I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3601

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

of steel industry retirees by expanding the availability of the refundable 

tax credit to the health insurance costs paid by former employers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2003

Mr. ENGLISH (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) 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 steel industry retirees by expanding 

the availability of the refundable tax credit to the health 

insurance costs paid by former employers.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Steel Industry Retiree 

5 Benefits Protection Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF REFUNDABLE CREDIT TO FORMER 

2 EMPLOYERS FOR HEALTH INSURANCE PAY3 MENTS FOR CERTAIN STEEL INDUSTRY RE4 TIREES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 35 of the 

6 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

9 ‘‘(1) CREDIT ALLOWED TO ELIGIBLE INDIVID10 UALS.—In the case of an individual, there shall be 

11 allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by sub12 title A an amount equal to 65 percent of the amount 

13 paid by the taxpayer for coverage of the taxpayer 

14 and qualifying family members under qualified 

15 health insurance for eligible coverage months begin16 ning in the taxable year. 

17 ‘‘(2) CREDIT ALLOWED FOR PAYMENTS FOR EL18 IGIBLE STEEL INDUSTRY RETIREES.—In the case of 

19 a qualified steel company, there shall be allowed as 

20 a credit against the tax imposed by subtitle A an 

21 amount equal to 65 percent of the amount paid dur22 ing the taxable year by the qualified steel company 

23 for qualifying coverage of an eligible steel industry 

24 retiree and qualifying family members under quali25 fied health insurance. 
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1 For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), amounts paid for 

2 coverage shall not include any premiums paid for the 

3 Medicare supplemental insurance program established 

4 under part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act.’’. 

5 (b) QUALIFYING COVERAGE.—Subsection (g) of sec6 tion 35 of such Code (relating to special rules) is amended 

7 by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10) and in8 serting after paragraph (8) the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(9) QUALIFYING COVERAGE.—For purposes of 

10 subsection (a)(2)—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Coverage shall not be 

12 treated as qualifying coverage unless at least 50 

13 percent of the cost of such coverage for all eligi14 ble steel industry retirees who are retired from 

15 the applicable qualified steel company, and 

16 qualifying family members, determined on a 

17 combined basis, for such taxable year is paid or 

18 incurred by such qualified steel company. 

19 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO COL20 LECTIVE BARGAINING.—Subparagraph (A) may 

21 be satisfied separately with respect to coverage 

22 provided to eligible steel industry retirees pur23 suant to a collective bargaining agreement.’’. 

24 (c) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE STEEL INDUSTRY RE25 TIREE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 35 

2 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE STEEL INDUSTRY RETIREE.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 

6 steel industry retiree’ means, with respect to 

7 any month, any individual who—

8 ‘‘(i) is a retiree of a qualified steel 

9 company, and 

10 ‘‘(ii) is receiving retiree health bene11 fits in accordance with an employee benefit 

12 plan (within the meaning of section 3 (3) 

13 of the Employee Retirement Income Secu14 rity Act of 1974) which is established, 

15 maintained, or contributed to by the retir16 ee’s former employer and is in effect on or 

17 after January 1, 2000, or is no longer re18 ceiving such benefits as a result of the ter19 mination of coverage under such benefit 

20 plan on or after January 1, 2000, pursu21 ant to an order of bankruptcy court, by op22 eration of bankruptcy law, or by agreement 

23 with an authorized representative as pro24 vided in section 1114 of title 11, United 

25 States Code. 
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1 ‘‘(B) RETIREE.—For purposes of this 

2 paragraph, the term ‘retiree’ means, with re3 spect to a qualified steel company, an individual 

4 (including any eligible surviving spouse of an 

5 individual) who has met any years of service or 

6 disability requirements under an employee ben7 efit plan described in subparagraph (A)(ii) 

8 which are necessary to receive retiree health 

9 benefits under the plan, and at least 50 percent 

10 of whose years of service were performed in the 

11 United States on behalf of a qualified steel 

12 company. 

