I

107TH 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 29, 2001

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. MCCARTHY of

New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. FRANK, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. OBERSTAR,

Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. FROST, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. MINK of

Hawaii, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. BONIOR,

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.

BORSKI, Mr. OLVER, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. EVANS, Mr. HOLDEN,

Mr. FATTAH, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. FILNER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr.

MCDERMOTT, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr.

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Ms.

MCKINNEY, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr.

CROWLEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. OWENS, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr.

UNDERWOOD, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, and Ms.

LEE) 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.
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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 2001’’.

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

11 harmed by the virtually unchecked practices of spon12 sors of such plans involving the post-retirement can13 cellation or reduction of health benefits which retir14 ees counted on receiving for their lifetimes.

15 (2) Such widespread post-retirement reductions

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

17 health care in which retirees—

18 (A) have been unable to substitute indi19 vidual coverage for the group coverage they

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

21 have jeopardized their economic security in re22 tirement;

23 (B) because of preexisting medical condi24 tions cannot obtain substitute coverage that

25 they can afford without depleting their life sav-
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1 ings or have been unable to obtain adequate

2 medical care or medical care they had relied on

3 to deal with serious illness;

4 (C) have sustained catastrophic illnesses or

5 injuries or otherwise experienced a marked de6 terioration in their medical conditions or health

7 as a result of post-retirement changes to their

8 medical benefits;

9 (D) have been transferred indiscriminately

10 into improperly or inadequately managed health

11 maintenance organizations or other managed

12 care entities, resulting in the worsening rather

13 than improvement of prior medical conditions;

14 and

15 (E) in many instances, have failed to ob16 tain adequate relief in the courts due to highly

17 restrictive judicial interpretations which are in18 consistent with ERISA’s underlying protective

19 purposes.

20 (3) The crisis in retirees healthcare generated

21 by the plan sponsor practice of post-retirement can22 cellations or reductions of previously promised re23 tiree health benefits has led to a widespread loss of

24 confidence in the integrity of ERISA-regulated
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1 group health plans and the ability of ERISA itself

2 to adequately protect retiree health benefits.

3 (4) A strong and dependable private sector re4 tiree health system is necessary to the essential

5 health of our Nation’s senior citizens.

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to en7 sure that the reasonable health benefit expectations of re8 tirees from ERISA-regulated group health plans are ful9 filled, to minimize the incidence of prolonged legal dis10 putes arising out of the post-retirement cancellation or re11 duction of retiree health benefits from such plans, and to

12 prevent further adverse effects on retiree health arising

13 from such post-retirement changes. To this end, the pur14 poses of this Act also include the following:

15 (1) to safeguard retired participants of group

16 health plans subject to the Employee Retirement In17 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.)

18 from loss or reduction of their health benefits from

19 such plans by barring plan sponsors from canceling

20 or reducing such benefits after the dates such par21 ticipants retire and when they no longer are able to

22 absorb such losses or reductions without experi23 encing adverse effects on their health or finances;

24 (2) to establish an enforceable obligation on the

25 part of sponsors of such group health plans to re-
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1 store health benefits previously taken away from re2 tired participants of such plans to the extent such

3 benefits were canceled or altered after the dates

4 such participants retired and the plan sponsor would

5 not sustain substantial business hardship by restor6 ing such benefits; and

7 (3) to establish an Emergency Retiree Health

8 Loan Guarantee Program to assist sponsors of

9 group health plans subject to the obligation to re10 store retiree health benefits under this Act to obtain

11 credit to assist them in discharging such obligations

12 by providing retiree health loan guarantees that

13 would encourage the availability of such credit.

