I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3567
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to protect the health benefits
of retired miners and to restore stability and equity to the financing
of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund and
1992 Benefit Plan by providing additional sources of revenue to the
Fund and Plan, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 20, 2001
Ms. PRYCE of Ohio (for herself, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. CAMP, Mr. DELAY, Ms.
DUNN of Washington, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. POMEROY, and Mr. SES-
SIONS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Sur-
face Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to
protect the health benefits of retired miners and to re-
store stability and equity to the financing of the United
Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund and
1992 Benefit Plan by providing additional sources of
revenue to the Fund and Plan, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, ETC.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Stability and Fair-
ness Act’’.
(b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as other-
wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend-
ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment
to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference
shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi-
sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title, etc.
TITLE I—FINANCING PROVISIONS
Subtitle A—Federal Funds
Sec. 101. Mandatory transfer of general funds to Combined Benefit Fund and
the 1992 Fund.
Sec. 102. Annual audit.
Sec. 103. Appointment of Government trustees.
Subtitle B—Premiums
Sec. 111. Elimination of unassigned beneficiaries premium.
Sec. 112. Refunds to certain operators.
Sec. 113. Reduction in annual premiums to Combined Benefit Fund if surplus
exists.
Sec. 114. Refund of contributions paid by certain small entities to United Mine
Workers Combined Benefit Fund.
Sec. 115. First year payments of 1988 operators.
Sec. 116. Liability in the event of pre-funding.
Sec. 117. Definition of successor in interest.
TITLE II—RETROACTIVE PROVISIONS
Sec. 201. Reform of retroactive provisions of Coal Industry Health Benefit Sys-
tem.
TITLE I—FINANCING
PROVISIONS
Subtitle A—Federal Funds
SEC. 101. MANDATORY TRANSFER OF GENERAL FUNDS TO
COMBINED BENEFIT FUND AND THE 1992
FUND.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 9705
(relating to transfers to the Combined Benefit Fund) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) MANDATORY
TRANSFERS
FROM
GENERAL
FUND.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby author-
ized and appropriated, out of any amounts in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the Com-
bined Fund and the UMWA 1992 Benefit Plan such
sums as may be necessary to—
‘‘(A) pay any benefit or administrative
costs of unassigned beneficiaries of the Com-
bined Fund,
‘‘(B) pay any benefit or administrative
costs of unassigned beneficiaries of the 1992
UMWA Plan, and
‘‘(C) eliminate any annual deficit in any
premium account of the Combined Fund as cer-
tified by the Trustees of the Combined Fund.
Deficits referred to in subparagraph (C) shall be
certified by the trustees only after utilizing and tak-
ing into account all premiums and other government
reimbursements to the Fund.
‘‘(2) USE
OF
FUNDS.—Any amounts trans-
ferred under paragraph (1) shall be available, with-
out fiscal year limitation.
‘‘(3) TRANSFER.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall transfer amounts appropriated under para-
graph (1) on October 1 of each fiscal year.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
SEC. 102. ANNUAL AUDIT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9702 (relating to estab-
lishment of the Combined Fund) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(d) ANNUAL AUDIT.—
‘‘(1) AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the
United States shall conduct an annual audit of the
Combined Fund. Such audit shall include—
‘‘(A) a review of the progress the Com-
bined Fund is making toward a managed care
system as required under this subchapter, and
‘‘(B) a review of the use of, and necessity
for, amounts transferred to the Combined Fund
under section 9705(c).
‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall
report the results of any audit under paragraph (1)
to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the appro-
priate committees of Congress, including its rec-
ommendations (if any) as to any administrative sav-
ings which may be achieved without reducing the ef-
fective level of benefits under section 9703.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall apply to years beginning after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 103. APPOINTMENT OF GOVERNMENT TRUSTEES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9702(b) (relating to the
Board of Trustees) is hereby amended by adding the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(D) 2 persons designated by the Sec-
retary of the Treasury.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
Subtitle B—Premiums
SEC. 111. ELIMINATION OF UNASSIGNED BENEFICIARIES
PREMIUM.
