II 

Calendar No. 669 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3470 

[Report No. 114–374] 

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

transfer certain funds to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan and 

the 1974 United Mine Workers of America Pension Plan, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2016 

Mr. HATCH, from the Committee on Finance, reported the following original 

bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 

of 1977 to transfer certain funds to the Multiemployer 

Health Benefit Plan and the 1974 United Mine Workers 

of America Pension Plan, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Miners Protection Act 

5 of 2016’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF CERTAIN RETIREES IN THE MULTI2 EMPLOYER HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Surface Min4 ing Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 

5 1232) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (h)(2)(C)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘A transfer’’ and inserting 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) TRANSFER TO THE PLAN.—A 

10 transfer’’; 

11 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

12 subclauses (I) and (II), respectively, and mov13 ing such subclauses 2 ems to the right; and 

14 (C) by striking the matter following such 

15 subclause (II) (as so redesignated) and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(ii) CALCULATION OF EXCESS.—The 

18 excess determined under clause (i) shall be 

19 calculated by taking into account only— 

20 ‘‘(I) those beneficiaries actually 

21 enrolled in the Plan as of the date of 

22 the enactment of the Miners Protec23 tion Act of 2016 who are eligible to 

24 receive health benefits under the Plan 

25 on the first day of the calendar year 

26 for which the transfer is made, other 

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1 than those beneficiaries enrolled in 

2 the Plan under the terms of a partici3 pation agreement with the current or 

4 former employer of such beneficiaries; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) those beneficiaries whose 

7 health benefits, defined as those bene8 fits payable directly following death or 

9 retirement or upon a finding of dis10 ability by an employer in the bitu11 minous coal industry under a coal 

12 wage agreement (as defined in section 

13 9701(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986), would be denied or re15 duced as a result of a bankruptcy pro16 ceeding commenced in 2012 or 2015. 

17 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN RETIR18 EES.—Individuals referred to in clause 

19 (ii)(II) shall be treated as eligible to re20 ceive health benefits under the Plan. 

21 ‘‘(iv) REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANS22 FER.—The amount of the transfer other23 wise determined under this subparagraph 

24 for a fiscal year shall be reduced by any 

25 amount transferred for the fiscal year to 

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1 the Plan, to pay benefits required under 

2 the Plan, from a voluntary employees’ ben3 eficiary association established as a result 

4 of a bankruptcy proceeding described in 

5 clause (ii). 

6 ‘‘(v) VEBA TRANSFER.—The admin7 istrator of such voluntary employees’ bene8 ficiary association shall transfer to the 

9 Plan any amounts received as a result of 

10 such bankruptcy proceeding, reduced by an 

11 amount for administrative costs of such as12 sociation.’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (i)— 

14 (A) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

15 paragraph (5); and 

16 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) CALCULATION.—If the dollar limita20 tion specified in paragraph (3)(A) exceeds the 

21 aggregate amount required to be transferred 

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

23 the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer an 

24 additional amount equal to the difference be25 tween such dollar limitation and such aggregate 

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1 amount to the trustees of the 1974 UMWA 

2 Pension Plan to pay benefits required under 

3 that plan. 

4 ‘‘(B) CESSATION OF TRANSFERS.—The 

5 transfers described in subparagraph (A) shall 

6 cease as of the first fiscal year beginning after 

7 the first plan year for which the funded per8 centage (as defined in section 432(i)(2) of the 

9 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the 1974 

10 UMWA Pension Plan is at least 100 percent. 

11 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON BENEFIT IN12 CREASES, ETC.—During a fiscal year in which 

13 the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan is receiving 

14 transfers under subparagraph (A), no amend15 ment of such plan which increases the liabilities 

16 of the plan by reason of any increase in bene17 fits, any change in the accrual of benefits, or 

18 any change in the rate at which benefits become 

19 nonforfeitable under the plan may be adopted 

20 unless the amendment is required as a condi21 tion of qualification under part I of subchapter 

22 D of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

23 1986. 

24 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERS FOR

25 PURPOSES OF WITHDRAWAL LIABILITY UNDER

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1 ERISA.—The amount of any transfer made 

2 under subparagraph (A) (and any earnings at3 tributable thereto) shall be disregarded in deter4 mining the unfunded vested benefits of the 

5 1974 UMWA Pension Plan and the allocation 

6 of such unfunded vested benefits to an employer 

7 for purposes of determining the employer’s 

8 withdrawal liability under section 4201. 