14 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME

15 SECURITY ACT OF 1974 TO PROVIDE RETIREE

16 HEALTH BENEFIT PROTECTIONS IN GROUP

17 HEALTH PLANS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Em19 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is amend20 ed by adding at the end a new part 8 as follows:
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1 ‘‘PART 8—EMERGENCY RETIREE HEALTH

2 BENEFIT PROTECTIONS

3 ‘‘SEC. 801. PROHIBITION AGAINST POST-RETIREMENT RE4 DUCTIONS OF RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS

5 BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS.

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

7 health plan described in subsection (b) may contain a pro8 vision reserving the general power to amend or terminate

9 the plan or a provision specifically authorizing the plan

10 to make post-retirement reductions in retiree health bene11 fits, it shall be prohibited for any group health plan,

12 whether through amendment or otherwise, to reduce the

13 benefits provided to a retired participant or his or her ben14 eficiary under the terms of the plan if such reduction of

15 benefits occurs after the date the participant retired for

16 purposes of the plan and reduces benefits that were pro17 vided to the participant, or his or her beneficiary, as of

18 the date the participant retired. Any group health plan

19 provision which purports to authorize the reduction of

20 benefits in a manner inconsistent with the foregoing prohi21 bition shall be void as against public policy.

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

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

24 607(1).

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

26 used in this section, references to a prohibited reduction
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1 of benefits means any group health plan amendment or

2 other action which has the effect of—

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

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

5 provided prior to the amendment or action;

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

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

8 must pay in order to keep or obtain any benefits

9 that were provided to the participant or beneficiary

10 prior to the amendment or action; or

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

12 services are delivered under the plan so that after

13 the amendment or action a retired participant, or

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

15 delivery of any such medical services than the partic16 ipant or beneficiary had prior to the amendment or

17 action.

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

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

20 termination of a group health plan shall be treated

21 as violating the prohibition contained in this section

22 if, after the termination, the plan sponsor of the ter23 minated plan fails to continue to provide to the par24 ticipants who retired prior to the termination and to
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1 their beneficiaries the same retiree health benefits

2 that were provided prior to the termination.

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

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

5 if the Secretary issues a waiver under this para6 graph in connection with such termination. The Sec7 retary shall issue such a waiver if and only if the

8 plan sponsor demonstrates to the satisfaction of the

9 Secretary, in accordance with regulations prescribed

10 by the Secretary, that such plan sponsor will be un11 able to continue in business unless such a waiver is

12 issued.

13 ‘‘(e) CONSENT OR AUTHORIZATION BY PARTICI14 PANT.—A reduction of benefits shall not be treated as pro15 hibited by this section if such reduction is consented to

16 in writing by any retired participant or is authorized with

17 respect to the retired participant under the terms of one

18 or more agreements which the Secretary finds to be collec19 tive bargaining agreements between one or more employee

20 representatives who were representing such participant at

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

22 employers.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 802. ADOPTION BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS OF PROVI2 SION BARRING POST-RETIREMENT REDUC3 TIONS IN RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS.

4 ‘‘Every group health plan shall contain a provision

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

6 from reducing the benefits provided under the plan to a

7 retired participant, or his or her beneficiary, if such reduc8 tion affects the benefits provided to the participant or ben9 eficiary as of the date the participant retired for purposes

10 of the plan and such reduction occurs after the partici11 pant’s retirement.

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

13 BENEFITS REDUCED AFTER RETIREMENT.

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

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

16 the option of benefit restoration to each retired participant

17 that meets the following requirements:

18 ‘‘(1) The retired participant is entitled to ben19 efit coverage under the plan as of the date of enact20 ment of the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Pro21 tection Act of 2001.

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

23 benefits or option provided to the retired participant

24 under the plan as of the date the participant retired

25 was reduced after the participant’s date of retire26 ment. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the
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1 term ‘reduced’ has the same meaning as in section

2 801(c).

3 ‘‘(3) The retired participant has elected to re4 store benefits under the plan within the restoration

5 period prescribed by subsection (c) and in accord6 ance with such procedures established by the plan

7 pursuant to regulations of the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PLANS.—In accord9 ance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, sub10 section (a) shall not apply to any group health plan with

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

12 enactment of the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Pro13 tection Act of 2001.

