I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1322 

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 

MARCH 15, 2005 

Mr. TIERNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

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 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Retired participants of group health plans 

9 regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Secu10 rity Act of 1974 (ERISA) have been severely 
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1 harmed by the virtually unchecked practices of spon2 sors of such plans involving the post-retirement can3 cellation or reduction of health benefits which retir4 ees counted on receiving for their lifetimes. 

5 (2) Such widespread post-retirement reductions 

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

7 health care in which retirees— 

8 (A) have been unable to substitute indi9 vidual coverage for the group coverage they 

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

11 have jeopardized their economic security in re12 tirement; 

13 (B) because of preexisting medical condi14 tions cannot obtain substitute coverage that 

15 they can afford without depleting their life sav16 ings or have been unable to obtain adequate 

17 medical care or medical care they had relied on 

18 to deal with serious illness; 

19 (C) have sustained catastrophic illnesses or 

20 injuries or otherwise experienced a marked de21 terioration in their medical conditions or health 

22 as a result of post-retirement changes to their 

23 medical benefits; 

24 (D) have been transferred indiscriminately 

25 into improperly or inadequately managed health 
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1 maintenance organizations or other managed 

2 care entities, resulting in the worsening rather 

3 than improvement of prior medical conditions; 

4 and 

5 (E) in many instances, have failed to ob6 tain adequate relief in the courts due to highly 

7 restrictive judicial interpretations which are in8 consistent with ERISA’s underlying protective 

9 purposes. 

10 (3) The crisis in retirees healthcare generated 

11 by the plan sponsor practice of post-retirement can12 cellations or reductions of previously promised re13 tiree health benefits has led to a widespread loss of 

14 confidence in the integrity of ERISA-regulated 

15 group health plans and the ability of ERISA itself 

16 to adequately protect retiree health benefits. 

17 (4) A strong and dependable private sector re18 tiree health system is necessary to the essential 

19 health of our Nation’s senior citizens. 

20 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to en21 sure that the reasonable health benefit expectations of re22 tirees from ERISA-regulated group health plans are ful23 filled, to minimize the incidence of prolonged legal dis24 putes arising out of the post-retirement cancellation or re25 duction of retiree health benefits from such plans, and to 
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1 prevent further adverse effects on retiree health arising 

2 from such post-retirement changes. To this end, the pur3 poses of this Act also include the following: 

4 (1) to safeguard retired participants of group 

5 health plans subject to the Employee Retirement In6 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) 

7 from loss or reduction of their health benefits from 

8 such plans by barring plan sponsors from canceling 

9 or reducing such benefits after the dates such par10 ticipants retire and when they no longer are able to 

11 absorb such losses or reductions without experi12 encing adverse effects on their health or finances; 

13 (2) to establish an enforceable obligation on the 

14 part of sponsors of such group health plans to re15 store health benefits previously taken away from re16 tired participants of such plans to the extent such 

17 benefits were canceled or altered after the dates 

18 such participants retired and the plan sponsor would 

19 not sustain substantial business hardship by restor20 ing such benefits; and 

21 (3) to establish an Emergency Retiree Health 

22 Loan Guarantee Program to assist sponsors of 

23 group health plans subject to the obligation to re24 store retiree health benefits under this Act to obtain 

25 credit to assist them in discharging such obligations 
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1 by providing retiree health loan guarantees that 

2 would encourage the availability of such credit. 

3 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME 

4 SECURITY ACT OF 1974 TO PROVIDE RETIREE 

5 HEALTH BENEFIT PROTECTIONS IN GROUP 

6 HEALTH PLANS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Em8 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is amend9 ed by adding at the end a new part 8 as follows: 

10 ‘‘PART 8—EMERGENCY RETIREE HEALTH 

11 BENEFIT PROTECTIONS 

12 ‘‘SEC. 801. PROHIBITION AGAINST POST-RETIREMENT RE13 DUCTIONS OF RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS 

14 BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS. 

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

16 health plan described in subsection (b) may contain a pro17 vision reserving the general power to amend or terminate 

18 the plan or a provision specifically authorizing the plan 

19 to make post-retirement reductions in retiree health bene20 fits, it shall be prohibited for any group health plan, 

21 whether through amendment or otherwise, to reduce the 

22 benefits provided to a retired participant or his or her ben23 eficiary under the terms of the plan if such reduction of 

24 benefits occurs after the date the participant retired for 

25 purposes of the plan and reduces benefits that were pro-
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1 vided to the participant, or his or her beneficiary, as of 

2 the date the participant retired. Any group health plan 

3 provision which purports to authorize the reduction of 

4 benefits in a manner inconsistent with the foregoing prohi5 bition shall be void as against public policy. 

