I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1367 
To amend title 11 of the United States Code to protecting the labor rights 
of current and former employees of coal industry employers that are 
debtors under such title. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2005 
Mr. BOUCHER (for himself, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. RAHALL, and Mr. STRICK-
LAND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 11 of the United States Code to protecting 
the labor rights of current and former employees of 
coal industry employers that are debtors under such title. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS; SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The workers who mine American coal have 
fueled nearly 2 centuries of industrial development, 
and are crucial to the Nation’s economic well-being. 
(2) The Federal Government has had a central 
role with regard to both the coal industry and the
health and welfare of coal miners. Both the Con-
gress and the executive branch have frequently inter-
vened in the coal industry to protect the interests of 
both coal miners and the industry itself. For exam-
ple— 
(A) the Congress enacted legislation— 
(i) regulating the coal industry to pro-
tect the health and safety of coal miners; 
and 
(ii) guaranteeing health care for coal 
miners and their families, and providing 
benefits to victims of black lung disease; 
and 
(B) the Executive Branch has seized the 
Nation’s coal mines for the purpose of negoti-
ating a collective bargaining agreement on the 
mine owners’ behalf, has otherwise frequently 
intervened in collective bargaining in the coal 
industry, and has created numerous panels and 
commissions to study problems and issues 
unique to coal mining communities and the coal 
Industry. 
(3) Because coal is an abundant domestic re-
source, a strong coal industry serves to reduce 
American dependence upon foreign oil and is vital
both to commerce and to the defense of the United 
States. 
(4) As the result of the abuse of the provisions 
of bankruptcy law, certain coal industry employers 
have been able to gain unfair advantages over their 
competitors, primarily at the expense of their em-
ployees. 
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.— It is the sense of 
the Congress that the abuse of the provisions of bank-
ruptcy law by certain coal industry employers is damaging 
to the economic health of the United States, as well as 
to the employees who are directly harmed by such legal 
abuses. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 11 OF THE UNITED STATES 
CODE. 
Title 11 of the United States Code is amended— 
(1) in section 101 by inserting after paragraph 
(5) the following: 
‘‘(5A) COAL INDUSTRY EMPLOYER.—The term 
‘coal industry employer’ means an employer in the 
coal industry, and all members of the employer’s 
controlled group of corporations and all trades and 
businesses under common control (within the mean-
ing of sections 52(a) and 52(b) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986).
‘‘(5B) COVERED FACILITY OF A COAL INDUS-
TRY
EMPLOYER.—The term ‘covered facility of a 
coal industry employer’ means any facility owned or 
operated by a coal industry employer that is involved 
in the production, processing, or transportation of 
coal.’’; 
(2) in section 363 by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(p) Notwithstanding subsection (f), a covered facil-
ity of a debtor that is coal industry employer that is sold 
by the trustee shall remain subject to the labor rights of 
the current and former employees of the debtor. For pur-
poses of this subsection, the term ‘labor rights’ means— 
‘‘(1) if the employees at a covered facility of a 
coal industry employer to be sold are covered under 
the terms of a current collective bargaining agree-
ment (other than an agreement that has been re-
jected pursuant to the terms of sections 365 or 
1113), the obligations of the debtor arising under 
that agreement or under the National Labor Rela-
tions Act; or 
‘‘(2) if the employees at a covered facility of a 
coal industry employer to be sold are represented by 
a labor organization but are not covered under the 
terms of an current collective bargaining agreement,
the obligations of the debtor arising under the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act. 
Furthermore, in the case of the sale of a covered facility 
of a coal industry employer at which employees are rep-
resented by a labor organization, such labor organization 
shall be conclusively presumed to enjoy majority support 
for a period of 1 year from the date of such sale, or such 
longer period as required by applicable nonbankruptcy 
law.’’; 
(3) in section 1113 by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(g)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
section, no application for the rejection of a collective bar-
gaining agreement between a coal industry employer relat-
ing to a covered facility of such coal industry employer 
shall be approved unless the following additional condi-
tions are met: 
‘‘(A) The information provided pursuant to sub-
section (b)(1)(B) has been personally verified by the 
principal officers (including the principal executive 
officer and principal financial officer) of the debtor 
under penalty of perjury. 
‘‘(B) As soon as practicable after the filing of 
an application under this section, the Secretary of 
Labor shall submit a list of five disinterested indi-
viduals who are qualified and willing to serve as 
trustees in the case. The United States trustee shall 
appoint one of such individuals to serve as trustee 
in the case. 
‘‘(C) The court finds that the executive man-
agement of the debtor has not received any wage in-
creases or bonuses during the period that the case 
is pending under this title, or within the year pre-
ceding the filing of the petition, or that any such 
wage increases or bonuses have been disgorged and 
refunded to the debtor. 
‘‘(D) The court finds that the proposal made 
pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A)— 
‘‘(i) does not purport to relieve the debtor, 
or the purchaser of a covered facility of a coal 
industry employer, from any obligations other-
wise arising under the National Labor Relations 
Act; 
‘‘(ii) provides that the purchaser of any fa-
cility owned by the debtor is to be considered a 
‘successor’ under the National Labor Relations 
Act; 
‘‘(iii) does not abridge labor rights, as de-
fined in section 363(p); and
‘‘(iv) provides that existing employees re-
tain all noneconomic employment rights pro-
vided under the terms of the collective bar-
gaining agreement (including the right to not 
be terminated without cause and any recall 
rights following a layoff), both with regard to 
the debtor and the purchaser of a covered facil-
ity of a coal industry employer. 
‘‘(2) Any obligations arising under the terms of a col-
lective bargaining agreement prior to the entry of relief 
under this section shall be secured by a lien on all of the 
assets of the debtor.’’; and 
(4) in section 1114 by adding the following at 
the end: 
‘‘(m) If the court enters an order approving an appli-
cation for the modification of retiree benefits owed by a 
coal industry employer relating to a covered facility of 
such coal industry employer, all members of the debtor’s 
controlled group of corporations and all trades and busi-
nesses under common control (within the meaning of sec-
tions 52(a) and 52(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986) shall be jointly and severally liable for all damages 
arising as the result of the entry of such order, and all 
such claims shall be entitled to priority pursuant to section 
507(a)(1).’’.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION OF AMEND-
MENTS. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
shall apply with respect to cases commenced under title 
11 of the United States Code before, on, or after such 
date. 
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