Section 9704(d) (establishing unassigned bene-
ficiaries premium) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) UNASSIGNED BENEFICIARIES PREMIUM.—
‘‘(1) PLAN YEARS ENDING ON OR BEFORE SEP-
TEMBER 30, 2001.—For plan years ending on or be-
fore September 30, 2001, the unassigned bene-
ficiaries premium for any assigned operator shall be
equal to the applicable percentage of the product of
the per beneficiary premium for the plan year multi-
plied by the number of eligible beneficiaries who are
not assigned under section 9706 to any person for
such plan year.
‘‘(2) PLAN YEARS BEGINNING ON OR AFTER OC-
TOBER
1, 2001.—For plan years beginning on or
after October 1, 2001, here shall be no unassigned
beneficiaries premium.’’.
SEC. 112. REFUNDS TO CERTAIN OPERATORS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9704 (relating to the li-
ability of assigned operators) is further amended by add-
ing at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(j) The Combined Fund shall, before December 31,
2001, refund to an assigned operator which was an as-
signed operator prior to the date of the enactment of this
subsection (and any related person to such operator) an
amount equal to the sum of—
‘‘(1) any amount paid by such operator or per-
son to the Combined Fund (and not previously re-
funded) by reason of the operator having been a sig-
natory to a pre-1974 coal wage agreement, and
‘‘(2) interest on the amount under paragraph
(1) at the overpayment rate established under sec-
tion 6621 for the period from the payment of such
amount to the refund under this subsection.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
SEC. 113. REDUCTION IN ANNUAL PREMIUMS TO COM-
BINED BENEFIT FUND IF SURPLUS EXISTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter B of chap-
ter 99 (relating to financing of Combined Benefit Fund)
is amended by inserting after section 9704 the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 9704A. REDUCTIONS IN HEALTH BENEFIT PREMIUM
IF SURPLUS EXISTS.
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—If this section applies to any
plan year, the per beneficiary premium used for purposes
of computing the health benefit premium under section
9704(b) for the plan year shall be the reduced per bene-
ficiary premium determined under subsection (c).
‘‘(b) YEARS TO WHICH SECTION APPLIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section applies to any
plan year beginning after September 30, 2001, if the
trustees determine that the Combined Fund has an
excess reserve for the plan year.
‘‘(2) EXCESS RESERVE.—For purposes of this
section—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘excess re-
serve’ means, with respect to any plan year, the
excess (if any) of—
‘‘(i) the projected net assets as of the
close of the test period for the plan year,
over
‘‘(ii) the projected 3-month asset re-
serve as of such time.
‘‘(B) PROJECTED NET ASSETS.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (A)(i), the projected net
assets shall be the amount of the net assets
which the trustees determine will be available at
the end of the test period for projected fund
benefits. Such determination shall be made in
the same manner used by the Combined Fund
to calculate net assets available for projected
fund benefits in the Statement of Net Assets
(Deficits) Available for Fund Benefits for pur-
poses of the monthly financial statements of the
Combined Fund for the plan year beginning Oc-
tober 1, 2001.
‘‘(C) PROJECTED
3-MONTH
ASSET
RE-
SERVE.—For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii),
the projected 3-month asset reserve is an
amount equal to 25 percent of the projected ex-
penses (including administrative expenses) from
the health benefit premium account and unas-
signed beneficiaries premium account for the
plan year immediately following the test period.
The determination of such amount shall be
based on the 10-year forecast of the projected
net assets and cash balance of the Combined
Fund prepared annually by an actuary retained
by the Combined Fund.
‘‘(D) TEST PERIOD.—For purposes of this
section, the term ‘test period’ means, with re-
spect to any plan year, the plan year, and the
following plan year.
‘‘(c) REDUCED PER BENEFICIARY PREMIUM.—For
purposes of this section, the reduced per beneficiary pre-
mium for any plan year to which this section applies is
the per beneficiary premium determined under section
9704(b)(2) without regard to this section, reduced (but
not below zero) by—
‘‘(1) the excess reserve for the plan year, di-
vided by
‘‘(2) the total number of eligible beneficiaries
which are assigned to assigned operators under sec-
tion 9706 as of the close of the preceding plan year.