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

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

8 607(1). 

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

10 used in this section, references to a prohibited reduction 

11 of benefits means any group health plan amendment or 

12 other action which has the effect of— 

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

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

15 provided prior to the amendment or action; 

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

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

18 must pay in order to keep or obtain any benefits 

19 that were provided to the participant or beneficiary 

20 prior to the amendment or action; or 

21 ‘‘(3) modifying the manner by which medical 

22 services are delivered under the plan so that after 

23 the amendment or action a retired participant, or 

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

25 delivery of any such medical services than the partic-
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1 ipant or beneficiary had prior to the amendment or 

2 action. 

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

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

5 termination of a group health plan shall be treated 

6 as violating the prohibition contained in this section 

7 if, after the termination, the plan sponsor of the ter8 minated plan fails to continue to provide to the par9 ticipants who retired prior to the termination and to 

10 their beneficiaries the same retiree health benefits 

11 that were provided prior to the termination. 

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

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

14 if the Secretary issues a waiver under this para15 graph in connection with such termination. The Sec16 retary shall issue such a waiver if and only if the 

17 plan sponsor demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 

18 Secretary, in accordance with regulations prescribed 

19 by the Secretary, that such plan sponsor will be un20 able to continue in business unless such a waiver is 

21 issued. 

22 ‘‘(e) CONSENT OR AUTHORIZATION BY PARTICI23 PANT.—A reduction of benefits shall not be treated as pro24 hibited by this section if such reduction is consented to 

25 in writing by any retired participant or is authorized with 
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1 respect to the retired participant under the terms of one 

2 or more agreements which the Secretary finds to be collec3 tive bargaining agreements between one or more employee 

4 representatives who were representing such participant at 

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

6 employers. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 802. ADOPTION BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS OF PROVI8 SION BARRING POST-RETIREMENT REDUC9 TIONS IN RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS. 

10 ‘‘Every group health plan shall contain a provision 

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

12 from reducing the benefits provided under the plan to a 

13 retired participant, or his or her beneficiary, if such reduc14 tion affects the benefits provided to the participant or ben15 eficiary as of the date the participant retired for purposes 

16 of the plan and such reduction occurs after the partici17 pant’s retirement. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 803. RESTORATION BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS OF 

19 BENEFITS REDUCED AFTER RETIREMENT. 

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

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

22 the option of benefit restoration to each retired participant 

23 that meets the following requirements: 

24 ‘‘(1) The retired participant is entitled to ben25 efit coverage under the plan as of the date of enact-
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1 ment of the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Pro2 tection Act of 2005. 

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

4 benefits or option provided to the retired participant 

5 under the plan as of the date the participant retired 

6 was reduced after the participant’s date of retire7 ment. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the 

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

9 801(c). 

10 ‘‘(3) The retired participant has elected to re11 store benefits under the plan within the restoration 

12 period prescribed by subsection (c) and in accord13 ance with such procedures established by the plan 

14 pursuant to regulations of the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PLANS.—In accord16 ance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, sub17 section (a) shall not apply to any group health plan with 

18 less than 100 participants both on and after the date of 

19 enactment of the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Pro20 tection Act of 2005. 

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

22 period’ means the period which— 

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

24 of enactment of the Emergency Retiree Health Ben25 efits Protection Act of 2005; 
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1 ‘‘(2) ends before 2 years from such date, unless 

2 extended by the Secretary pursuant to section 

3 804(g); and 

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

5 ‘‘(d) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING RES6 TORATION OF BENEFITS.—In accordance with regulations 

7 prescribed by the Secretary, each group health plan sub8 ject to the requirements of subsection (a) shall, within no 

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

10 restoration of benefits period, provide written notice to 

11 each retired participant of the plan who meets the require12 ments of subsection (a) of the following: 

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

14 participant is entitled to have restored. 