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

15 period’ means the period which—

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

17 of enactment of the Emergency Retiree Health Ben18 efits Protection Act of 2001;

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

20 extended by the Secretary pursuant to section

21 804(g); and

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

23 ‘‘(d) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING RES24 TORATION OF BENEFITS.—In accordance with regulations

25 prescribed by the Secretary, each group health plan sub-
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1 ject to the requirements of subsection (a) shall, within no

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

3 restoration of benefits period, provide written notice to

4 each retired participant of the plan who meets the require5 ments of subsection (a) of the following:

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

7 participant is entitled to have restored.

8 ‘‘(2) The administrative procedure established

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

10 for the restoration of any benefits.

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

12 the retired participant is entitled to have restored,

13 as determined in accordance with regulations of the

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

15 ‘‘(4) A description of any post-retirement in16 creases in retiree health benefits the retired partici17 pant received which the plan sponsor could rescind

18 if the retired participant asserts a claim for the res19 toration of benefits.

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

21 health benefit the plan sponsor could rescind, as de22 termined in accordance with regulations of the Sec23 retary, and the total value of all such benefits.

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

25 for a substantial business hardship exemption under
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1 section 804, the date such application was filed, the

2 date notice of such application was given to retired

3 participants entitled to submit a claim for the res4 toration of benefits, and the status of such applica5 tion as of the date of the notice sent pursuant to

6 this subsection.

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

8 detail as may be prescribed by the Secretary to carry

9 out the purposes of this part.

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

11 Regardless of any extension that may be granted by the

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

13 to be restored under this section shall be restored within

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

15 Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act of

16 2001, or the date the plan sponsor files an application for

17 an exemption under section 804, whichever comes last.

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

19 REQUIREMENTS.

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

21 sponsor of a group health plan that would sustain substan22 tial business hardship if required to fulfill, in whole or in

23 part, the restoration of benefits requirements contained in

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

25 the Secretary from any or all of such requirements.
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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY FOR WAIVER OR VARIANCE.—In re2 sponse to an application filed by a plan sponsor pursuant

3 to subsection (a), the Secretary may waive or vary the re4 quirements of section 803 with respect to any or all of

5 such requirements, including postponing for reasonable

6 periods of time the obligation of the plan sponsor to re7 store reduced benefits, if the Secretary finds that compli8 ance by the plan sponsor with the requirements of section

9 803 would—

10 ‘‘(1) be adverse to the interests of plan partici11 pants in the aggregate;

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

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

14 plan sponsor.

15 ‘‘(c) FACTORS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For pur16 poses of this section, the factors to be taken into account

17 in determining substantial business hardship shall include

18 (but shall not be limited to) whether—

19 ‘‘(1) the plan sponsor is operating at an eco20 nomic loss;

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

22 requirements would necessitate substantial future re23 ductions in health benefits provided to participants

24 under the plan or cause a substantial decline in em25 ployment with the plan sponsor;
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1 ‘‘(3) it is reasonable to expect that the plan will

2 be continued only if a waiver or appropriate variance

3 is granted; and

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

5 Guarantee Program established under section 805

6 are unavailable to the plan sponsor submitting the

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

8 sufficient basis for denying a waiver or variance.

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

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

11 granting a waiver or variance under this section, re12 quire each applicant to provide evidence satisfactory

13 to the Secretary that the applicant has provided

14 timely written notice of the filing of an application

15 for such waiver or variance to each retired partici16 pant entitled to submit a claim for the restoration

17 of benefits under the applicant’s plan.

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

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

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

21 the plan sponsor files an application for a waiver or

22 variance under this section.

23 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The notice re24 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall include information

25 with respect to the specific relief that will be sought
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1 by the plan sponsor’s application, the period of time

2 for which relief is sought, and such other relevant

3 information as the Secretary may prescribe.

