II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 175 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 17, 2017 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CASEY, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

KAINE, Mr. WARNER, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. TESTER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. DONNELLY, 

Mr. HEINRICH, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. NELSON, Mr. 

BURR, and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

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. 

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 ‘‘Miners Protection Act 

5 of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF CERTAIN RETIREES IN THE MULTI2 EMPLOYER HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Surface Min4 ing Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 

5 1232), as amended by the Further Continuing and Secu6 rity Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (h)(2)(C)— 

8 (A) by striking clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv); 

9 and 

10 (B) by inserting after clause (i) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(ii) CALCULATION OF EXCESS.—The 

13 excess determined under clause (i) shall be 

14 calculated by taking into account only— 

15 ‘‘(I) those beneficiaries actually 

16 enrolled in the Plan as of the date of 

17 the enactment of the Miners Protec18 tion Act of 2017 who are eligible to 

19 receive health benefits under the Plan 

20 on the first day of the calendar year 

21 for which the transfer is made, other 

22 than those beneficiaries enrolled in 

23 the Plan under the terms of a partici24 pation agreement with the current or 

25 former employer of such beneficiaries; 

26 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) those beneficiaries whose 

2 health benefits, defined as those bene3 fits payable, following death or retire4 ment or upon a finding of disability, 

5 directly by an employer in the bitu6 minous coal industry under a coal 

7 wage agreement (as defined in section 

8 9701(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue 

9 Code of 1986), would be denied or re10 duced as a result of a bankruptcy pro11 ceeding commenced in 2012 or 2015. 

12 For purposes of subclause (I), a bene13 ficiary enrolled in the Plan as of the date 

14 of the enactment of the Miners Protection 

15 Act of 2017 shall be deemed to have been 

16 eligible to receive health benefits under the 

17 Plan on January 1, 2017. 

18 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN RETIR19 EES.—Individuals referred to in clause 

20 (ii)(II) shall be treated as eligible to re21 ceive health benefits under the Plan. 

22 ‘‘(iv) REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANS23 FER.—The amount of the transfer other24 wise determined under this subparagraph 

25 for a fiscal year shall be reduced by any 


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1 amount transferred for the fiscal year to 

2 the Plan, to pay benefits required under 

3 the Plan, from a voluntary employees’ ben4 eficiary association established as a result 

5 of a bankruptcy proceeding described in 

6 clause (ii).’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (i)— 

8 (A) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

9 paragraph (5); and 

10 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) CALCULATION.—If the dollar limita14 tion specified in paragraph (3)(A) exceeds the 

15 aggregate amount required to be transferred 

16 under paragraphs (1) and (2) for a fiscal year, 

17 the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer an 

18 additional amount equal to the difference be19 tween such dollar limitation and such aggregate 

20 amount to the trustees of the 1974 UMWA 

21 Pension Plan to pay benefits required under 

22 that plan. 

23 ‘‘(B) CESSATION OF TRANSFERS.—The 

24 transfers described in subparagraph (A) shall 

25 cease as of the first fiscal year beginning after 


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1 the first plan year for which the funded per2 centage (as defined in section 432(i)(2) of the 

3 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the 1974 

4 UMWA Pension Plan is at least 100 percent. 

5 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON BENEFIT IN6 CREASES, ETC.—During a fiscal year in which 

7 the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan is receiving 

8 transfers under subparagraph (A), no amend9 ment of such plan which increases the liabilities 

10 of the plan by reason of any increase in bene11 fits, any change in the accrual of benefits, or 

12 any change in the rate at which benefits become 

13 nonforfeitable under the plan may be adopted 

14 unless the amendment is required as a condi15 tion of qualification under part I of subchapter 

16 D of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986. 

18 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERS FOR

19 PURPOSES OF WITHDRAWAL LIABILITY UNDER

20 ERISA.—The amount of any transfer made 

21 under subparagraph (A) (and any earnings at22 tributable thereto) shall be disregarded in deter23 mining the unfunded vested benefits of the 

24 1974 UMWA Pension Plan and the allocation 

25 of such unfunded vested benefits to an employer 


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1 for purposes of determining the employer’s 

2 withdrawal liability under section 4201 of the 

3 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 

4 1974. 

5 ‘‘(E) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN CON6 TRIBUTION RATE.—A transfer under subpara7 graph (A) shall not be made for a fiscal year 

8 unless the persons that are obligated to con9 tribute to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan on 

10 the date of the transfer are obligated to make 

11 the contributions at rates that are no less than 

12 those in effect on the date which is 30 days be13 fore the date of enactment of the Miners Pro14 tection Act of 2017. 

