I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5405

To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

to provide emergency protection for retiree health benefits.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 5, 2000

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Mr. ANDREWS, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, and

Mr. KILDEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, 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

A BILL

To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide emergency protection for

retiree health benefits.

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 ‘‘Emergency Retiree

5 Health Benefits Protection Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Retired participants of group health plans

2 regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Secu3 rity Act of 1974 (ERISA) have been severely

4 harmed by the virtually unchecked practices of spon5 sors of such plans involving the post-retirement can6 cellation or reduction of health benefits which retir7 ees counted on receiving for their lifetimes.

8 (2) Such widespread post-retirement reductions

9 in retiree health benefits has led to a crisis in retiree

10 health care in which retirees—

11 (A) have been unable to substitute indi12 vidual coverage for the group coverage they

13 lost, or, in order to obtain individual coverage,

14 have jeopardized their economic security in re15 tirement;

16 (B) because of preexisting medical condi17 tions cannot obtain substitute coverage that

18 they can afford without depleting their life sav19 ings or have been unable to obtain adequate

20 medical care or medical care they had relied on

21 to deal with serious illness;

22 (C) have sustained catastrophic illnesses or

23 injuries or otherwise experienced a marked de24 terioration in their medical conditions or health
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1 as a result of post-retirement changes to their

2 medical benefits;

3 (D) have been transferred indiscriminately

4 into improperly or inadequately managed health

5 maintenance organizations or other managed

6 care entities, resulting in the worsening rather

7 than improvement of prior medical conditions;

8 and

9 (E) in many instances, have failed to ob10 tain adequate relief in the courts due to highly

11 restrictive judicial interpretations which are in12 consistent with ERISA’s underlying protective

13 purposes.

14 (3) The crisis in retirees healthcare generated

15 by the plan sponsor practice of post-retirement can16 cellations or reductions of previously promised re17 tiree health benefits has led to a widespread loss of

18 confidence in the integrity of ERISA-regulated

19 group health plans and the ability of ERISA itself

20 to adequately protect retiree health benefits.

21 (4) A strong and dependable private sector re22 tiree health system is necessary to the essential

23 health of our Nation’s senior citizens.

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to en25 sure that the reasonable health benefit expectations of re-
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1 tirees from ERISA-regulated group health plans are ful2 filled, to minimize the incidence of prolonged legal dis3 putes arising out of the post-retirement cancellation or re4 duction of retiree health benefits from such plans, and to

5 prevent further adverse effects on retiree health arising

6 from such post-retirement changes. To this end, the pur7 poses of this Act also include the following:

8 (1) to safeguard retired participants of group

9 health plans subject to the Employee Retirement In10 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.)

11 from loss or reduction of their health benefits from

12 such plans by barring plan sponsors from canceling

13 or reducing such benefits after the dates such par14 ticipants retire and when they no longer are able to

15 absorb such losses or reductions without experi16 encing adverse effects on their health or finances;

17 (2) to establish an enforceable obligation on the

18 part of sponsors of such group health plans to re19 store health benefits previously taken away from re20 tired participants of such plans to the extent such

21 benefits were canceled or altered after the dates

22 such participants retired and the plan sponsor would

23 not sustain substantial business hardship by restor24 ing such benefits; and
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1 (3) to establish an Emergency Retiree Health

2 Loan Guarantee Program to assist sponsors of

3 group health plans subject to the obligation to re4 store retiree health benefits under this Act to obtain

5 credit to assist them in discharging such obligations

6 by providing retiree health loan guarantees that

7 would encourage the availability of such credit.