‘‘(d) TERMINATION OF PREMIUM REDUCTION.—If,
on any day during a plan year to which this section ap-
plies, the Combined Fund has net assets available for pro-
jected fund benefits (determined in the same manner as
projected net assets under subsection (b)(2)(B)) in an
amount less than the projected 3-month asset reserve de-
termined under subsection (b)(2)(C) for the plan year—
‘‘(1) this section shall not apply to months in
the plan year beginning after such day, and
‘‘(2) the monthly installment under section
9704(g)(1) for such months shall be equal to the
amount which would have been determined if the
health benefits premium under section 9704(b) had
not been reduced under this section for the plan
year.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 9704(a) (relating to annual pre-
miums) is amended by striking ‘‘Each’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Subject to section 9704A, each’’.
(2) The table of sections for part II of sub-
chapter B of chapter 99 is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 9704 the following
new item:
‘‘Sec. 9704A. Reductions in health benefit premium if surplus ex-
ists.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to plan years of the Combined
Fund beginning after September 30, 2001.
SEC. 114. REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS PAID BY CERTAIN
SMALL ENTITIES TO UNITED MINE WORKERS
COMBINED BENEFIT FUND.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter B of chap-
ter 99 is amended by inserting after section 9704A the
following new section:
‘‘SEC. 9704B. REFUNDS OF ANNUAL PREMIUMS OF CERTAIN
SMALL ENTITIES.
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—The annual premiums paid
by certain small entities under section 9704(a) shall, in
the case of an eligible small entity which was an assigned
operator prior to the date of the enactment of this section,
be refunded as provided in subsection (b).
‘‘(b) REFUNDS
FOR ELIGIBLE SMALL ENTITIES
WHICH WERE FORMERLY ASSIGNED OPERATORS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent an eligible
small entity which was an assigned operator prior to
October 1, 2001, has paid premiums to the Com-
bined Fund, any such premiums shall be refunded
by the Combined Fund.
‘‘(2) YEARS TO WHICH SUBSECTION APPLIES.—
This subsection shall apply to any plan year of the
Combined Fund which began before October 1,
2001.
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE
SMALL
ENTITIES.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘eligible small entity’
means any entity which was an assigned operator
prior to October 1, 2001, and, according to the
records of the Combined Fund, such operator (or
any related persons of such operator)—
‘‘(A) was not a signatory to the 1981 or
later National Bituminous Coal Wage Agree-
ment or any ‘me too’ agreement related to such
Coal Wage Agreement;
‘‘(B) reported credit hours to the UMWA
1974 Pension Plan on fewer than ten classified
mine workers in every month during its last
year of operations under the National Bitu-
minous Coal Wage Agreement of 1978 or any
‘me too’ agreement related to such Coal Wage
Agreement;
‘‘(C) has had not more than 60 bene-
ficiaries, including eligible dependents of retired
miners, assigned to it under section 9706 not
including beneficiary assignments relieved by
the Social Security Administration;
‘‘(D) was assessed premiums by the Com-
bined Fund, made payments pursuant to those
assessments, and has no delinquency as of Sep-
tember 30, 2001; and
‘‘(E) is not directly engaged in the produc-
tion or sale of coal and has no related person
engaged in the production of coal as of Sep-
tember 30, 2001.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for part II of subchapter B of chapter 99 is amended
by inserting after the item relating to section 9704A the
following new item:
‘‘Sec. 9704B. Refunds of annual premiums of certain small enti-
ties.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 115. FIRST YEAR PAYMENTS OF 1988 OPERATORS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—So much of section 9704(i)(1)(D)
as precedes clause (ii) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(D) PREMIUM
REDUCTIONS
AND
RE-
FUNDS.—
‘‘(i) 1st YEAR
PAYMENTS.—In the
case of a 1988 agreement operator making
payments under subparagraph (A)—
‘‘(I) the premium of such oper-
ator under subsection (a) shall be re-
duced by the amount paid under sub-
paragraph (A) by such operator for
the plan year beginning February 1,
1993, or
‘‘(II) if the amount so paid ex-
ceeds the operator’s liability under
subsection (a), the excess shall be re-
funded to the operator before Decem-
ber 31, 2001.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
SEC. 116. LIABILITY IN THE EVENT OF PRE-FUNDING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9701(c)(2) is amended by
adding the following new subparagraphs:
‘‘(C) EXCEPTION
UPON
ESTABLISHMENT