15 ‘‘(F) ENHANCED ANNUAL REPORTING.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the 

17 90th day of each plan year beginning after 

18 the date of enactment of the Miners Pro19 tection Act of 2017, the trustees of the 

20 1974 UMWA Pension Plan shall file with 

21 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Sec22 retary’s delegate and the Pension Benefit 

23 Guaranty Corporation a report (including 

24 appropriate documentation and actuarial 

25 certifications from the plan actuary, as reVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:12 Jan 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S175.IS S175

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1 quired by the Secretary of the Treasury or 

2 the Secretary’s delegate) that contains— 

3 ‘‘(I) whether the plan is in en4 dangered or critical status under sec5 tion 305 of the Employee Retirement 

6 Income Security Act of 1974 and sec7 tion 432 of the Internal Revenue Code 

8 of 1986 as of the first day of such 

9 plan year; 

10 ‘‘(II) the funded percentage (as 

11 defined in section 432(i)(2) of such 

12 Code) as of the first day of such plan 

13 year, and the underlying actuarial 

14 value of assets and liabilities taken 

15 into account in determining such per16 centage; 

17 ‘‘(III) the market value of the as18 sets of the plan as of the last day of 

19 the plan year preceding such plan 

20 year; 

21 ‘‘(IV) the total value of all con22 tributions made during the plan year 

23 preceding such plan year; 


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1 ‘‘(V) the total value of all bene2 fits paid during the plan year pre3 ceding such plan year; 

4 ‘‘(VI) cash flow projections for 

5 such plan year and either the 6 or 10 

6 succeeding plan years, at the election 

7 of the trustees, and the assumptions 

8 relied upon in making such projec9 tions; 

10 ‘‘(VII) funding standard account 

11 projections for such plan year and the 

12 9 succeeding plan years, and the as13 sumptions relied upon in making such 

14 projections; 

15 ‘‘(VIII) the total value of all in16 vestment gains or losses during the 

17 plan year preceding such plan year; 

18 ‘‘(IX) any significant reduction 

19 in the number of active participants 

20 during the plan year preceding such 

21 plan year, and the reason for such re22 duction; 

23 ‘‘(X) a list of employers that 

24 withdrew from the plan in the plan 

25 year preceding such plan year, and 


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1 the resulting reduction in contribu2 tions; 

3 ‘‘(XI) a list of employers that 

4 paid withdrawal liability to the plan 

5 during the plan year preceding such 

6 plan year and, for each employer, a 

7 total assessment of the withdrawal li8 ability paid, the annual payment 

9 amount, and the number of years re10 maining in the payment schedule with 

11 respect to such withdrawal liability; 

12 ‘‘(XII) any material changes to 

13 benefits, accrual rates, or contribution 

14 rates during the plan year preceding 

15 such plan year; 

16 ‘‘(XIII) any scheduled benefit in17 crease or decrease in the plan year 

18 preceding such plan year having a 

19 material effect on liabilities of the 

20 plan; 

21 ‘‘(XIV) details regarding any 

22 funding improvement plan or rehabili23 tation plan and updates to such plan; 

24 ‘‘(XV) the number of partici25 pants and beneficiaries during the 


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1 plan year preceding such plan year 

2 who are active participants, the num3 ber of participants and beneficiaries in 

4 pay status, and the number of termi5 nated vested participants and bene6 ficiaries; 

7 ‘‘(XVI) the information contained 

8 on the most recent annual funding no9 tice submitted by the plan under sec10 tion 101(f) of the Employee Retire11 ment Income Security Act of 1974; 

12 ‘‘(XVII) the information con13 tained on the most recent Department 

14 of Labor Form 5500 of the plan; and 

15 ‘‘(XVIII) copies of the plan docu16 ment and amendments, other retire17 ment benefit or ancillary benefit plans 

18 relating to the plan and contribution 

19 obligations under such plans, a break20 down of administrative expenses of 

21 the plan, participant census data and 

22 distribution of benefits, the most re23 cent actuarial valuation report as of 

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1 ports, and such other information as 

2 the Secretary of the Treasury or the 

3 Secretary’s delegate, in consultation 

4 with the Secretary of Labor and the 

5 Director of the Pension Benefit Guar6 anty Corporation, may require. 

7 ‘‘(ii) ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION.—The 

8 report required under clause (i) shall be 

9 submitted electronically. 

