I 

110TH 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 5, 2007 

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BERMAN, 

Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. ENGEL, 

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. 

HOOLEY, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

KILDEE, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, 

Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mrs. MCCARTHY

of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MURTHA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OLVER, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. 

STARK, and Mr. WEXLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Retiree 

3 Health Benefits Protection Act of 2007’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

6 (1) Retired participants of group health plans 

7 regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Secu8 rity Act of 1974 (ERISA) have been severely 

9 harmed by the virtually unchecked practices of spon10 sors of such plans involving the post-retirement can11 cellation or reduction of health benefits which retir12 ees counted on receiving for their lifetimes. 

13 (2) Such widespread post-retirement reductions 

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

15 health care in which retirees— 

16 (A) have been unable to substitute indi17 vidual coverage for the group coverage they 

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

19 have jeopardized their economic security in re20 tirement; 

21 (B) because of preexisting medical condi22 tions cannot obtain substitute coverage that 

23 they can afford without depleting their life sav24 ings or have been unable to obtain adequate 

25 medical care or medical care they had relied on 

26 to deal with serious illness; 


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1 (C) have sustained catastrophic illnesses or 

2 injuries or otherwise experienced a marked de3 terioration in their medical conditions or health 

4 as a result of post-retirement changes to their 

5 medical benefits; 

6 (D) have been transferred indiscriminately 

7 into improperly or inadequately managed health 

8 maintenance organizations or other managed 

9 care entities, resulting in the worsening rather 

10 than improvement of prior medical conditions; 

11 and 

12 (E) in many instances, have failed to ob13 tain adequate relief in the courts due to highly 

14 restrictive judicial interpretations which are in15 consistent with ERISA’s underlying protective 

16 purposes. 

17 (3) The crisis in retirees healthcare generated 

18 by the plan sponsor practice of post-retirement can19 cellations or reductions of previously promised re20 tiree health benefits has led to a widespread loss of 

21 confidence in the integrity of ERISA-regulated 

22 group health plans and the ability of ERISA itself 

23 to adequately protect retiree health benefits. 


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1 (4) A strong and dependable private sector re2 tiree health system is necessary to the essential 

3 health of our Nation’s senior citizens. 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to en5 sure that the reasonable health benefit expectations of re6 tirees from ERISA-regulated group health plans are ful7 filled, to minimize the incidence of prolonged legal dis8 putes arising out of the post-retirement cancellation or re9 duction of retiree health benefits from such plans, and to 

10 prevent further adverse effects on retiree health arising 

11 from such post-retirement changes. To this end, the pur12 poses of this Act also include the following: 

13 (1) to safeguard retired participants of group 

14 health plans subject to the Employee Retirement In15 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) 

16 from loss or reduction of their health benefits from 

17 such plans by barring plan sponsors from canceling 

18 or reducing such benefits after the dates such par19 ticipants retire and when they no longer are able to 

20 absorb such losses or reductions without experi21 encing adverse effects on their health or finances; 

22 (2) to establish an enforceable obligation on the 

23 part of sponsors of such group health plans to re24 store health benefits previously taken away from re25 tired participants of such plans to the extent such 


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1 benefits were canceled or altered after the dates 

2 such participants retired and the plan sponsor would 

3 not sustain substantial business hardship by restor4 ing such benefits; and 

5 (3) to establish an Emergency Retiree Health 

6 Loan Guarantee Program to assist sponsors of 

7 group health plans subject to the obligation to re8 store retiree health benefits under this Act to obtain 

9 credit to assist them in discharging such obligations 

10 by providing retiree health loan guarantees that 

11 would encourage the availability of such credit. 

