II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2966 

To provide additional benefits to American workers whose employment has 

been impacted as a result of the transition to a clean energy economy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 7, 2021 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. 

BENNET, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. SMITH, and Ms. WARREN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Finance 

A BILL 

To provide additional benefits to American workers whose 

employment has been impacted as a result of the transition to a clean energy economy. 

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 Energy 

5 Worker Opportunity Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF AMERICAN ENERGY WORKERS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Not later than 60 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, there shall 

9 be established within the Department of the Treasury an 


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1 office to be known as the Office of American Energy 

2 Workers. The Office of American Energy Workers shall 

3 be headed by an Assistant Secretary who shall be ap4 pointed by the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in 

5 this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’). 

6 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY.— 

7 The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, 

8 shall be responsible for— 

9 (1) hiring personnel and making employment 

10 decisions with regard to such personnel; 

11 (2) issuing such regulations as may be nec12 essary to carry out the purposes of this section; 

13 (3) entering into cooperative agreements with 

14 other agencies and departments to ensure the effi15 ciency of the administration of this section; 

16 (4) determining eligibility for benefits provided 

17 under this section and providing such benefits to 

18 qualified individuals; 

19 (5) preventing fraud and abuse relating to such 

20 benefits; 

21 (6) establishing and maintaining a system of 

22 records relating to the administration of this section; 

23 (7) ensuring that the Office of American En24 ergy Workers is designed a manner that maximizes 

25 efficiency and ease of use by qualified individuals, 


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1 which may include establishment and deployment of 

2 mobile field or satellite offices within eligible coun3 ties (as defined by the Secretary); 

4 (8) consulting with the Secretary of Labor with 

5 respect to the benefits provided under this section to 

6 avoid duplication with other Federal programs to as7 sist qualified individuals; and 

8 (9) administering the programs established 

9 under this section. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Begin11 ning in fiscal year 2022 and in each fiscal year thereafter, 

12 there is authorized to be appropriated, out of moneys in 

13 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as 

14 may be necessary to administer the office established 

15 under subsection (a). 

16 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

17 (1) NOTIFICATION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date 

19 that is 90 days before the date of the closure 

20 of a coal mine or fossil-fuel intensive plant, the 

21 operator of such mine or plant shall provide no22 tice to the Secretary with respect to such clo23 sure, including such information as is deter24 mined necessary by the Secretary to determine 

25 the eligibility of any former employee of such 


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1 mine or plant for any benefits provided under 

2 this section, as well as the amount of such ben3 efits. 

4 (B) COMPLIANCE.—In determining compli5 ance with the notification requirement of sub6 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall confirm the 

7 compliance, as applicable, of the coal mine or 

8 fossil-fuel intensive plant with the notification 

9 requirements of the Worker Adjustment and 

10 Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et 

11 seq.) through communication with the Secretary 

12 of Labor and, as appropriate, the State or the 

13 chief elected official of the unit of local govern14 ment within which the closure of such coal mine 

15 or fossil-fuel intensive plant is to occur. 

16 (2) CLOSURE.—For purposes of this section, 

17 the term ‘‘closure’’ means— 

18 (A) with respect to any coal mine, any re19 duction in production occurring after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act which is accompanied 

21 by permanent layoffs; and 

22 (B) with respect to any fossil-fuel intensive 

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1 ment of this Act which is accompanied by per2 manent layoffs. 

3 (3) FOSSIL-FUEL INTENSIVE PLANT.—For pur4 poses of this section— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fossil-fuel 

6 intensive plant’’ means a fixed facility for which 

7 the primary purpose is processing or utilization 

8 of fossil fuels for— 

9 (i) the generation of energy or electric 

10 power; or 

11 (ii) the production of fuels. 

12 (B) OIL REFINERIES.—The term ‘‘fossil13 fuel intensive plant’’ shall include oil refineries. 

14 (4) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

16 section, the term ‘‘qualified individual’’ 

17 means— 

18 (i) any individual— 

19 (I) whose employment was termi20 nated as the result of the closure of a 

21 coal mine or a fossil-fuel intensive 

22 plant; 

23 (II) who, prior to such closure, 

24 was continually employed at such 

25 mine or plant— 


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1 (aa) for a period of not less 

2 than 12 months; and 

3 (bb) for an average of not 

4 less than 30 hours a week during 

5 the 12-month period preceding 

6 such closure; and 

7 (III) for whom the applicable in8 formation has been provided to the 

9 Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1); 

10 and 

11 (ii) any individual who has been deter12 mined, pursuant to subparagraph (C), to 

13 be a fossil-fuel dependent worker. 

