 (2) 1988 AGREEMENT OPERATOR.—Section 

13 9701(c)(3) (defining 1988 agreement operator) is 

14 amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(3) 1988 AGREEMENT OPERATOR.—The term 

16 ‘1988 agreement operator’ means—

17 ‘‘(A) an operator which was a signatory to 

18 the 1988 agreement, or 

19 ‘‘(B) a person in business which, during 

20 the term of the 1988 agreement, was a signa21 tory to an agreement (other than the National 

22 Coal Mine Construction Agreement or the Coal 

23 Haulers’ Agreement) containing pension and 

24 health care contribution and benefit provisions 
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1 which are the same as those contained in the 

2 1988 agreement. 

3 Such term shall not include any operator who was 

4 assessed, and paid the full amount of, contractual 

5 withdrawal liability to the 1950 UMWA Benefit 

6 Plan, the 1974 UMWA Benefit Plan, or the Com7 bined Fund.’’. 

8 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (A) Section 9711(a) is amended by strik10 ing ‘‘maintained pursuant to a 1978 or subse11 quent coal wage agreement’’. 

12 (B) Section 9711(b)(1) is amended by 

13 striking ‘‘pursuant to a 1978 or subsequent 

14 coal wage agreement’’. 

15 (c) MODIFICATIONS TO REFLECT REACHBACK RE16 FORMS.—

17 (1) BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF COMBINED

18 FUND.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 9702(b)(1) is 

20 amended—

21 (i) by striking ‘‘one individual who 

22 represents’’ in subparagraph (A) and in23 serting ‘‘two individuals who represent’’; 

24 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

25 redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) 
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1 as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec2 tively; and 

3 (iii) by striking ‘‘(A), (B), and (C)’’ in 

4 subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated) and 

5 inserting ‘‘(A) and (B)’’. 

6 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

7 9702(b)(3) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—If the BCOA ceases to 

9 exist, any trustee or successor under paragraph 

10 (1)(A) shall be designated by the 3 employers who 

11 were members of the BCOA on October 24, 1992, 

12 and who have been assigned the greatest number of 

13 eligible beneficiaries under section 9706.’’. 

14 (C) TRANSITION RULE.—Any trustee serv15 ing on the date of the enactment of this Act 

16 who was appointed to serve under section 

17 9702(b)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

18 1986 (as in effect before the amendments made 

19 by this paragraph) shall continue to serve until 

20 a successor is appointed under section 

21 9702(b)(1)(A) of such Code (as in effect after 

22 such amendments). 

23 (2) ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFICIARIES.—Section 

24 9706 (relating to assignment of eligible bene-
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1 ficiaries) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(h) ASSIGNMENT AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2003.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Effective October 1, 2003, 

5 the Commissioner of Social Security shall—

6 ‘‘(A) revoke all assignments to persons 

7 other than 1988 agreement operators for pur8 poses of assessing premiums for periods after 

9 September 30, 2003; 

10 ‘‘(B) make no further assignments to per11 sons other than 1988 agreement operators; and 

12 ‘‘(C) terminate all unpaid liabilities of per13 sons other than 1988 agreement operators with 

14 respect to eligible beneficiaries whose assign15 ment to such persons is pending on October 1, 

16 2003. 

17 ‘‘(2) REASSIGNMENT UPON PURCHASE.—This 

18 subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the re19 assignment under subsection (b)(2) of an eligible 

20 beneficiary.’’.

Æ