8 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME

9 SECURITY ACT OF 1974 TO PROVIDE RETIREE

10 HEALTH BENEFIT PROTECTIONS IN GROUP

11 HEALTH PLANS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Em13 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is amend14 ed by adding at the end a new part 8 as follows:

15 ‘‘PART 8—EMERGENCY RETIREE HEALTH

16 BENEFIT PROTECTIONS

17 ‘‘SEC. 801. PROHIBITION AGAINST POST-RETIREMENT RE18 DUCTIONS OF RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS

19 BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding that a group

21 health plan described in subsection (b) may contain a pro22 vision reserving the general power to amend or terminate

23 the plan or a provision specifically authorizing the plan

24 to make post-retirement reductions in retiree health bene25 fits, it shall be prohibited for any group health plan,
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1 whether through amendment or otherwise, to reduce the

2 benefits provided to a retired participant or his or her ben3 eficiary under the terms of the plan if such reduction of

4 benefits occurs after the date the participant retired for

5 purposes of the plan and reduces benefits that were pro6 vided to the participant, or his or her beneficiary, as of

7 the date the participant retired. Any group health plan

8 provision which purports to authorize the reduction of

9 benefits in a manner inconsistent with the foregoing prohi10 bition shall be void as against public policy.

11 ‘‘(b) GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—The term ‘group

12 health plan’ shall have the same meaning as in section

13 607(1).

14 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED REDUCTION OF BENEFITS.—As

15 used in this section, references to a prohibited reduction

16 of benefits means any group health plan amendment or

17 other action which has the effect of—

18 ‘‘(1) canceling, decreasing or limiting the

19 amount, type, level, or form of any benefit or option

20 provided prior to the amendment or action;

21 ‘‘(2) imposing or increasing the out-of-pocket

22 costs a retired participant, or his or her beneficiary,

23 must pay in order to keep or obtain any benefits

24 that were provided to the participant or beneficiary

25 prior to the amendment or action; or
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1 ‘‘(3) modifying the manner by which medical

2 services are delivered under the plan so that after

3 the amendment or action a retired participant, or

4 his or her beneficiary, has less ready access to the

5 delivery of any such medical services than the partic6 ipant or beneficiary had prior to the amendment or

7 action.

8 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF PLAN TERMINATION.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a

10 termination of a group health plan shall be treated

11 as violating the prohibition contained in this section

12 if, after the termination, the plan sponsor of the ter13 minated plan fails to continue to provide to the par14 ticipants who retired prior to the termination and to

15 their beneficiaries the same retiree health benefits

16 that were provided prior to the termination.

17 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply

18 in the case of the termination of a group health plan

19 if the Secretary issues a waiver under this para20 graph in connection with such termination. The Sec21 retary shall issue such a waiver if and only if the

22 plan sponsor demonstrates to the satisfaction of the

23 Secretary, in accordance with regulations prescribed

24 by the Secretary, that such plan sponsor will be un-
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1 able to continue in business unless such a waiver is

2 issued.

3 ‘‘(e) CONSENT OR AUTHORIZATION BY PARTICI4 PANT.—A reduction of benefits shall not be treated as pro5 hibited by this section if such reduction is consented to

6 in writing by any retired participant or is authorized with

7 respect to the retired participant under the terms of one

8 or more agreements which the Secretary finds to be collec9 tive bargaining agreements between one or more employee

10 representatives who were representing such participant at

11 the time of the entry into such agreement and one or more

12 employers.

13 ‘‘SEC. 802. ADOPTION BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS OF PROVI14 SION BARRING POST-RETIREMENT REDUC15 TIONS IN RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS.

16 ‘‘Every group health plan shall contain a provision

17 which expressly bars the plan, or any fiduciary of the plan,

18 from reducing the benefits provided under the plan to a

19 retired participant, or his or her beneficiary, if such reduc20 tion affects the benefits provided to the participant or ben21 eficiary as of the date the participant retired for purposes

22 of the plan and such reduction occurs after the partici23 pant’s retirement.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 803. RESTORATION BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS OF

2 BENEFITS REDUCED AFTER RETIREMENT.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The plan sponsor of each group

4 health plan shall provide, in accordance with this section,

5 the option of benefit restoration to each retired participant

6 that meets the following requirements:

7 ‘‘(1) The retired participant is entitled to ben8 efit coverage under the plan as of the date of enact9 ment of the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Pro10 tection Act of 2000.

11 ‘‘(2) The amount, type, level, or form of any

12 benefits or option provided to the retired participant

13 under the plan as of the date the participant retired

14 was reduced after the participant’s date of retire15 ment. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the

16 term ‘reduced’ has the same meaning as in section

17 801(c).

