II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1911 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to 

transfer certain funds to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America 

Pension Plan, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 3, 2017 

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

MCCASKILL, Mr. DONNELLY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. KAINE, Mr. WARNER, and Ms. HEITKAMP) 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 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 ‘‘American Miners Pen5 sion Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TRANSFERS TO 1974 UMWA PENSION PLAN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (i) of section 402 of 

3 the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 

4 (30 U.S.C. 1232) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para6 graph (5); and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) CALCULATION.—If the dollar limita11 tion specified in paragraph (3)(A) exceeds the 

12 aggregate amount required to be transferred 

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

14 the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer an 

15 additional amount equal to the difference be16 tween such dollar limitation and such aggregate 

17 amount to the trustees of the 1974 UMWA 

18 Pension Plan to pay benefits required under 

19 that plan. 

20 ‘‘(B) CESSATION OF TRANSFERS.—The 

21 transfers described in subparagraph (A) shall 

22 cease as of the first fiscal year beginning after 

23 the first plan year for which the funded per24 centage (as defined in section 432(i)(2) of the 

25 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the 1974 

26 UMWA Pension Plan is at least 100 percent, 


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1 taking fully into account all outstanding liabil2 ities for loans made pursuant to subparagraph 

3 (D). 

4 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON BENEFIT IN5 CREASES, ETC.—During a fiscal year in which 

6 the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan is receiving 

7 transfers under subparagraph (A), no amend8 ment of such plan which increases the liabilities 

9 of the plan by reason of any increase in bene10 fits, any change in the accrual of benefits, or 

11 any change in the rate at which benefits become 

12 nonforfeitable under the plan may be adopted 

13 unless the amendment is required as a condi14 tion of qualification under part I of subchapter 

15 D of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

16 1986. 

17 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERS FOR

18 PURPOSES OF WITHDRAWAL LIABILITY UNDER

19 ERISA.—The amount of any transfer made 

20 under subparagraph (A) (and any earnings at21 tributable thereto) shall be disregarded in deter22 mining the unfunded vested benefits of the 

23 1974 UMWA Pension Plan and the allocation 

24 of such unfunded vested benefits to an employer 

25 for purposes of determining the employer’s 


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1 withdrawal liability under section 4201 of the 

2 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 

3 1974. 

4 ‘‘(E) ADDITIONAL LOAN AUTHORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

6 amounts transferred under any provision 

7 other than this subparagraph, and without 

8 regard to the limitations described in para9 graph (3), each year beginning with fiscal 

10 year 2018 the Secretary of the Treasury 

11 shall transfer to the 1974 UMWA Pension 

12 Plan as a loan the amount certified by the 

13 Trustees of the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan 

14 to be necessary to prevent the insolvency of 

15 such plan. 

16 ‘‘(ii) ANNUAL CAP.—The amount of 

17 each annual loan under clause (i) shall not 

18 exceed $600,000,000. 

19 ‘‘(iii) LOAN TERMS.— 

20 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each such 

21 annual loan shall bear interest at the 

22 rate of 1 percent per annum, and each 

23 shall be treated as a separate loan. 

24 ‘‘(II) REPAYMENT.—For the first 

25 10 years of each such loan, only the 


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1 interest on such loan shall be repay2 able, and payments on the principal 

3 shall be distributed over the 30-year 

4 period beginning with the 11th year of 

5 the loan. 

6 ‘‘(III) ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS.— 

7 Notwithstanding subclauses (I) and 

8 (II), to the extent that the Trustees of 

9 the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan certify 

10 that such plan has surplus assets 

11 which are not needed to pay benefits 

12 under the plan or to ensure the future 

13 solvency of the plan, such surplus as14 sets shall be applied towards the re15 payment of the oldest outstanding 

16 loan made pursuant to this subpara17 graph. 

18 ‘‘(IV) MAINTENANCE OF CER19 TAIN MEASURES UNDER REHABILITA20 TION PLAN.—Each loan under this 

21 subparagraph shall specify as a condi22 tion of the loan that, if the 1974 

23 UMWA Pension Plan emerges from 

24 critical status (within the meaning of 

25 section 432 of the Internal Revenue 


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1 Code of 1986 and section 305 of the 

2 Employee Retirement Income Security 

3 Act of 1974), the Plan will continue 

4 to meet the requirements of section 

5 432(b)(3) of such Code and 305(b)(3) 

6 of such Act, and the measures adopt7 ed pursuant to section 

8 432(e)(3)(A)(ii) of such Code and sec9 tion 305(e)(3)(A)(ii) of such Act will 

10 remain in place. During the period 

11 such measures are required to remain 

12 in place, sections 412(b)(3) of such 

13 Code and 302(b)(3) of such Act shall 

14 continue to apply as if the plan were 

15 still in critical status. 