15 ‘‘(2) The administrative procedure established 

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

17 for the restoration of any benefits. 

18 ‘‘(3) An itemization of the value of each benefit 

19 the retired participant is entitled to have restored, 

20 as determined in accordance with regulations of the 

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

22 ‘‘(4) A description of any post-retirement in23 creases in retiree health benefits the retired partici24 pant received which the plan sponsor could rescind 
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1 if the retired participant asserts a claim for the res2 toration of benefits. 

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

4 health benefit the plan sponsor could rescind, as de5 termined in accordance with regulations of the Sec6 retary, and the total value of all such benefits. 

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

8 for a substantial business hardship exemption under 

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

10 date notice of such application was given to retired 

11 participants entitled to submit a claim for the res12 toration of benefits, and the status of such applica13 tion as of the date of the notice sent pursuant to 

14 this subsection. 

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

16 detail as may be prescribed by the Secretary to carry 

17 out the purposes of this part. 

18 ‘‘(e) DEADLINE FOR RESTORATION OF BENEFITS.— 

19 Regardless of any extension that may be granted by the 

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

21 to be restored under this section shall be restored within 

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

23 Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act of 

24 2005, or the date the plan sponsor files an application for 

25 an exemption under section 804, whichever comes last. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 804. EXEMPTION FROM RESTORATION OF BENEFITS 

2 REQUIREMENTS. 

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

4 sponsor of a group health plan that would sustain substan5 tial business hardship if required to fulfill, in whole or in 

6 part, the restoration of benefits requirements contained in 

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

8 the Secretary from any or all of such requirements. 

9 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY FOR WAIVER OR VARIANCE.—In re10 sponse to an application filed by a plan sponsor pursuant 

11 to subsection (a), the Secretary may waive or vary the re12 quirements of section 803 with respect to any or all of 

13 such requirements, including postponing for reasonable 

14 periods of time the obligation of the plan sponsor to re15 store reduced benefits, if the Secretary finds that compli16 ance by the plan sponsor with the requirements of section 

17 803 would— 

18 ‘‘(1) be adverse to the interests of plan partici19 pants in the aggregate; 

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

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

22 plan sponsor. 

23 ‘‘(c) FACTORS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For pur24 poses of this section, the factors to be taken into account 

25 in determining substantial business hardship shall include 

26 (but shall not be limited to) whether— 
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1 ‘‘(1) the plan sponsor is operating at an eco2 nomic loss; 

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

4 requirements would necessitate substantial future re5 ductions in health benefits provided to participants 

6 under the plan or cause a substantial decline in em7 ployment with the plan sponsor; 

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

9 be continued only if a waiver or appropriate variance 

10 is granted; and 

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

12 Guarantee Program established under section 805 

13 are unavailable to the plan sponsor submitting the 

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

15 sufficient basis for denying a waiver or variance. 

16 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT OF SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, before 

18 granting a waiver or variance under this section, re19 quire each applicant to provide evidence satisfactory 

20 to the Secretary that the applicant has provided 

21 timely written notice of the filing of an application 

22 for such waiver or variance to each retired partici23 pant entitled to submit a claim for the restoration 

24 of benefits under the applicant’s plan. 
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1 ‘‘(2) TIMELINESS.—For purposes of paragraph 

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

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

4 the plan sponsor files an application for a waiver or 

5 variance under this section. 

6 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The notice re7 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall include information 

8 with respect to the specific relief that will be sought 

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

10 for which relief is sought, and such other relevant 

11 information as the Secretary may prescribe. 

12 ‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION IN PROCEEDINGS BY RETIRED

13 PLAN PARTICIPANTS.—Each retired participant entitled 

14 to submit a claim for the restoration of benefits within 

15 the meaning of this section shall be provided a reasonable 

16 opportunity to submit comments or otherwise participate 

17 in any proceeding established by the Secretary to deter18 mine whether to grant or deny an application for a waiver 

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

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

21 Secretary shall not be authorized to grant any application 

22 for a waiver or variance purporting to satisfy the require23 ments of subsection (b) if— 

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

25 of the plan sponsor’s application the plan sponsor 
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1 could have transferred excess pension assets to a 

2 health benefits account within the meaning of sec3 tion 420 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 