12 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME 

13 SECURITY ACT OF 1974 TO PROVIDE RETIREE 

14 HEALTH BENEFIT PROTECTIONS IN GROUP 

15 HEALTH PLANS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Em17 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is amend18 ed by adding at the end a new part 8 as follows: 

19 ‘‘PART 8—EMERGENCY RETIREE HEALTH 

20 BENEFIT PROTECTIONS 

21 ‘‘SEC. 801. PROHIBITION AGAINST POST-RETIREMENT RE22 DUCTIONS OF RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS 

23 BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS. 

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

25 health plan described in subsection (b) may contain a proVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:03 Mar 07, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1322.IH H1322

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1 vision reserving the general power to amend or terminate 

2 the plan or a provision specifically authorizing the plan 

3 to make post-retirement reductions in retiree health bene4 fits, it shall be prohibited for any group health plan, 

5 whether through amendment or otherwise, to reduce the 

6 benefits provided to a retired participant or his or her ben7 eficiary under the terms of the plan if such reduction of 

8 benefits occurs after the date the participant retired for 

9 purposes of the plan and reduces benefits that were pro10 vided to the participant, or his or her beneficiary, as of 

11 the date the participant retired. Any group health plan 

12 provision which purports to authorize the reduction of 

13 benefits in a manner inconsistent with the foregoing prohi14 bition shall be void as against public policy. 

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

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

17 607(1). 

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

19 used in this section, references to a prohibited reduction 

20 of benefits means any group health plan amendment or 

21 other action which has the effect of— 

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

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

24 provided prior to the amendment or action; 


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

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

3 must pay in order to keep or obtain any benefits 

4 that were provided to the participant or beneficiary 

5 prior to the amendment or action; or 

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

7 services are delivered under the plan so that after 

8 the amendment or action a retired participant, or 

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

10 delivery of any such medical services than the partic11 ipant or beneficiary had prior to the amendment or 

12 action. 

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

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

15 termination of a group health plan shall be treated 

16 as violating the prohibition contained in this section 

17 if, after the termination, the plan sponsor of the ter18 minated plan fails to continue to provide to the par19 ticipants who retired prior to the termination and to 

20 their beneficiaries the same retiree health benefits 

21 that were provided prior to the termination. 

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

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

24 if the Secretary issues a waiver under this para25 graph in connection with such termination. The SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:03 Mar 07, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1322.IH H1322

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1 retary shall issue such a waiver if and only if the 

2 plan sponsor demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 

3 Secretary, in accordance with regulations prescribed 

4 by the Secretary, that such plan sponsor will be un5 able to continue in business unless such a waiver is 

6 issued. 

7 ‘‘(e) CONSENT OR AUTHORIZATION BY PARTICI8 PANT.—A reduction of benefits shall not be treated as pro9 hibited by this section if such reduction is consented to 

10 in writing by any retired participant or is authorized with 

11 respect to the retired participant under the terms of one 

12 or more agreements which the Secretary finds to be collec13 tive bargaining agreements between one or more employee 

14 representatives who were representing such participant at 

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

16 employers. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 802. ADOPTION BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS OF PROVI18 SION BARRING POST-RETIREMENT REDUC19 TIONS IN RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS. 

20 ‘‘Every group health plan shall contain a provision 

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

22 from reducing the benefits provided under the plan to a 

23 retired participant, or his or her beneficiary, if such reduc24 tion affects the benefits provided to the participant or ben25 eficiary as of the date the participant retired for purposes 


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1 of the plan and such reduction occurs after the partici2 pant’s retirement. 

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

4 BENEFITS REDUCED AFTER RETIREMENT. 

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

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

7 the option of benefit restoration to each retired participant 

8 that meets the following requirements: 

9 ‘‘(1) The retired participant is entitled to ben10 efit coverage under the plan as of the date of enact11 ment of the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Pro12 tection Act of 2007. 

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

14 benefits or option provided to the retired participant 

15 under the plan as of the date the participant retired 

16 was reduced after the participant’s date of retire17 ment. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the 

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

19 801(c). 

20 ‘‘(3) The retired participant has elected to re21 store benefits under the plan within the restoration 

22 period prescribed by subsection (c) and in accord23 ance with such procedures established by the plan 

24 pursuant to regulations of the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PLANS.—In accord2 ance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, sub3 section (a) shall not apply to any group health plan with 

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

5 enactment of the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Pro6 tection Act of 2007. 