10 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION SHARING.—The 

11 Secretary of the Treasury or the Sec12 retary’s delegate shall share the informa13 tion in the report under clause (i) with the 

14 Secretary of Labor. 

15 ‘‘(iv) PENALTY.—Any failure to file 

16 the report required under clause (i) on or 

17 before the date described in such clause 

18 shall be treated as a failure to file a report 

19 required to be filed under section 6058(a) 

20 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, ex21 cept that section 6652(e) of such Code 

22 shall be applied with respect to any such 

23 failure by substituting ‘$100’ for ‘$25’. 

24 The preceding sentence shall not apply if 

25 the Secretary of the Treasury or the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:12 Jan 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S175.IS S175

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1 retary’s delegate determines that reason2 able diligence has been exercised by the 

3 trustees of such plan in attempting to 

4 timely file such report. 

5 ‘‘(G) 1974 UMWA PENSION PLAN DE6 FINED.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 

7 term ‘1974 UMWA Pension Plan’ has the 

8 meaning given the term in section 9701(a)(3) 

9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, but 

10 without regard to the limitation on participation 

11 to individuals who retired in 1976 and there12 after.’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to fiscal years beginning 

16 after September 30, 2016. 

17 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

18 402(i)(4)(F) of the Surface Mining Control and Rec19 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(i)(4)(F)), as 

20 added by this section, shall apply to plan years be21 ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF FINANCING OBLIGATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 9704 of 

24 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

25 (1) by striking paragraph (3), 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘three premiums’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘two premiums’’, and 

3 (3) by striking ‘‘, plus’’ at the end of paragraph 

4 (2) and inserting a period. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) Section 9704 of the Internal Revenue Code 

7 of 1986 is amended— 

8 (A) by striking subsection (d), and 

9 (B) by redesignating subsections (e) 

10 through (j) as subsections (d) through (i), re11 spectively. 

12 (2) Subsection (d) of section 9704 of such 

13 Code, as so redesignated, is amended— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘3 separate accounts for 

15 each of the premiums described in subsections 

16 (b), (c), and (d)’’ in paragraph (1) and insert17 ing ‘‘2 separate accounts for each of the pre18 miums described in subsections (b) and (c)’’, 

19 and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘or the unassigned bene21 ficiaries premium account’’ in paragraph 

22 (3)(B). 

23 (3) Subclause (I) of section 9703(b)(2)(C)(ii) of 

24 such Code is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘9704(e)(3)(B)(i)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘9704(d)(3)(B)(i)’’. 

3 (4) Paragraph (3) of section 9705(a) of such 

4 Code is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘the unassigned beneficiary 

6 premium under section 9704(a)(3) and’’ in sub7 paragraph (B), and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘9704(i)(1)(B)’’ and in9 serting ‘‘9704(h)(1)(B)’’. 

10 (5) Paragraph (2) of section 9711(c) of such 

11 Code is amended— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘9704(j)(2)’’ in subpara13 graph (A)(i) and inserting ‘‘9704(i)(2)’’, 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘9704(j)(2)(B)’’ in sub15 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘9704(i)(2)(B)’’, 

16 and 

17 (C) by striking ‘‘9704(j)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘9704(i)’’. 

19 (6) Paragraph (4) of section 9712(d) of such 

20 Code is amended by striking ‘‘9704(j)’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘9704(i)’’. 

22 (c) ELIMINATION OF ADDITIONAL BACKSTOP PRE23 MIUM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 

2 9712(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

3 amended by striking subparagraph (C). 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (2) 

5 of section 9712(d) of such Code is amended— 

6 (A) by striking subparagraph (B), 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘, and’’ at the end of sub8 paragraph (A) and inserting a period, and 

9 (C) by striking ‘‘shall provide for—’’ and 

10 all that follows through ‘‘annual adjustments’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘shall provide for annual adjust12 ments’’. 

13 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall apply to plan years beginning after Sep15 tember 30, 2016. 

16 SEC. 4. CUSTOMS USER FEES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13031(j)(3)(A) of the 

18 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 

19 (19 U.S.C. 58c(j)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Sep20 tember 30, 2025’’ and inserting ‘‘May 6, 2026’’. 

21 (b) RATE FOR MERCHANDISE PROCESSING FEES.— 

22 Section 503 of the United States–Korea Free Trade 

23 Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 112–41; 19 


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1 U.S.C. 3805 note) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

2 2025’’ and inserting ‘‘May 6, 2026’’. 

Æ 


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