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

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

6 and the plan sponsor is submitting an application on 

7 behalf of such retiree health account; or 

8 ‘‘(2) the plan sponsor submitting the applica9 tion also maintains a fully funded pension plan with 

10 respect to which— 

11 ‘‘(A) retired participants eligible to submit 

12 a claim for the restoration of benefits under 

13 section 803 are also eligible to receive ad hoc 

14 cost-of-living adjustment benefits; 

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

16 plan, over the past 5 years preceding the date 

17 of application for a waiver or variance, on aver18 age have exceeded 120 percent of the plan’s li19 abilities; 

20 ‘‘(C) the plan had no minimum funding re21 quirement to satisfy within the 5 years pre22 ceding the date of application for the waiver or 

23 variance and the plan sponsor submitting the 

24 application made no minimum funding con-
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1 tribution to the fully funded pension plan dur2 ing such 5-year period; and 

3 ‘‘(D) the plan sponsor submitting the ap4 plication for a waiver or variance failed to pro5 vide an ad hoc cost-of-living adjustment benefit 

6 from the fully funded pension plan during the 

7 5-year period preceding the date of application 

8 for the waiver or variance. 

9 ‘‘(g) RUNNING OF RESTORATION PERIOD SUS10 PENDED.—The submission of an application for a waiver 

11 or variance pursuant to this section shall suspend the run12 ning of any relevant restoration period as specified in sub13 section (c). Where appropriate, the Secretary shall direct 

14 the reopening of any relevant restoration period upon the 

15 final conclusion of proceedings to determine whether an 

16 application should be granted or denied. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 805. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE 

18 HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

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

21 Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Board 

22 established under subsection (c). 

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

24 the Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Pro25 gram established under subsection (b). 
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1 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PLAN SPONSOR.—The term ‘eli2 gible plan sponsor’ means any plan sponsor as de3 fined in section 3(16)(B) that maintains a group 

4 health plan subject to the retiree health benefits res5 toration requirements of section 803. 

6 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE

7 HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—There is estab8 lished the Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program, to be 

9 administered by the Board, the purpose of which is to pro10 vide loan guarantees to eligible plan sponsors in accord11 ance with this section. 

12 ‘‘(c) RETIREE HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD

13 MEMBERSHIP.—There is established a Retiree Health 

14 Loan Guarantee Board, which shall be composed of— 

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

16 Chairman of the Board; 

17 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Commerce; 

18 ‘‘(3) the Secretary of the Treasury; 

19 ‘‘(4) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv20 ices; and 

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

22 Advisers. 

23 ‘‘(d) Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program— 

24 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Program may guar25 antee loans provided by private banking and invest-
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1 ment institutions to eligible plan sponsors for pur2 poses of assisting such plan sponsors to meet their 

3 obligations under section 803. Such loan guarantees 

4 shall be provided to the extent provided in advance 

5 in appropriation Acts pursuant to paragraph (4) and 

6 only in accordance with the procedures, rules, and 

7 regulations established by the Board. 

8 ‘‘(2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggre9 gate amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding at 

10 any time under this section may not exceed 

11 $5,000,000,000. 

12 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The ag13 gregate amount of loans guaranteed under this sec14 tion with respect to a single eligible plan sponsor 

15 may not exceed $5,000,000. 

16 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—For the additional 

17 cost of loans guaranteed under this subsection, in18 cluding the costs of modifying the loans, as defined 

19 in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

20 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a), there is authorized to be ap21 propriated $200,000,000, to remain available until 

22 expended. 

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

24 loan guarantee may be issued under this section upon ap25 plication to the Board by an eligible plan sponsor pursuant 
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1 to an agreement to provide a loan to that eligible plan 

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

3 Board determines that— 

4 ‘‘(1) credit is not otherwise available to that eli5 gible plan sponsor under reasonable terms and con6 ditions sufficient to meet its financing needs with re7 spect to the restoration of retiree health benefits, as 

8 reflected in the financial and business plans of that 

9 eligible plan sponsor; 

10 ‘‘(2) the prospective earning power of that eligi11 ble plan sponsor, together with the character and 

12 value of the security pledged, furnish reasonable as13 surance of repayment of the loan to be guaranteed 

14 in accordance with its terms; 

15 ‘‘(3) the loan to be guaranteed bears interest at 

16 a rate determined by the Board to be reasonable, 

17 taking into account the current average yield on out18 standing obligations of the United States with re19 maining periods of maturity comparable to the ma20 turity of such loan; 

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

22 assist that eligible plan sponsor to discharge its obli23 gation to comply with the restoration of benefits re24 quirements contained in section 803; and 
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1 ‘‘(5) the eligible plan sponsor has agreed to an 

2 audit by the Government Accountability Office prior 

3 to the issuance of the loan guarantee and annually 

4 while any such guaranteed loan is outstanding. 