18 ‘‘(3) The retired participant has elected to re19 store benefits under the plan within the restoration

20 period prescribed by subsection (c) and in accord21 ance with such procedures established by the plan

22 pursuant to regulations of the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PLANS.—In accord24 ance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, sub25 section (a) shall not apply to any group health plan with

26 less than 100 participants both on and after the date of
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1 enactment of the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Pro2 tection Act of 2000.

3 ‘‘(c) RESTORATION PERIOD.—The term ‘restoration

4 period’ means the period which—

5 ‘‘(1) begins not later than 1 year after the date

6 of enactment of the Emergency Retiree Health Ben7 efits Protection Act of 2000;

8 ‘‘(2) ends before 2 years from such date, unless

9 extended by the Secretary pursuant to section

10 804(g); and

11 ‘‘(3) is of no less than 60 days duration.

12 ‘‘(d) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING RES13 TORATION OF BENEFITS.—In accordance with regulations

14 prescribed by the Secretary, each group health plan sub15 ject to the requirements of subsection (a) shall, within no

16 less than 30 days prior to the commencement of the plan’s

17 restoration of benefits period, provide written notice to

18 each retired participant of the plan who meets the require19 ments of subsection (a) of the following:

20 ‘‘(1) A description of all benefits the retired

21 participant is entitled to have restored.

22 ‘‘(2) The administrative procedure established

23 under the plan which may be used to submit a claim

24 for the restoration of any benefits.
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1 ‘‘(3) An itemization of the value of each benefit

2 the retired participant is entitled to have restored,

3 as determined in accordance with regulations of the

4 Secretary, and the total value of all such benefits.

5 ‘‘(4) A description of any post-retirement in6 creases in retiree health benefits the retired partici7 pant received which the plan sponsor could rescind

8 if the retired participant asserts a claim for the res9 toration of benefits.

10 ‘‘(5) An itemization of the value of each retiree

11 health benefit the plan sponsor could rescind, as de12 termined in accordance with regulations of the Sec13 retary, and the total value of all such benefits.

14 ‘‘(6) If the plan sponsor has filed an application

15 for a substantial business hardship exemption under

16 section 804, the date such application was filed, the

17 date notice of such application was given to retired

18 participants entitled to submit a claim for the res19 toration of benefits, and the status of such applica20 tion as of the date of the notice sent pursuant to

21 this subsection.

22 ‘‘(7) Such other information in such form and

23 detail as may be prescribed by the Secretary to carry

24 out the purposes of this part.
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1 ‘‘(e) DEADLINE FOR RESTORATION OF BENEFITS.—

2 Regardless of any extension that may be granted by the

3 Secretary pursuant to section 804(g), all benefits required

4 to be restored under this section shall be restored within

5 no more than 3 years from the date of enactment of the

6 Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act of

7 2000, or the date the plan sponsor files an application for

8 an exemption under section 804, whichever comes last.

9 ‘‘SEC. 804. EXEMPTION FROM RESTORATION OF BENEFITS

10 REQUIREMENTS.

11 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION.—Any plan

12 sponsor of a group health plan that would sustain substan13 tial business hardship if required to fulfill, in whole or in

14 part, the restoration of benefits requirements contained in

15 section 803, may file an application for an exemption with

16 the Secretary from any or all of such requirements.

17 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY FOR WAIVER OR VARIANCE.—In re18 sponse to an application filed by a plan sponsor pursuant

19 to subsection (a), the Secretary may waive or vary the re20 quirements of section 803 with respect to any or all of

21 such requirements, including postponing for reasonable

22 periods of time the obligation of the plan sponsor to re23 store reduced benefits, if the Secretary finds that compli24 ance by the plan sponsor with the requirements of section

25 803 would—
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1 ‘‘(1) be adverse to the interests of plan partici2 pants in the aggregate;

3 ‘‘(2) not be administratively feasible; and

4 ‘‘(3) cause substantial business hardship to the

5 plan sponsor.