14 (B) RAILROAD AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES

15 WORKERS.—Pursuant to regulations issued by 

16 the Secretary, the term ‘‘qualified individual’’ 

17 shall include any individual— 

18 (i) whose employment as a railroad 

19 worker, or whose employment involves coal 

20 transportation, maintenance, and supply, 

21 was terminated; 

22 (ii) whose income during the 12- 

23 month period preceding the closure of a 

24 coal mine or a fossil-fuel intensive plant 

25 has been substantially dependent on the 


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1 continued operation of such mine or plant 

2 (as determined by the Secretary, in coordi3 nation with the Secretary of Labor); and 

4 (iii) who has applied for benefits pro5 vided under this section and has provided 

6 the Secretary with such information as de7 termined appropriate by the Secretary. 

8 (C) FOSSIL-FUEL DEPENDENT WORKER.— 

9 For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), the term 

10 ‘‘fossil-fuel dependent worker’’ means an indi11 vidual who, as determined by the Secretary (in 

12 coordination with the Secretary of Labor and 

13 the Secretary of Energy), is— 

14 (i) employed in a fossil-fuel intensive 

15 industry at a fixed facility or work site 

16 which has been determined to be likely to 

17 close within the following 3-year-period; 

18 and 

19 (ii) eligible for benefits provided under 

20 this section based on need. 

21 (e) WAGE REPLACEMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (A) PAYMENT.—In the case of any quali24 fied individual, during the applicable period, the 

25 Secretary shall provide such individual with 


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1 payments in an amount which, for each month 

2 during such period, is equal to— 

3 (i) the average amount of monthly re4 muneration for employment paid to such 

5 individual during the 12-month period 

6 prior to the termination of their employ7 ment (as described in subsection (d)(4)); 

8 minus 

9 (ii) an amount equal to the sum of— 

10 (I) except as provided under 

11 paragraph (5)(B), any wages (as de12 fined in section 3121(a)) received by 

13 such individual with respect to em14 ployment (as defined in section 

15 3121(b)) during such month; 

16 (II) any payments made to such 

17 individual pursuant to a Federal ben18 efit program during such month; plus 

19 (III) any unemployment com20 pensation (as defined in section 85(b) 

21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986) during such month. 

23 (B) NOTIFICATION.—During the applicable 

24 period, a qualified individual shall notify the 

25 Secretary with respect to any wages, payments, 


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1 or compensation described in subparagraph 

2 (A)(ii). 

3 (C) COMPLIANCE.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

5 section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code 

6 of 1986, with respect to any qualified indi7 vidual who receives a payment under this 

8 subsection for any month, if the Secretary 

9 determines that such individual failed to 

10 comply with the requirement under sub11 paragraph (B) with respect to such month, 

12 such individual shall be subject to a pen13 alty in an amount equal to the lesser of— 

14 (I) the amount of such payment 

15 for such month; or 

16 (II) the amount determined 

17 under subparagraph (A)(ii) with re18 spect to such month. 

19 (ii) NO ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS.— 

20 (I) IN GENERAL.—No payment 

21 shall be allowed under this subsection 

22 for any month during the disallowance 

23 period. 

24 (II) DISALLOWANCE PERIOD.— 

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1 allowance period shall be any month 

2 during the applicable period beginning 

3 prior to the date on which an indi4 vidual described in clause (i) has 

5 made full payment with respect to any 

6 penalty imposed under such clause. 

7 (2) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes of this 

8 subsection, the term ‘‘applicable period’’ means, with 

9 respect to any qualified individual, the 60-month pe10 riod subsequent to the termination of their employ11 ment (as described in subsection (d)(4)). 

12 (3) FREQUENCY OF PAYMENT.—Any payment 

13 required to be provided to a qualified individual 

14 under this subsection shall be provided by the Sec15 retary on a basis which is not less frequent than 

16 once per month during the applicable period. 

17 (4) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—For pur18 poses of any payment described in paragraph (1) 

19 which is provided to a qualified individual during a 

20 calendar year beginning after the date that the em21 ployment of such individual was terminated, such 

22 amount shall be adjusted in a manner similar to the 

23 cost-of-living adjustment determined under section 

24 1(f)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for 

25 such calendar year. 