5 ‘‘(f) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOAN GUAR6 ANTEE.— 

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

8 under this section shall be payable in full not later 

9 than December 31, 2013, and the terms and condi10 tions of each such loan shall provide that the loan 

11 may not be amended or any provision thereof waived 

12 without the consent of the Board. 

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

14 issue a loan guarantee under this section shall con15 tain such affirmative and negative covenants and 

16 other protective provisions that the Board deter17 mines are appropriate. 

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

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

20 amount equal to 0.5 percent of the outstanding prin21 cipal balance of the guaranteed loan to the Depart22 ment of the Treasury. 

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

24 Labor shall submit annually to each House of the Con25 gress a full report of the activities of the Board under 
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1 this section during 2006 and 2007, and annually there2 after during such period as any loan guaranteed under 

3 this section is outstanding. Such report shall be submitted 

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

5 2006). 

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

7 For necessary expenses to administer the Program, there 

8 is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 

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

10 Secretary for Pension and Welfare Benefits Administra11 tion) $10,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

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

13 The authority of the Board to make commitments to guar14 antee any loan under this section shall terminate on De15 cember 31, 2009. 

16 ‘‘(j) REGULATORY ACTION.—The Board shall issue 

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

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

19 after the date of enactment of the Emergency Retiree 

20 Health Benefits Protection Act of 2005. In no event shall 

21 the Board issue a procedure, rule, or regulation which au22 thorizes it to approve or deny any application for a loan 

23 guarantee in more than 270 days after receipt of such ap24 plication. 
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1 ‘‘(k) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The entire 

2 amount made available to carry out this section— 

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

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

5 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 

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

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

8 an official budget request that includes designation 

9 of the entire amount as an emergency requirement 

10 (as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

11 Deficit Control Act of 1985) is transmitted by the 

12 President to the Congress. 

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

14 ‘‘(a) OTHER CLAIMS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing con15 tained in this part shall be construed to alter, impair, or 

16 eliminate any claim for retiree health benefits based on 

17 conduct alleged to violate the terms of a group health plan, 

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

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

20 or after, the effective date of this part. 

21 ‘‘(b) OTHER CAUSES OF ACTION NOT AUTHOR22 IZED.—Unless the conduct giving rise to a claim for re23 tiree health benefits is alleged to violate the provisions of 

24 this part, nothing contained in this part shall be construed 
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1 to authorize any other cause of action for the recovery of 

2 retiree health benefits. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 807. REGULATIONS. 

4 ‘‘The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as 

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

6 The Secretary may promulgate any interim final rules as 

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

8 ‘‘SEC. 808. ENFORCEMENT. 

9 ‘‘The enforcement provisions of sections 501 and 502 

10 shall be applicable to this part.’’. 

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

12 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 

13 U.S.C. 1132(e)) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para15 graph (9); and 

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol17 lowing new paragraph: 

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

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

20 801, 802, or 803 by any person individually with respect 

21 to each participant or beneficiary aggrieved by such viola22 tion.’’. 

23 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con24 tents in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting 
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1 after the item relating to section 734 the following new 

2 items: 

‘‘PART 8—EMERGENCY RETIREE HEALTH BENEFIT PROTECTIONS

‘‘801. Prohibition against post-retirement reductions of retiree health benefits 

by group health plans. 

‘‘802. Adoption by group health plans of provision barring post-retirement reductions in retiree health benefits. 

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

‘‘804. Exemption from restoration of benefits requirements. 

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

‘‘806. Effect on other claims. 

‘‘807. Regulations. 

‘‘808. Enforcement.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. SEPARABILITY OF PROVISIONS. 

4 The provisions of section 509 of the Employee Retire5 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1139) shall 

6 be applicable to this Act and the amendments made there7 by. 

8 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

9 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

10 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