6 ‘‘(c) FACTORS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For pur7 poses of this section, the factors to be taken into account

8 in determining substantial business hardship shall include

9 (but shall not be limited to) whether—

10 ‘‘(1) the plan sponsor is operating at an eco11 nomic loss;

12 ‘‘(2) compliance with the restoration of benefits

13 requirements would necessitate substantial future re14 ductions in health benefits provided to participants

15 under the plan or cause a substantial decline in em16 ployment with the plan sponsor;

17 ‘‘(3) it is reasonable to expect that the plan will

18 be continued only if a waiver or appropriate variance

19 is granted; and

20 ‘‘(4) the provisions of the Retiree Health Loan

21 Guarantee Program established under section 805

22 are unavailable to the plan sponsor submitting the

23 application, or, if available, still would not provide a

24 sufficient basis for denying a waiver or variance.

25 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT OF SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, before

2 granting a waiver or variance under this section, re3 quire each applicant to provide evidence satisfactory

4 to the Secretary that the applicant has provided

5 timely written notice of the filing of an application

6 for such waiver or variance to each retired partici7 pant entitled to submit a claim for the restoration

8 of benefits under the applicant’s plan.

9 ‘‘(2) TIMELINESS.—For purposes of paragraph

10 (1), a written notice shall be considered timely if it

11 is provided not later than 60 days prior to the date

12 the plan sponsor files an application for a waiver or

13 variance under this section.

14 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The notice re15 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall include information

16 with respect to the specific relief that will be sought

17 by the plan sponsor’s application, the period of time

18 for which relief is sought, and such other relevant

19 information as the Secretary may prescribe.

20 ‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION IN PROCEEDINGS BY RETIRED

21 PLAN PARTICIPANTS.—Each retired participant entitled

22 to submit a claim for the restoration of benefits within

23 the meaning of this section shall be provided a reasonable

24 opportunity to submit comments or otherwise participate

25 in any proceeding established by the Secretary to deter-
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1 mine whether to grant or deny an application for a waiver

2 or variance filed by the retired participant’s plan sponsor.

3 ‘‘(f) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN APPLICATIONS.—The

4 Secretary shall not be authorized to grant any application

5 for a waiver or variance purporting to satisfy the require6 ments of subsection (b) if—

7 ‘‘(1) within the 5-year period preceding the date

8 of the plan sponsor’s application the plan sponsor

9 could have transferred excess pension assets to a

10 health benefits account within the meaning of sec11 tion 420 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as

12 in effect on the date of the enactment of the Tax

13 Relief Extension Act of 1999) but failed to do so,

14 and the plan sponsor is submitting an application on

15 behalf of such retiree health account; or

16 ‘‘(2) the plan sponsor submitting the applica17 tion also maintains a fully funded pension plan with

18 respect to which—

19 ‘‘(A) retired participants eligible to submit

20 a claim for the restoration of benefits under

21 section 803 are also eligible to receive ad hoc

22 cost-of-living adjustment benefits;

23 ‘‘(B) the assets of the fully funded pension

24 plan, over the past 5 years preceding the date

25 of application for a waiver or variance, on aver-
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1 age have exceeded 120 percent of the plan’s li2 abilities;

3 ‘‘(C) the plan had no minimum funding re4 quirement to satisfy within the 5 years pre5 ceding the date of application for the waiver or

6 variance and the plan sponsor submitting the

7 application made no minimum funding con8 tribution to the fully funded pension plan dur9 ing such 5-year period; and

10 ‘‘(D) the plan sponsor submitting the ap11 plication for a waiver or variance failed to pro12 vide an ad hoc cost-of-living adjustment benefit

13 from the fully funded pension plan during the

14 5-year period preceding the date of application

15 for the waiver or variance.

16 ‘‘(g) RUNNING OF RESTORATION PERIOD SUS17 PENDED.—The submission of an application for a waiver

18 or variance pursuant to this section shall suspend the run19 ning of any relevant restoration period as specified in sub20 section (c). Where appropriate, the Secretary shall direct

21 the reopening of any relevant restoration period upon the

22 final conclusion of proceedings to determine whether an

23 application should be granted or denied.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 805. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE

2 HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—Fur purposes of this section—

4 ‘‘(1) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the

5 Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Board

6 established under subsection (c).