4 ‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION IN PROCEEDINGS BY RETIRED

5 PLAN PARTICIPANTS.—Each retired participant entitled

6 to submit a claim for the restoration of benefits within

7 the meaning of this section shall be provided a reasonable

8 opportunity to submit comments or otherwise participate

9 in any proceeding established by the Secretary to deter10 mine whether to grant or deny an application for a waiver

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

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

13 Secretary shall not be authorized to grant any application

14 for a waiver or variance purporting to satisfy the require15 ments of subsection (b) if—

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

17 of the plan sponsor’s application the plan sponsor

18 could have transferred excess pension assets to a

19 health benefits account within the meaning of sec20 tion 420 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as

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

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

23 and the plan sponsor is submitting an application on

24 behalf of such retiree health account; or
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1 ‘‘(2) the plan sponsor submitting the applica2 tion also maintains a fully funded pension plan with

3 respect to which—

4 ‘‘(A) retired participants eligible to submit

5 a claim for the restoration of benefits under

6 section 803 are also eligible to receive ad hoc

7 cost-of-living adjustment benefits;

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

9 plan, over the past 5 years preceding the date

10 of application for a waiver or variance, on aver11 age have exceeded 120 percent of the plan’s li12 abilities;

13 ‘‘(C) the plan had no minimum funding re14 quirement to satisfy within the 5 years pre15 ceding the date of application for the waiver or

16 variance and the plan sponsor submitting the

17 application made no minimum funding con18 tribution to the fully funded pension plan dur19 ing such 5-year period; and

20 ‘‘(D) the plan sponsor submitting the ap21 plication for a waiver or variance failed to pro22 vide an ad hoc cost-of-living adjustment benefit

23 from the fully funded pension plan during the

24 5-year period preceding the date of application

25 for the waiver or variance.
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1 ‘‘(g) RUNNING OF RESTORATION PERIOD SUS2 PENDED.—The submission of an application for a waiver

3 or variance pursuant to this section shall suspend the run4 ning of any relevant restoration period as specified in sub5 section (c). Where appropriate, the Secretary shall direct

6 the reopening of any relevant restoration period upon the

7 final conclusion of proceedings to determine whether an

8 application should be granted or denied.

9 ‘‘SEC. 805. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE

10 HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.

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

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

13 Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Board

14 established under subsection (c).

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

16 the Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Pro17 gram established under subsection (b).

18 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PLAN SPONSOR.—The term ‘eli19 gible plan sponsor’ means any plan sponsor as de20 fined in section 3(16)(B) that maintains a group

21 health plan subject to the retiree health benefits res22 toration requirements of section 803.

23 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE

24 HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—There is estab25 lished the Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program, to be
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1 administered by the Board, the purpose of which is to pro2 vide loan guarantees to eligible plan sponsors in accord3 ance with this section.

4 ‘‘(c) RETIREE HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD

5 MEMBERSHIP.—There is established a Retiree Health

6 Loan Guarantee Board, which shall be composed of—

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

8 Chairman of the Board;

9 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Commerce;

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

11 ‘‘(4) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv12 ices; and

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

14 Advisers.

15 ‘‘(d) RETIREE HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE

16 PROGRAM—

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Program may guar18 antee loans provided by private banking and invest19 ment institutions to eligible plan sponsors for pur20 poses of assisting such plan sponsors to meet their

21 obligations under section 803. Such loan guarantees

22 shall be provided to the extent provided in advance

23 in appropriation Acts pursuant to paragraph (4) and

24 only in accordance with the procedures, rules, and

25 regulations established by the Board.
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1 ‘‘(2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggre2 gate amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding at

3 any time under this section may not exceed

4 $5,000,000,000.

5 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The ag6 gregate amount of loans guaranteed under this sec7 tion with respect to a single eligible plan sponsor

8 may not exceed $5,000,000.

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

10 cost of loans guaranteed under this subsection, in11 cluding the costs of modifying the loans, as defined

12 in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of

13 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a), there is authorized to be ap14 propriated $200,000,000, to remain available until

15 expended.