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

8 period’ means the period which— 

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

10 of enactment of the Emergency Retiree Health Ben11 efits Protection Act of 2007; 

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

13 extended by the Secretary pursuant to section 

14 804(g); and 

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

16 ‘‘(d) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING RES17 TORATION OF BENEFITS.—In accordance with regulations 

18 prescribed by the Secretary, each group health plan sub19 ject to the requirements of subsection (a) shall, within no 

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

21 restoration of benefits period, provide written notice to 

22 each retired participant of the plan who meets the require23 ments of subsection (a) of the following: 

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

25 participant is entitled to have restored. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The administrative procedure established 

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

3 for the restoration of any benefits. 

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

5 the retired participant is entitled to have restored, 

6 as determined in accordance with regulations of the 

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

8 ‘‘(4) A description of any post-retirement in9 creases in retiree health benefits the retired partici10 pant received which the plan sponsor could rescind 

11 if the retired participant asserts a claim for the res12 toration of benefits. 

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

14 health benefit the plan sponsor could rescind, as de15 termined in accordance with regulations of the Sec16 retary, and the total value of all such benefits. 

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

18 for a substantial business hardship exemption under 

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

20 date notice of such application was given to retired 

21 participants entitled to submit a claim for the res22 toration of benefits, and the status of such applica23 tion as of the date of the notice sent pursuant to 

24 this subsection. 


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

2 detail as may be prescribed by the Secretary to carry 

3 out the purposes of this part. 

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

5 Regardless of any extension that may be granted by the 

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

7 to be restored under this section shall be restored within 

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

9 Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act of 

10 2007, or the date the plan sponsor files an application for 

11 an exemption under section 804, whichever comes last. 

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

13 REQUIREMENTS. 

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

15 sponsor of a group health plan that would sustain substan16 tial business hardship if required to fulfill, in whole or in 

17 part, the restoration of benefits requirements contained in 

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

19 the Secretary from any or all of such requirements. 

20 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY FOR WAIVER OR VARIANCE.—In re21 sponse to an application filed by a plan sponsor pursuant 

22 to subsection (a), the Secretary may waive or vary the re23 quirements of section 803 with respect to any or all of 

24 such requirements, including postponing for reasonable 

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1 store reduced benefits, if the Secretary finds that compli2 ance by the plan sponsor with the requirements of section 

3 803 would— 

4 ‘‘(1) be adverse to the interests of plan partici5 pants in the aggregate; 

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

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

8 plan sponsor. 

9 ‘‘(c) FACTORS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For pur10 poses of this section, the factors to be taken into account 

11 in determining substantial business hardship shall include 

12 (but shall not be limited to) whether— 

13 ‘‘(1) the plan sponsor is operating at an eco14 nomic loss; 

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

16 requirements would necessitate substantial future re17 ductions in health benefits provided to participants 

18 under the plan or cause a substantial decline in em19 ployment with the plan sponsor; 

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

21 be continued only if a waiver or appropriate variance 

22 is granted; and 

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

24 Guarantee Program established under section 805 

25 are unavailable to the plan sponsor submitting the 


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

2 sufficient basis for denying a waiver or variance. 

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

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

5 granting a waiver or variance under this section, re6 quire each applicant to provide evidence satisfactory 

7 to the Secretary that the applicant has provided 

8 timely written notice of the filing of an application 

9 for such waiver or variance to each retired partici10 pant entitled to submit a claim for the restoration 

11 of benefits under the applicant’s plan. 

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

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

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

15 the plan sponsor files an application for a waiver or 

16 variance under this section. 

17 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The notice re18 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall include information 

19 with respect to the specific relief that will be sought 

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

21 for which relief is sought, and such other relevant 

22 information as the Secretary may prescribe. 