7 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means

8 the Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Pro9 gram established under subsection (b).

10 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PLAN SPONSOR.—The term ‘eli11 gible plan sponsor’ means any plan sponsor as de12 fined in section 3(16)(B) that maintains a group

13 health plan subject to the retiree health benefits res14 toration requirements of section 803.

15 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE

16 HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—There is estab17 lished the Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program, to be

18 administered by the Board, the purpose of which is to pro19 vide loan guarantees to eligible plan sponsors in accord20 ance with this section.

21 ‘‘(c) RETIREE HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD

22 MEMBERSHIP.—There is established a Retiree Health

23 Loan Guarantee Board, which shall be composed of—

24 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Labor, who shall serve as

25 Chairman of the Board;

26 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Commerce;
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1 ‘‘(3) the Secretary of the Treasury;

2 ‘‘(4) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv3 ices; and

4 ‘‘(5) the Chairman of the Council of Economic

5 Advisers.

6 ‘‘(d) RETIREE HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE

7 PROGRAM—

8 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Program may guar9 antee loans provided by private banking and invest10 ment institutions to eligible plan sponsors for pur11 poses of assisting such plan sponsors to meet their

12 obligations under section 803. Such loan guarantees

13 shall be provided to the extent provided in advance

14 in appropriation Acts pursuant to paragraph (4) and

15 only in accordance with the procedures, rules, and

16 regulations established by the Board.

17 ‘‘(2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggre18 gate amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding at

19 any time under this section may not exceed

20 $5,000,000,000.

21 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The ag22 gregate amount of loans guaranteed under this sec23 tion with respect to a single eligible plan sponsor

24 may not exceed $5,000,000.
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1 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—For the additional

2 cost of loans guaranteed under this subsection, in3 cluding the costs of modifying the loans, as defined

4 in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of

5 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a), there is authorized to be ap6 propriated $200,000,000, to remain available until

7 expended.

8 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR LOAN GUARANTEES.—A

9 loan guarantee may be issued under this section upon ap10 plication to the Board by an eligible plan sponsor pursuant

11 to an agreement to provide a loan to that eligible plan

12 sponsor by a private bank or investment company, if the

13 Board determines that—

14 ‘‘(1) credit is not otherwise available to that eli15 gible plan sponsor under reasonable terms and con16 ditions sufficient to meet its financing needs with re17 spect to the restoration of retiree health benefits, as

18 reflected in the financial and business plans of that

19 eligible plan sponsor;

20 ‘‘(2) the prospective earning power of that eligi21 ble plan sponsor, together with the character and

22 value of the security pledged, furnish reasonable as23 surance of repayment of the loan to be guaranteed

24 in accordance with its terms;
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1 ‘‘(3) the loan to be guaranteed bears interest at

2 a rate determined by the Board to be reasonable,

3 taking into account the current average yield on out4 standing obligations of the United States with re5 maining periods of maturity comparable to the ma6 turity of such loan;

7 ‘‘(4) the loan to be guaranteed will materially

8 assist that eligible plan sponsor to discharge its obli9 gation to comply with the restoration of benefits re10 quirements contained in section 803; and

11 ‘‘(5) the eligible plan sponsor has agreed to an

12 audit by the General Accounting Office prior to the

13 issuance of the loan guarantee and annually while

14 any such guaranteed loan is outstanding.

15 ‘‘(f) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOAN GUAR16 ANTEE.—

17 ‘‘(1) LOAN DURATION.—All loans guaranteed

18 under this section shall be payable in full not later

19 than December 31, 2008, and the terms and condi20 tions of each such loan shall provide that the loan

21 may not be amended or any provision thereof waived

22 without the consent of the Board.

23 ‘‘(2) LOAN SECURITY.—Any commitment to

24 issue a loan guarantee under this section shall con25 tain such affirmative and negative covenants and
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1 other protective provisions that the Board deter2 mines are appropriate.

3 ‘‘(3) FEES.—An eligible plan sponsor receiving

4 a guarantee under this section shall pay a fee in an

5 amount equal to 0.5 percent of the outstanding prin6 cipal balance of the guaranteed loan to the Depart7 ment of the Treasury.