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

17 loan guarantee may be issued under this section upon ap18 plication to the Board by an eligible plan sponsor pursuant

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

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

21 Board determines that—

22 ‘‘(1) credit is not otherwise available to that eli23 gible plan sponsor under reasonable terms and con24 ditions sufficient to meet its financing needs with re25 spect to the restoration of retiree health benefits, as
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1 reflected in the financial and business plans of that

2 eligible plan sponsor;

3 ‘‘(2) the prospective earning power of that eligi4 ble plan sponsor, together with the character and

5 value of the security pledged, furnish reasonable as6 surance of repayment of the loan to be guaranteed

7 in accordance with its terms;

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

9 a rate determined by the Board to be reasonable,

10 taking into account the current average yield on out11 standing obligations of the United States with re12 maining periods of maturity comparable to the ma13 turity of such loan;

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

15 assist that eligible plan sponsor to discharge its obli16 gation to comply with the restoration of benefits re17 quirements contained in section 803; and

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

19 audit by the General Accounting Office prior to the

20 issuance of the loan guarantee and annually while

21 any such guaranteed loan is outstanding.

22 ‘‘(f) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOAN GUAR23 ANTEE.—

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

25 under this section shall be payable in full not later
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1 than December 31, 2009, and the terms and condi2 tions of each such loan shall provide that the loan

3 may not be amended or any provision thereof waived

4 without the consent of the Board.

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

6 issue a loan guarantee under this section shall con7 tain such affirmative and negative covenants and

8 other protective provisions that the Board deter9 mines are appropriate.

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

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

12 amount equal to 0.5 percent of the outstanding prin13 cipal balance of the guaranteed loan to the Depart14 ment of the Treasury.

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

16 Labor shall submit annually to each House of the Con17 gress a full report of the activities of the Board under

18 this section during 2002 and 2003, and annually there19 after during such period as any loan guaranteed under

20 this section is outstanding. Such report shall be submitted

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

22 2002).

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

24 For necessary expenses to administer the Program, there

25 is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of
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1 Labor (and to be transferred to the Office of the Assistant

2 Secretary for Pension and Welfare Benefits Administra3 tion) $10,000,000, to remain available until expended.

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

5 The authority of the Board to make commitments to guar6 antee any loan under this section shall terminate on De7 cember 31, 2005.

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

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

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

11 after the date of enactment of the Emergency Retiree

12 Health Benefits Protection Act of 2001. In no event shall

13 the Board issue a procedure, rule, or regulation which au14 thorizes it to approve or deny any application for a loan

15 guarantee in more than 270 days after receipt of such ap16 plication.

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

18 amount made available to carry out this section—

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

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

21 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control

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

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

24 an official budget request that includes designation

25 of the entire amount as an emergency requirement
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1 (as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency

2 Deficit Control Act of 1985) is transmitted by the

3 President to the Congress.

4 ‘‘SEC. 806. EFFECT ON OTHER CLAIMS.

5 ‘‘(a) OTHER CLAIMS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing con6 tained in this part shall be construed to alter, impair, or

7 eliminate any claim for retiree health benefits based on

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

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

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

11 or after, the effective date of this part.

12 ‘‘(b) OTHER CAUSES OF ACTION NOT AUTHOR13 IZED.—Unless the conduct giving rise to a claim for re14 tiree health benefits is alleged to violate the provisions of

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

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

17 retiree health benefits.

18 ‘‘SEC. 807. REGULATIONS.

19 ‘‘The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as

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

21 The Secretary may promulgate any interim final rules as

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

23 ‘‘SEC. 808. ENFORCEMENT.

24 ‘‘The enforcement provisions of sections 501 and 502

25 shall be applicable to this part.’’.
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1 (b) CIVIL PENALTY SECTION.—Section 502(c) of the

2 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

3 U.S.C. 1132(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new paragraph:

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

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

7 801, 802, or 803 by any person individually with respect

8 to each participant or beneficiary aggrieved by such viola9 tion.’’.

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con11 tents in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting

12 after the item relating to section 734 the following new

13 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.’’.

14 SEC. 4. SEPARABILITY OF PROVISIONS.

15 The provisions of section 509 of the Employee Retire16 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1139) shall

17 be applicable to this Act and the amendments made there18 by.
25

•HR 1322 IH

1 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect

3 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