16 ‘‘(iv) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—Each 

17 year beginning with fiscal year 2018, the 

18 Trustees of the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan 

19 shall certify the amount required to be 

20 loaned pursuant to clause (i) and the 

21 amount of any surplus assets described in 

22 clause (iii)(III). Such certification shall 

23 also include a certification that— 

24 ‘‘(I) such loan amount, in com25 bination with future amounts available 


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1 to the Plan, is projected to be suffi2 cient to maintain indefinitely the sol3 vency of the plan (without regard to 

4 any outstanding loan balance); and 

5 ‘‘(II) the Plan is projected to be 

6 able to repay the amount of such loan, 

7 with interest, as required under clause 

8 (iii). 

9 The preceding sentence shall not apply 

10 with respect to any year in which the 

11 amount determined by the Trustees under 

12 clause (i) is $0 and no loans under this 

13 subparagraph remain outstanding. 

14 ‘‘(v) PLAN INSOLVENCY OR DE15 FAULT.—If the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan 

16 becomes insolvent in any year despite re17 ceiving loan amounts under this subpara18 graph, or if the Plan is unable to make 

19 any payment on a loan under this subpara20 graph when due, employers contributing to 

21 the Plan and employer associations with 

22 members contributing to the Plan shall not 

23 be subject to any new or increased liability, 

24 including any increased fee, expense, con25 tribution, assessment, or surcharge. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) INSOLVENCY.—For purposes of 

2 this subparagraph, a plan is insolvent if 

3 the plan’s available resources are not suffi4 cient to pay benefits under the plan when 

5 due for the plan year and as projected in6 definitely into future plan years, or if the 

7 plan is determined to be insolvent under 

8 section 418E(d) of the Internal Revenue 

9 Code of 1986. 

10 ‘‘(vii) INITIAL LOAN.—The first loan 

11 under this subparagraph shall be made not 

12 later than 60 days after the date of enact13 ment of the American Miners Pension Act 

14 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 American 

19 Miners Pension Act of 2017, the trustees 

20 of the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan shall file 

21 with the Secretary of the Treasury or the 

22 Secretary’s delegate and the Pension Ben23 efit Guaranty Corporation a report (includ24 ing appropriate documentation and actu25 arial certifications from the plan actuary, 


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1 as required by the Secretary of the Treas2 ury or the Secretary’s delegate) that con3 tains— 

4 ‘‘(I) whether the plan is in en5 dangered or critical status under sec6 tion 305 of the Employee Retirement 

7 Income Security Act of 1974 and sec8 tion 432 of the Internal Revenue Code 

9 of 1986 as of the first day of such 

10 plan year; 

11 ‘‘(II) the funded percentage (as 

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

13 Code) as of the first day of such plan 

14 year, and the underlying actuarial 

15 value of assets and liabilities taken 

16 into account in determining such per17 centage; 

18 ‘‘(III) the market value of the as19 sets of the plan as of the last day of 

20 the plan year preceding such plan 

21 year; 

22 ‘‘(IV) the total value of all con23 tributions made during the plan year 

24 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 

24 the plan year, copies of collective bar25 gaining agreements, and financial reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Oct 04, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911

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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 22:24 Oct 04, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911

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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) COORDINATION WITH TAXATION OF UNRELATED

14 BUSINESS INCOME.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

15 514(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i); 

18 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

19 (ii)(II) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

21 clause: 

22 ‘‘(iii) indebtedness with respect to the 

23 1974 UMWA Pension Plan (as defined in 

24 section 402(i)(4)(G) of the Surface Mining 

25 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977) 


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1 under a loan made by the Secretary pursu2 ant to section 402(i)(4)(E) of the Surface 

3 Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 

4 1977.’’. 

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

6 this section shall apply to fiscal years beginning after Sep7 tember 30, 2016. 

Æ 


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