13 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED STEEL COMPANY.—The 

14 term ‘qualified steel company’ means—

15 ‘‘(i) a person who was engaged on or 

16 before January 1, 2003, in—

17 ‘‘(I) the production or manufac18 ture of a steel mill product, 

19 ‘‘(II) the mining or processing of 

20 iron ore or beneficiated iron ore prod21 ucts, or 

22 ‘‘(III) the production of coke for 

23 use in a steel mill product, or 

24 ‘‘(ii) a labor organization that, in the 

25 aggregate at one or more qualified steel 
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1 companies, represents at least 10,000 em2 ployees. 

3 ‘‘(D) QUALIFIED STEEL COMPANY.—The 

4 term ‘qualified steel company’ includes any per5 son who, on or before January 1, 2003, was en6 gaged in the transportation of any steel product 

7 or iron ore products solely or principally for an8 other qualified steel company described in the 

9 preceding sentence, but only if such person and 

10 such other person bear a relationship to each 

11 other specified in section 267(b).’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

13 (A) Paragraph (1) of section 35(c) of such 

14 Code is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

15 of subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 

16 the end of subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘, 

17 and’’, and by adding the following new subpara18 graph: 

19 ‘‘(D) an eligible steel industry retiree.’’. 

20 (B) Paragraph (1) of section 35(d) of such 

21 Code is amended—

22 (i) in subparagraph (A) by inserting 

23 ‘‘, or the eligible steel industry retiree’s,’’ 

24 after ‘‘taxpayer’s’’, and 
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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B) by inserting 

2 ‘‘or the eligible steel industry retiree’’ after 

3 ‘‘taxpayer’’. 

4 (d) ADDITION OF STEEL RETIREE HEALTH BENE5 FITS TO DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED HEALTH INSUR6 ANCE.—Paragraph (1) of section 35(e) of such Code is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara8 graphs: 

9 ‘‘(K) Coverage under an employee benefit 

10 plan of a qualified steel company or coverage 

11 funded by a steel industry retiree benefits 

12 health trust. 

13 ‘‘(L) In the case of an eligible steel indus14 try retiree, coverage under a medicare supple15 mental policy (as defined in section 1882(g)(1) 

16 of the Social Security Act), Medicare+Choice 

17 plan (as defined in part C of title XVIII of such 

18 Act), and similar plans.’’. 

19 (e) EXCEPTION FROM SPECIFIED COVERAGE RULE

20 FOR STEEL INDUSTRY RETIREES.—Subsection (f) of sec21 tion 35 of such Code is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following flush sentence: ‘‘Paragraph (2) shall not 

23 apply in the case of a credit under this section otherwise 

24 allowable to an eligible steel industry retiree and quali25 fying family members of such retiree.’’. 
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1 (f) SPECIAL RULE FOR QUALIFIED STEEL COMPANY

2 PAYMENTS TO A STEEL INDUSTRY RETIREE HEALTH

3 BENEFITS TRUST.—Subsection (g) of section 35 of such 

4 Code, as amended by subsection (b), is further amended 

5 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(10) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS BY A QUALI7 FIED STEEL COMPANY TO A STEEL INDUSTRY RE8 TIREE HEALTH BENEFITS TRUST.—For purposes of 

9 this section—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts paid by a 

11 qualified steel company to a steel industry re12 tiree health benefits trust shall be treated as 

13 amounts paid for qualifying coverage for pur14 poses of subsection (a)(2) (determined without 

15 regard to paragraph (9)). 

16 ‘‘(B) STEEL INDUSTRY RETIREE HEALTH

17 BENEFITS TRUST.—The term ‘steel industry re18 tiree health benefits trust’ means a trust estab19 lished for the purpose of paying health and 

20 death benefits to eligible steel industry retirees 

21 and qualifying family members either pursuant 

22 to section 501(c)(9) or in connection with the 

23 acquisition by a qualified steel company of an24 other qualified steel company or of a substan-
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1 tial portion of the assets of another qualified 

2 steel company.’’. 

3 (g) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

4 (1) Section 35(g)(1) of such Code is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub6 section (a)(1)’’. 

7 (2) Section 35(g)(2) of such Code is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘162(l) or 213’’ and inserting ‘‘162(l), 

9 213, or 419’’. 

10 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

12 December 31, 2003.

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