‘‘(2) TIMELINESS.—For purposes of paragraph 
(1), a written notice shall be considered timely if it 
is provided not later than 60 days prior to the date 
the plan sponsor files an application for a waiver or 
variance under this section. 
‘‘(3) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The notice re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) shall include information 
with respect to the specific relief that will be sought 
by the plan sponsor’s application, the period of time 
for which relief is sought, and such other relevant 
information as the Secretary may prescribe. 
‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION IN PROCEEDINGS BY RETIRED 
PLAN PARTICIPANTS.—Each retired participant entitled 
to submit a claim for the restoration of benefits within 
the meaning of this section shall be provided a reasonable 
opportunity to submit comments or otherwise participate 
in any proceeding established by the Secretary to deter-
mine whether to grant or deny an application for a waiver 
or variance filed by the retired participant’s plan sponsor. 
‘‘(f) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN APPLICATIONS.—The 
Secretary shall not be authorized to grant any application 
for a waiver or variance purporting to satisfy the require-
ments of subsection (b) if— 
‘‘(1) within the 5-year period preceding the date 
of the plan sponsor’s application the plan sponsor
could have transferred excess pension assets to a 
health benefits account within the meaning of sec-
tion 420 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 
in effect on the date of the enactment of the Tax 
Relief Extension Act of 1999) but failed to do so, 
and the plan sponsor is submitting an application on 
behalf of such retiree health account; or 
‘‘(2) the plan sponsor submitting the applica-
tion also maintains a fully funded pension plan with 
respect to which— 
‘‘(A) retired participants eligible to submit 
a claim for the restoration of benefits under 
section 803 are also eligible to receive ad hoc 
cost-of-living adjustment benefits; 
‘‘(B) the assets of the fully funded pension 
plan, over the past 5 years preceding the date 
of application for a waiver or variance, on aver-
age have exceeded 120 percent of the plan’s li-
abilities; 
‘‘(C) the plan had no minimum funding re-
quirement to satisfy within the 5 years pre-
ceding the date of application for the waiver or 
variance and the plan sponsor submitting the 
application made no minimum funding con-
tribution to the fully funded pension plan dur-
ing such 5-year period; and 
‘‘(D) the plan sponsor submitting the ap-
plication for a waiver or variance failed to pro-
vide an ad hoc cost-of-living adjustment benefit 
from the fully funded pension plan during the 
5-year period preceding the date of application 
for the waiver or variance. 
‘‘(g) RUNNING
OF
RESTORATION
PERIOD
SUS-
PENDED.—The submission of an application for a waiver 
or variance pursuant to this section shall suspend the run-
ning of any relevant restoration period as specified in sub-
section (c). Where appropriate, the Secretary shall direct 
the reopening of any relevant restoration period upon the 
final conclusion of proceedings to determine whether an 
application should be granted or denied. 
‘‘SEC. 805. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RETIREE 
HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the 
Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Board 
established under subsection (c). 
‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 
the Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Pro-
gram established under subsection (b).
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PLAN SPONSOR.—The term ‘eli-
gible plan sponsor’ means any plan sponsor as de-
fined in section 3(16)(B) that maintains a group 
health plan subject to the retiree health benefits res-
toration requirements of section 803. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT
OF EMERGENCY RETIREE 
HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—There is estab-
lished the Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program, to be 
administered by the Board, the purpose of which is to pro-
vide loan guarantees to eligible plan sponsors in accord-
ance with this section. 
‘‘(c) RETIREE HEALTH LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD 
MEMBERSHIP.—There is established a Retiree Health 
Loan Guarantee Board, which shall be composed of— 
‘‘(1) the Secretary of Labor, who shall serve as 
Chairman of the Board; 
‘‘(2) the Secretary of Commerce; 
‘‘(3) the Secretary of the Treasury; 
‘‘(4) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices; and 
‘‘(5) the Chairman of the Council of Economic 
Advisers. 
‘‘(d) Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Program may guar-
antee loans provided by private banking and invest-
ment institutions to eligible plan sponsors for pur-
poses of assisting such plan sponsors to meet their 
obligations under section 803. Such loan guarantees 
shall be provided to the extent provided in advance 
in appropriation Acts pursuant to paragraph (4) and 
only in accordance with the procedures, rules, and 
regulations established by the Board. 
‘‘(2) TOTAL
GUARANTEE
LIMIT.—The aggre-
gate amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding at 
any time under this section may not exceed 
$5,000,000,000. 
‘‘(3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The ag-
gregate amount of loans guaranteed under this sec-
tion with respect to a single eligible plan sponsor 
may not exceed $5,000,000. 
‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—For the additional 
cost of loans guaranteed under this subsection, in-
cluding the costs of modifying the loans, as defined 
in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a), there is authorized to be ap-
propriated $200,000,000, to remain available until 
expended. 
‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR LOAN GUARANTEES.—A 
loan guarantee may be issued under this section upon ap-
plication to the Board by an eligible plan sponsor pursuant
to an agreement to provide a loan to that eligible plan 
sponsor by a private bank or investment company, if the 
Board determines that— 
‘‘(1) credit is not otherwise available to that eli-
gible plan sponsor under reasonable terms and con-
ditions sufficient to meet its financing needs with re-
spect to the restoration of retiree health benefits, as 
reflected in the financial and business plans of that 
eligible plan sponsor; 
‘‘(2) the prospective earning power of that eligi-
ble plan sponsor, together with the character and 
value of the security pledged, furnish reasonable as-
surance of repayment of the loan to be guaranteed 
in accordance with its terms; 
‘‘(3) the loan to be guaranteed bears interest at 
a rate determined by the Board to be reasonable, 
taking into account the current average yield on out-
standing obligations of the United States with re-
maining periods of maturity comparable to the ma-
turity of such loan; 
‘‘(4) the loan to be guaranteed will materially 
assist that eligible plan sponsor to discharge its obli-
gation to comply with the restoration of benefits re-
quirements contained in section 803; and
‘‘(5) the eligible plan sponsor has agreed to an 
audit by the Government Accountability Office prior 
to the issuance of the loan guarantee and annually 
while any such guaranteed loan is outstanding. 
‘‘(f) TERMS
AND CONDITIONS
OF LOAN GUAR-
ANTEE.— 
‘‘(1) LOAN
DURATION.—All loans guaranteed 
under this section shall be payable in full not later 
than December 31, 2013, and the terms and condi-
tions of each such loan shall provide that the loan 
may not be amended or any provision thereof waived 
without the consent of the Board. 
‘‘(2) LOAN
SECURITY.—Any commitment to 
issue a loan guarantee under this section shall con-
tain such affirmative and negative covenants and 
other protective provisions that the Board deter-
mines are appropriate. 
‘‘(3) FEES.—An eligible plan sponsor receiving 
a guarantee under this section shall pay a fee in an 
amount equal to 0.5 percent of the outstanding prin-
cipal balance of the guaranteed loan to the Depart-
ment of the Treasury. 
‘‘(g) REPORTS
TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of 
Labor shall submit annually to each House of the Con-
gress a full report of the activities of the Board under
this section during 2006 and 2007, and annually there-
after during such period as any loan guaranteed under 
this section is outstanding. Such report shall be submitted 
not later than January 31, of each year (beginning in 
2006). 
‘‘(h) SALARIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 
For necessary expenses to administer the Program, there 
is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 
Labor (and to be transferred to the Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Pension and Welfare Benefits Administra-
tion) $10,000,000, to remain available until expended. 
‘‘(i) TERMINATION OF GUARANTEE AUTHORITY.— 
The authority of the Board to make commitments to guar-
antee any loan under this section shall terminate on De-
cember 31, 2009. 
‘‘(j) REGULATORY ACTION.—The Board shall issue 
such final procedures, rules, and regulations as may be 
necessary to carry out this section not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of the Emergency Retiree 
Health Benefits Protection Act of 2005. In no event shall 
the Board issue a procedure, rule, or regulation which au-
thorizes it to approve or deny any application for a loan 
guarantee in more than 270 days after receipt of such ap-
plication.
‘‘(k) 
EMERGENCY
DESIGNATION.—The 
entire 
amount made available to carry out this section— 
‘‘(1) is designated by Congress as an emergency 
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)); and 
‘‘(2) shall be available only to the extent that 
an official budget request that includes designation 
of the entire amount as an emergency requirement 
(as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
Deficit Control Act of 1985) is transmitted by the 
President to the Congress. 
‘‘SEC. 806. EFFECT ON OTHER CLAIMS. 
‘‘(a) OTHER CLAIMS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing con-
tained in this part shall be construed to alter, impair, or 
eliminate any claim for retiree health benefits based on 
conduct alleged to violate the terms of a group health plan, 
any provision of this Act (other than this part), or both, 
regardless of whether such conduct occurred prior to, on, 
or after, the effective date of this part. 
‘‘(b) OTHER CAUSES
OF ACTION
NOT AUTHOR-
IZED.—Unless the conduct giving rise to a claim for re-
tiree health benefits is alleged to violate the provisions of 
this part, nothing contained in this part shall be construed
to authorize any other cause of action for the recovery of 
retiree health benefits. 
‘‘SEC. 807. REGULATIONS. 
‘‘The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as 
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this part. 
The Secretary may promulgate any interim final rules as 
the Secretary deems are appropriate to carry out this part. 
‘‘SEC. 808. ENFORCEMENT. 
‘‘The enforcement provisions of sections 501 and 502 
shall be applicable to this part.’’. 
(b) CIVIL PENALTY SECTION.—Section 502(c) of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
U.S.C. 1132(e)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para-
graph (9); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(8) The Secretary may assess a civil penalty of not 
more than $1,000 for each separate violation of section 
801, 802, or 803 by any person individually with respect 
to each participant or beneficiary aggrieved by such viola-
tion.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 734 the following new 
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 re-
ductions 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.’’. 
SEC. 4. SEPARABILITY OF PROVISIONS. 
The provisions of section 509 of the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1139) shall 
be applicable to this Act and the amendments made there-
by. 
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