23 ‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION IN PROCEEDINGS BY RETIRED

24 PLAN PARTICIPANTS.—Each retired participant entitled 

25 to submit a claim for the restoration of benefits within 


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1 the meaning of this section shall be provided a reasonable 

2 opportunity to submit comments or otherwise participate 

3 in any proceeding established by the Secretary to deter4 mine whether to grant or deny an application for a waiver 

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

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

7 Secretary shall not be authorized to grant any application 

8 for a waiver or variance purporting to satisfy the require9 ments of subsection (b) if— 

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

11 of the plan sponsor’s application the plan sponsor 

12 could have transferred excess pension assets to a 

13 health benefits account within the meaning of sec14 tion 420 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 

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

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

17 and the plan sponsor is submitting an application on 

18 behalf of such retiree health account; or 

19 ‘‘(2) the plan sponsor submitting the applica20 tion also maintains a fully funded pension plan with 

21 respect to which— 

22 ‘‘(A) retired participants eligible to submit 

23 a claim for the restoration of benefits under 

24 section 803 are also eligible to receive ad hoc 

25 cost-of-living adjustment benefits; 


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

2 plan, over the past 5 years preceding the date 

3 of application for a waiver or variance, on aver4 age have exceeded 120 percent of the plan’s li5 abilities; 

6 ‘‘(C) the plan had no minimum funding re7 quirement to satisfy within the 5 years pre8 ceding the date of application for the waiver or 

9 variance and the plan sponsor submitting the 

10 application made no minimum funding con11 tribution to the fully funded pension plan dur12 ing such 5-year period; and 

13 ‘‘(D) the plan sponsor submitting the ap14 plication for a waiver or variance failed to pro15 vide an ad hoc cost-of-living adjustment benefit 

16 from the fully funded pension plan during the 

17 5-year period preceding the date of application 

18 for the waiver or variance. 

19 ‘‘(g) RUNNING OF RESTORATION PERIOD SUS20 PENDED.—The submission of an application for a waiver 

21 or variance pursuant to this section shall suspend the run22 ning of any relevant restoration period as specified in sub23 section (c). Where appropriate, the Secretary shall direct 

24 the reopening of any relevant restoration period upon the 


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1 final conclusion of proceedings to determine whether an 

2 application should be granted or denied. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 805. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE 

4 HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

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

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

7 Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Board 

8 established under subsection (c). 

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

10 the Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Pro11 gram established under subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PLAN SPONSOR.—The term ‘eli13 gible plan sponsor’ means any plan sponsor as de14 fined in section 3(16)(B) that maintains a group 

15 health plan subject to the retiree health benefits res16 toration requirements of section 803. 

17 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE

18 HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—There is estab19 lished the Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program, to be 

20 administered by the Board, the purpose of which is to pro21 vide loan guarantees to eligible plan sponsors in accord22 ance with this section. 

23 ‘‘(c) RETIREE HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD

24 MEMBERSHIP.—There is established a Retiree Health 

25 Loan Guarantee Board, which shall be composed of— 


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

2 Chairman of the Board; 

3 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Commerce; 

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

5 ‘‘(4) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv6 ices; and 

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

8 Advisers. 

9 ‘‘(d) RETIREE HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PRO10 GRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Program may guar12 antee loans provided by private banking and invest13 ment institutions to eligible plan sponsors for pur14 poses of assisting such plan sponsors to meet their 

15 obligations under section 803. Such loan guarantees 

16 shall be provided to the extent provided in advance 

17 in appropriation Acts pursuant to paragraph (4) and 

18 only in accordance with the procedures, rules, and 

19 regulations established by the Board. 

20 ‘‘(2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggre21 gate amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding at 

22 any time under this section may not exceed 

23 $5,000,000,000. 

24 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The ag25 gregate amount of loans guaranteed under this secVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:03 Mar 07, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1322.IH H1322

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1 tion with respect to a single eligible plan sponsor 

2 may not exceed $5,000,000. 