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1 (5) TAX TREATMENT.—Any amount provided to 

2 a qualified individual under this subsection shall be 

3 treated as— 

4 (A) gross income for purposes of the Inter5 nal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

6 (B) for purposes of section 3101 of such 

7 Code, wages received by the individual with re8 spect to employment. 

9 (f) HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

11 the following health insurance benefits: 

12 (A) In the case of a qualified individual 

13 who is receiving continuation coverage pursuant 

14 to part 6 of subtitle B of title I of the Em15 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

16 (29 U.S.C. 1161 et seq.) and section 4980B of 

17 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Sec18 retary shall transfer, each month, to the group 

19 health plan (or health insurance issuer offering 

20 health insurance coverage in connection with 

21 such a plan) of such qualified individual, the 

22 amount required to cover the same percentage 

23 of the qualified individual’s monthly premium 

24 (including coverage for any qualified bene25 ficiaries) that such individual’s former employer 


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1 contributed toward such premium during the 

2 individual’s employment. 

3 (B) In the case of a qualified individual 

4 who is not eligible for continuation coverage as 

5 described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

6 shall transfer to the qualified individual, each 

7 month, an amount equal to the amount that the 

8 individual’s former employer contributed each 

9 month towards premiums for enrollment of the 

10 individual and qualified beneficiaries in a group 

11 health plan (including any health insurance cov12 erage offered in connection with such a plan), 

13 adjusted in accordance with the average in14 crease in health insurance premiums for plans 

15 offered at the gold level of coverage (as de16 scribed in section 1302(d)(1) of the Patient 

17 Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 18022(d)(1))) in the individual market in the 

19 applicable State. This amount shall not be con20 sidered as gross income for purposes of the In21 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 provided that the 

22 individual provides proof that it has been used 

23 to purchase health insurance coverage that 

24 qualifies as minimum essential coverage (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Oct 09, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2966.IS S2966

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1 fined in section 5000A(f) of the Internal Rev2 enue Code of 1986). 

3 (2) REDUCTION OF PREMIUMS PAYABLE BY IN4 DIVIDUALS.—In the case of a qualified individual 

5 and qualified beneficiaries receiving benefits de6 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) during the applicable 

7 period of coverage described in paragraph (3)(A), 

8 such individual and beneficiaries shall be treated for 

9 purposes of part 6 of subtitle B of title I of the Em10 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 

11 U.S.C. 1161 et seq.) and section 4980B of the In12 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 as having paid in full 

13 the amount of such premium for a month if such 

14 qualified individual and qualified beneficiary pays 

15 the total monthly premium due, less the amount of 

16 benefits paid on behalf of such individual and bene17 ficiaries pursuant to paragraph (1)(A). 

18 (3) PERIOD OF COVERAGE WITH RESPECT TO

19 COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE.—For purposes of 

20 this subsection, the following shall apply: 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (B), with respect to a qualified individual 

23 or qualified beneficiary who is receiving con24 tinuation coverage pursuant to part 6 of sub25 title B of title I of the Employee Retirement InVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Oct 09, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2966.IS S2966

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1 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1161 et 

2 seq.) and 4980B of the Internal Revenue Code 

3 of 1986, the period of coverage described in sec4 tion 602(2) of the Employee Retirement Income 

5 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1162(2)) and 

6 section 4980B(f)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code of 1986 is deemed to extend to the date 

8 which is 5 years after termination of the quali9 fied individual’s employment. 

10 (B) END OF PLAN.—With respect to a 

11 qualified individual and qualified beneficiaries 

12 described in subparagraph (A), if the employer 

13 ceases to provide any group health plan to any 

14 employee before the period of coverage de15 scribed in such subparagraph ends, or if the 

16 qualified individual and qualified beneficiaries 

17 become ineligible for continuation coverage 

18 (other than for reasons described in paragraph 

19 (4)(A)(ii)), such qualified individual and quali20 fied beneficiaries shall be eligible for benefits 

21 described in paragraph (1)(B). 