8 ‘‘(g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of

9 Labor shall submit annually to each House of the Con10 gress a full report of the activities of the Board under

11 this section during 2001 and 2002, and annually there12 after during such period as any loan guaranteed under

13 this section is outstanding. Such report shall be submitted

14 not later than January 31, of each year (beginning in

15 2001).

16 ‘‘(h) SALARIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—

17 For necessary expenses to administer the Program, there

18 is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of

19 Labor (and to be transferred to the Office of the Assistant

20 Secretary for Pension and Welfare Benefits Administra21 tion) $10,000,000, to remain available until expended.

22 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION OF GUARANTEE AUTHORITY.—

23 The authority of the Board to make commitments to guar24 antee any loan under this section shall terminate on De25 cember 31, 2004.
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1 ‘‘(j) REGULATORY ACTION.—The Board shall issue

2 such final procedures, rules, and regulations as may be

3 necessary to carry out this section not later than 90 days

4 after the date of enactment of the Emergency Retiree

5 Health Benefits Protection Act of 2000. In no event shall

6 the Board issue a procedure, rule, or regulation which au7 thorizes it to approve or deny any application for a loan

8 guarantee in more than 270 days after receipt of such ap9 plication.

10 ‘‘(k) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The entire

11 amount made available to carry out this section—

12 ‘‘(1) is designated by Congress as an emergency

13 requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the

14 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control

15 Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)); and

16 ‘‘(2) shall be available only to the extent that

17 an official budget request that includes designation

18 of the entire amount as an emergency requirement

19 (as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency

20 Deficit Control Act of 1985) is transmitted by the

21 President to the Congress.

22 ‘‘SEC. 806. EFFECT ON OTHER CLAIMS.

23 ‘‘(a) OTHER CLAIMS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing con24 tained in this part shall be construed to alter, impair, or

25 eliminate any claim for retiree health benefits based on
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1 conduct alleged to violate the terms of a group health plan,

2 any provision of this Act (other than this part), or both,

3 regardless of whether such conduct occurred prior to, on,

4 or after, the effective date of this part.

5 ‘‘(b) OTHER CAUSES OF ACTION NOT AUTHOR6 IZED.—Unless the conduct giving rise to a claim for re7 tiree health benefits is alleged to violate the provisions of

8 this part, nothing contained in this part shall be construed

9 to authorize any other cause of action for the recovery of

10 retiree health benefits.

11 ‘‘SEC. 807. REGULATIONS.

12 ‘‘The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as

13 may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this part.

14 The Secretary may promulgate any interim final rules as

15 the Secretary deems are appropriate to carry out this part.

16 ‘‘SEC. 808. ENFORCEMENT.

17 ‘‘The enforcement provisions of sections 501 and 502

18 shall be applicable to this part.’’.

19 (b) CIVIL PENALTY SECTION.—Section 502(c) of the

20 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

21 U.S.C. 1132(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(8) The Secretary may assess a civil penalty of not

24 more than $1,000 for each separate violation of section

25 801, 802, or 803 by any person individually with respect
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1 to each participant or beneficiary aggrieved by such viola2 tion.’’.

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con4 tents in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting

5 after the item relating to section 734 the following new

6 items:

‘‘PART 8—EMERGENCY RETIREE HEALTH BENEFIT PROTECTIONS

‘‘Sec. 801. Prohibition against post-retirement reductions of retiree health benefits by group health plans.

‘‘Sec. 802. Adoption by group health plans of provision barring post-retirement

reductions in retiree health benefits.

‘‘Sec. 803. Restoration by group health plans of benefits reduced after retirement.

‘‘Sec. 804. Exemption from restoration of benefits requirements.

‘‘Sec. 805. Establishment of emergency retiree health loan guarantee program.

‘‘Sec. 806. Effect on other claims.

‘‘Sec. 807. Regulations.

‘‘Sec. 808. Enforcement.’’.

7 SEC. 4. SEPARABILITY OF PROVISIONS.

8 The provisions of section 509 of the Employee Retire9 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1139) shall

10 be applicable to this Act and the amendments made there11 by.

12 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

13 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect

14 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