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

4 cost of loans guaranteed under this subsection, in5 cluding the costs of modifying the loans, as defined 

6 in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

7 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a), there is authorized to be ap8 propriated $200,000,000, to remain available until 

9 expended. 

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

11 loan guarantee may be issued under this section upon ap12 plication to the Board by an eligible plan sponsor pursuant 

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

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

15 Board determines that— 

16 ‘‘(1) credit is not otherwise available to that eli17 gible plan sponsor under reasonable terms and con18 ditions sufficient to meet its financing needs with re19 spect to the restoration of retiree health benefits, as 

20 reflected in the financial and business plans of that 

21 eligible plan sponsor; 

22 ‘‘(2) the prospective earning power of that eligi23 ble plan sponsor, together with the character and 

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1 surance of repayment of the loan to be guaranteed 

2 in accordance with its terms; 

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

4 a rate determined by the Board to be reasonable, 

5 taking into account the current average yield on out6 standing obligations of the United States with re7 maining periods of maturity comparable to the ma8 turity of such loan; 

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

10 assist that eligible plan sponsor to discharge its obli11 gation to comply with the restoration of benefits re12 quirements contained in section 803; and 

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

14 audit by the Government Accountability Office prior 

15 to the issuance of the loan guarantee and annually 

16 while any such guaranteed loan is outstanding. 

17 ‘‘(f) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOAN GUAR18 ANTEE.— 

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

20 under this section shall be payable in full not later 

21 than December 31, 2015, and the terms and condi22 tions of each such loan shall provide that the loan 

23 may not be amended or any provision thereof waived 

24 without the consent of the Board. 


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

2 issue a loan guarantee under this section shall con3 tain such affirmative and negative covenants and 

4 other protective provisions that the Board deter5 mines are appropriate. 

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

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

8 amount equal to 0.5 percent of the outstanding prin9 cipal balance of the guaranteed loan to the Depart10 ment of the Treasury. 

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

12 Labor shall submit annually to each House of the Con13 gress a full report of the activities of the Board under 

14 this section during 2008 and 2009, and annually there15 after during such period as any loan guaranteed under 

16 this section is outstanding. Such report shall be submitted 

17 not later than January 31 of each year (beginning in 

18 2008). 

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

20 For necessary expenses to administer the Program, there 

21 is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 

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

23 Secretary for Pension and Welfare Benefits Administra24 tion) $10,000,000, to remain available until expended. 


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

2 The authority of the Board to make commitments to guar3 antee any loan under this section shall terminate on De4 cember 31, 2013. 

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

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

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

8 after the date of enactment of the Emergency Retiree 

9 Health Benefits Protection Act of 2007. In no event shall 

10 the Board issue a procedure, rule, or regulation which au11 thorizes it to approve or deny any application for a loan 

12 guarantee in more than 270 days after receipt of such ap13 plication. 

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

15 amount made available to carry out this section— 

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

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

18 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 

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

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

21 an official budget request that includes designation 

22 of the entire amount as an emergency requirement 

23 (as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

24 Deficit Control Act of 1985) is transmitted by the 

25 President to the Congress. 


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

2 ‘‘(a) OTHER CLAIMS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing con3 tained in this part shall be construed to alter, impair, or 

4 eliminate any claim for retiree health benefits based on 

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

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

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

8 or after, the effective date of this part. 

9 ‘‘(b) OTHER CAUSES OF ACTION NOT AUTHOR10 IZED.—Unless the conduct giving rise to a claim for re11 tiree health benefits is alleged to violate the provisions of 

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

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

14 retiree health benefits. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 807. REGULATIONS. 

16 ‘‘The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as 

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

18 The Secretary may promulgate any interim final rules as 

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

20 ‘‘SEC. 808. ENFORCEMENT. 

21 ‘‘The enforcement provisions of sections 501 and 502 

22 shall be applicable to this part.’’. 

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

24 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 

25 U.S.C. 1132(e)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para2 graph (10); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(9) 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. 


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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 


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