22 (4) DURATION OF BENEFITS.— 

23 (A) BENEFITS WITH RESPECT TO COBRA

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1 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) shall continue until 

2 the earlier of— 

3 (i) the date that is 5 years after clo4 sure of a coal mine or fossil-fuel intensive 

5 plant; or 

6 (ii) the date on which the qualified in7 dividual or qualified beneficiary becomes 

8 ineligible for continuation coverage pursu9 ant to subparagraph (C) or (D)(ii) of sec10 tion 602(2) of Employee Retirement In11 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

12 1162(2)) or clause (iii) or (iv) of section 

13 4980B(f)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986. 

15 (B) OTHER BENEFITS.—The benefits de16 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) shall continue until 

17 the date that is 5 years after closure of a coal 

18 mine or fossil-fuel intensive plant. 

19 (C) SPECIAL RULE.—With respect to a 

20 qualified individual and qualified beneficiaries, 

21 section 602(2)(C) of the Employee Retirement 

22 Income Security Act of 1974 and section 

23 4980B(f)(2)(B)(iii) of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986 shall apply only if, with respect 


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1 to such individual and beneficiaries, at least 2 

2 consecutive premium payments are not made. 

3 (5) OUTREACH.—The Secretary of Labor, in 

4 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and 

5 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 

6 provide outreach consisting of public education and 

7 enrollment assistance relating to premium assistance 

8 provided under this subsection, that targets employ9 ers, group health plan administrators, public assist10 ance programs, States, health insurance issuers, and 

11 other entities as determined appropriate by such 

12 Secretaries. Such outreach shall initially focus on in13 dividuals electing COBRA continuation coverage. In14 formation on premium assistance, including enroll15 ment, shall be made available on the websites of the 

16 Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and 

17 Human Services. 

18 (6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

19 (A) the terms ‘‘group health plan’’, ‘‘health 

20 insurance coverage’’, and ‘‘health insurance 

21 issuer’’ have the meanings given such terms in 

22 section 733 of the Employee Retirement Income 

23 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b); and 

24 (B) the term ‘‘qualified beneficiary’’ has 

25 the meaning given such term in section 


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1 607(3)(A) of the Employee Retirement Income 

2 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1167(3)(A)). 

3 (g) RETIREMENT SAVINGS CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a qualified in5 dividual, the Secretary shall pay to such individual 

6 amounts equal to the amount of employer contribu7 tions (other than elective deferrals) which were made 

8 to a qualified retirement plan (as defined in section 

9 4974(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of 

10 the individual as of the last month the individual 

11 was employed by the employer. Such payments shall 

12 be made on the same schedule as employer contribu13 tions under the plan. 

14 (2) TAX TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—If 

15 the qualified individual demonstrates that the pay16 ments made under paragraph (1) are contributed to 

17 a qualified retirement plan (as so defined) of the in18 dividual, such payments shall be treated for pur19 poses of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as if 

20 they had been made as employer contributions. 

21 (h) EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS.— 

22 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

23 (A) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means, 

24 with respect to any qualified individual, a son 

25 or daughter of such individual. 


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1 (B) PUBLIC, IN-STATE INSTITUTION OR

2 VOCATIONAL SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘public, in3 State institution or vocational school’’ means a 

4 public institution of higher education (as de5 fined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education 

6 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), or a public 

7 vocational school, of the State in which the 

8 qualified individual or child resides. 

9 (2) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education 

10 shall carry out a program of educational assistance 

11 for any qualified individual and child of a qualified 

12 individual that is comparable to the program of edu13 cation assistance administered by the Secretary of 

14 Veterans Affairs under chapter 33 of title 38, 

15 United States Code, except that— 

16 (A) a qualified individual, and each child 

17 of a qualified individual, may receive the edu18 cational assistance provided under the program; 

19 and 

20 (B) the educational assistance shall only be 

21 available for use— 

22 (i) at a public, in-State institution or 

23 vocational school; or 

24 (ii) for a program of training services 

25 included on the most recent list of eligible 


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1 training programs issued under section 

2 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and 

3 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3152(d)) by 

4 the Governor of the State in which the 

5 qualified individual or child of a qualified 

6 individual resides. 

7 (i) PRIORITY FOR EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretary, in 

8 coordination with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary 

9 of Commerce, and the Secretary of Energy, shall, with re10 spect to any clean energy grants which are made available 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, give priority to 

12 employers that intend to hire qualified individuals. 

13 (j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

14 on the date of the establishment of the Office of American 

15 Energy Workers (as described in subsection (a)). 

Æ 


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