9 ‘‘(E) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN CON10 TRIBUTION RATE.—A transfer under subpara11 graph (A) shall not be made for a fiscal year 

12 unless the persons that are obligated to con13 tribute to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan on 

14 the date of the transfer are obligated to make 

15 the contributions at rates that are no less than 

16 those in effect on the date which is 30 days be17 fore the date of enactment of the Miners Pro18 tection Act of 2016. 

19 ‘‘(F) ENHANCED ANNUAL REPORTING.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the 

21 90th day of each plan year beginning after 

22 the date of enactment of the Miners Pro23 tection Act of 2016, the trustees of the 

24 1974 UMWA Pension Plan shall file with 

25 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secmstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with BILLS

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1 retary’s delegate and the Pension Benefit 

2 Guaranty Corporation a report (including 

3 appropriate documentation and actuarial 

4 certifications from the plan actuary, as re5 quired by the Secretary of the Treasury or 

6 the Secretary’s delegate) that contains— 

7 ‘‘(I) whether the plan is in en8 dangered or critical status under sec9 tion 305 of the Employee Retirement 

10 Income Security Act of 1974 and sec11 tion 432 of the Internal Revenue Code 

12 of 1986 as of the first day of such 

13 plan year; 

14 ‘‘(II) the funded percentage (as 

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

16 Code) as of the first day of such plan 

17 year, and the underlying actuarial 

18 value of assets and liabilities taken 

19 into account in determining such per20 centage; 

21 ‘‘(III) the market value of the as22 sets of the plan as of the last day of 

23 the plan year preceding such plan 

24 year; 

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1 ‘‘(IV) the total value of all con2 tributions made during the plan year 

3 preceding such plan year; 

4 ‘‘(V) the total value of all bene5 fits paid during the plan year pre6 ceding such plan year; 

7 ‘‘(VI) cash flow projections for 

8 such plan year and either the 6 or 10 

9 succeeding plan years, at the election 

10 of the trustees, and the assumptions 

11 relied upon in making such projec12 tions; 

13 ‘‘(VII) funding standard account 

14 projections for such plan year and the 

15 9 succeeding plan years, and the as16 sumptions relied upon in making such 

17 projections; 

18 ‘‘(VIII) the total value of all in19 vestment gains or losses during the 

20 plan year preceding such plan year; 

21 ‘‘(IX) any significant reduction 

22 in the number of active participants 

23 during the plan year preceding such 

24 plan year, and the reason for such re25 duction; 

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1 ‘‘(X) a list of employers that 

2 withdrew from the plan in the plan 

3 year preceding such plan year, and 

4 the resulting reduction in contribu5 tions; 

6 ‘‘(XI) a list of employers that 

7 paid withdrawal liability to the plan 

8 during the plan year preceding such 

9 plan year and, for each employer, a 

10 total assessment of the withdrawal li11 ability paid, the annual payment 

12 amount, and the number of years re13 maining in the payment schedule with 

14 respect to such withdrawal liability; 

15 ‘‘(XII) any material changes to 

16 benefits, accrual rates, or contribution 

17 rates during the plan year preceding 

18 such plan year; 

19 ‘‘(XIII) any scheduled benefit in20 crease or decrease in the plan year 

21 preceding such plan year having a 

22 material effect on liabilities of the 

23 plan; 

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1 ‘‘(XIV) details regarding any 

2 funding improvement plan or rehabili3 tation plan and updates to such plan; 

4 ‘‘(XV) the number of partici5 pants and beneficiaries during the 

6 plan year preceding such plan year 

7 who are active participants, the num8 ber of participants and beneficiaries in 

9 pay status, and the number of termi10 nated vested participants and bene11 ficiaries; 

12 ‘‘(XVI) the information contained 

13 on the most recent annual funding no14 tice submitted by the plan under sec15 tion 101(f) of the Employee Retire16 ment Income Security Act of 1974; 

17 ‘‘(XVII) the information con18 tained on the most recent Department 

19 of Labor Form 5500 of the plan; and 

20 ‘‘(XVIII) copies of the plan docu21 ment and amendments, other retire22 ment benefit or ancillary benefit plans 

23 relating to the plan and contribution 

24 obligations under such plans, a break25 down of administrative expenses of 

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1 the plan, participant census data and 

2 distribution of benefits, the most re3 cent actuarial valuation report as of 

4 the plan year, copies of collective bar5 gaining agreements, and financial re6 ports, and such other information as 

7 the Secretary of the Treasury or the 

8 Secretary’s delegate, in consultation 

9 with the Secretary of Labor and the 

10 Director of the Pension Benefit Guar11 anty Corporation, may require. 

12 ‘‘(ii) ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION.—The 

13 report required under clause (i) shall be 

14 submitted electronically. 

15 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION SHARING.—The 

16 Secretary of the Treasury or the Sec17 retary’s delegate shall share the informa18 tion in the report under clause (i) with the 

19 Secretary of Labor. 

20 ‘‘(iv) PENALTY.—Any failure to file 

21 the report required under clause (i) on or 

22 before the date described in such clause 

23 shall be treated as a failure to file a report 

24 required to be filed under section 6058(a) 

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1 cept that section 6652(e) of such Code 

2 shall be applied with respect to any such 

3 failure by substituting ‘$100’ for ‘$25’. 

4 The preceding sentence shall not apply if 

5 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Sec6 retary’s delegate determines that reason7 able diligence has been exercised by the 

8 trustees of such plan in attempting to 

9 timely file such report. 

10 ‘‘(G) 1974 UMWA PENSION PLAN DE11 FINED.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 

12 term ‘1974 UMWA Pension Plan’ has the 

13 meaning given the term in section 9701(a)(3) 

14 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, but 

15 without regard to the limitation on participation 

16 to individuals who retired in 1976 and there17 after.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

20 this section shall apply to fiscal years beginning 

21 after September 30, 2016. 

22 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

23 402(i)(4)(F) of the Surface Mining Control and Rec24 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(i)(4)(F)), as 

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1 added by this section, shall apply to plan years be2 ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF FINANCING OBLIGATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 9704 of 

5 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraph (3), 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘three premiums’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘two premiums’’, and 

9 (3) by striking ‘‘, plus’’ at the end of paragraph 

10 (2) and inserting a period. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) Section 9704 of the Internal Revenue Code 

13 of 1986 is amended— 

14 (A) by striking subsection (d), and 

15 (B) by redesignating subsections (e) 

16 through (j) as subsections (d) through (i), re17 spectively. 

18 (2) Subsection (d) of section 9704 of such 

19 Code, as so redesignated, is amended— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘3 separate accounts for 

21 each of the premiums described in subsections 

22 (b), (c), and (d)’’ in paragraph (1) and insert23 ing ‘‘2 separate accounts for each of the pre24 miums described in subsections (b) and (c)’’, 

25 and 

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1 (B) by striking ‘‘or the unassigned bene2 ficiaries premium account’’ in paragraph 

3 (3)(B). 

4 (3) Subclause (I) of section 9703(b)(2)(C)(ii) of 

5 such Code is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘9704(e)(3)(B)(i)’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘9704(d)(3)(B)(i)’’. 

8 (4) Paragraph (3) of section 9705(a) of such 

9 Code is amended— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘the unassigned beneficiary 

11 premium under section 9704(a)(3) and’’ in sub12 paragraph (B), and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘9704(i)(1)(B)’’ and in14 serting ‘‘9704(h)(1)(B)’’. 

15 (5) Paragraph (2) of section 9711(c) of such 

16 Code is amended— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘9704(j)(2)’’ in subpara18 graph (A)(i) and inserting ‘‘9704(i)(2)’’, 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘9704(j)(2)(B)’’ in sub20 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘9704(i)(2)(B)’’, 

21 and 

22 (C) by striking ‘‘9704(j)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘9704(i)’’. 

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1 (6) Paragraph (4) of section 9712(d) of such 

2 Code is amended by striking ‘‘9704(j)’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘9704(i)’’. 

4 (c) ELIMINATION OF ADDITIONAL BACKSTOP PRE5 MIUM.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 

7 9712(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

8 amended by striking subparagraph (C). 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (2) 

10 of section 9712(d) of such Code is amended— 

11 (A) by striking subparagraph (B), 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘, and’’ at the end of sub13 paragraph (A) and inserting a period, and 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘shall provide for—’’ and 

15 all that follows through ‘‘annual adjustments’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘shall provide for annual adjust17 ments’’. 

18 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to plan years beginning after Sep20 tember 30, 2016. 

21 SEC. 4. CUSTOMS USER FEES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13031(j)(3)(A) of the 

23 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 

24 (19 U.S.C. 58c(j)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Sep25 tember 30, 2025’’ and inserting ‘‘May 6, 2026’’. 

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1 (b) RATE FOR MERCHANDISE PROCESSING FEES.— 

2 Section 503 of the United States–Korea Free Trade 

3 Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 112–41; 19 

4 U.S.C. 3805 note) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

5 2025’’ and inserting ‘‘May 6, 2026’’. 

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Calendar No. 669 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3470 

[Report No. 114–374] 

A BILL 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and RecPlan, and for other purposes. 1974 United Mine Workers of America Pension the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan and the lamation Act of 1977 to transfer certain funds to 

NOVEMBER 16, 2016 

Read twice and placed on the calendar 

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