OF CERTAIN VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEES’ BENEFIT
ASSOCIATION.—In the event an association de-
scribed in section 501(c)(9) is established by a
signatory operator, or a related person to such
signatory operator, or a member of the con-
trolled group of corporations which includes the
signatory operator, and such association is de-
scribed in subparagraph (D), all persons consid-
ered to be related persons to such signatory op-
erator under subparagraph (A) shall perma-
nently cease to be considered related persons to
such signatory operator when—
‘‘(i) the balance of funds held by the
association, resulting from one or more
contributions to the association and earn-
ings thereon, equals or exceeds the sum
of—
‘‘(I) the present value of the total
premium liability of the signatory op-
erator for its assignees under section
9704 with respect to the Combined
Fund, plus
‘‘(II) the amount necessary to
pay administrative and other inci-
dental expenses of such association,
as determined by the association’s enrolled
actuary 
(as 
defined 
in 
section
7701(a)(35)), using actuarial methods and
assumptions each of which is reasonable
and which are reasonable in the aggregate,
as determined by such enrolled actuary;
‘‘(ii) a signed actuarial report is filed
with the Secretary by the association’s en-
rolled actuary containing—
‘‘(I) the date of the actuarial
valuation applicable to the report,
‘‘(II) a description of the funding
method and actuarial assumptions
used to determine costs of the associa-
tion,
‘‘(III) a statement by the en-
rolled actuary signing the report that
to the best of the actuary’s knowledge
the report is complete and accurate
and that in the actuary’s opinion the
actuarial assumptions used are in the
aggregate—
‘‘(aa) reasonably related to
the experience of the association
and to reasonable expectations,
and
‘‘(bb) represent the actu-
ary’s best estimate of anticipated
experience of the association, and
‘‘(IV) such other information as
may be necessary to fully and fairly
disclose the actuarial position of the
association;
‘‘(iii) security (in the form of a bond,
letter of credit, or cash escrow) is provided
to the trustees of the 1992 UMWA Benefit
Plan, solely for the purpose of paying pre-
miums for beneficiaries described in sec-
tion 9712(b)(2)(B), equal in amount to
one year’s liability of the signatory oper-
ator under section 9711, determined by
using the average cost of such operator’s
liability during its prior three calendar
years; and
‘‘(iv) 30 calendar days have elapsed
after the report required by clause (ii) is
filed with the Secretary, along with a de-
scription of the security required by clause
(iii), and the Secretary has not notified the
association’s enrolled actuary in writing
that the requirements of this subparagraph
have not been satisfied.
The security described in clause (iii) shall re-
main in place for a period of 5 years.
‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSOCIATION.—
An association is described in this subpara-
graph if—
‘‘(i) the purpose of the association is
exclusively—
‘‘(I) to satisfy the premium liabil-
ity of the signatory operator with re-
spect to the Combined Fund,
‘‘(II) to fund health benefits pro-
vided pursuant to a collective bar-
gaining agreement, including benefits
for individuals covered by sections
9711 and 9712, or to fund premiums
for insurance exclusively covering such
benefits, and
‘‘(III) to pay administrative and
other incidental expenses of such asso-
ciation;
‘‘(ii) no part of the assets of the asso-
ciation may be used for, or diverted to, any
purpose other than the purpose described
in clause (i); and
‘‘(iii) payments from such association
for the purpose described in clause (i)(II)
shall only be made to the extent that—
‘‘(I) the signatory operator no
longer has an obligation to make pay-
ments under clause (i)(I); or
‘‘(II) during any annual account-
ing period of the association such pay-
ments do not exceed in the aggregate
90 percent of the excess between the
fair market value of the association’s
assets and the present value of the li-
ability described in clause (i)(I), both
determined as of the end of the asso-
ciation’s prior year annual accounting
period, as determined by the associa-
tion’s enrolled actuary (as defined in
section 7701(a)(35)), using actuarial
methods and assumptions each of
which is reasonable and which are
reasonable in the aggregate, as deter-
mined by such enrolled actuary.
‘‘(E) OTHER RULES RELATING TO ASSO-
CIATIONS.—For purposes of an association de-
scribed in subparagraph (C)—
‘‘(i) if a payment is made under
clause (iii) of paragraph (D), an enrolled
actuary shall within 30 days after the end
of the association’s annual accounting pe-
riod file with the Secretary an actuarial re-
port containing the information described
in subparagraph (C)(ii) and a statement
that the requirements of subparagraph
(D)(iii) have been satisfied during the
prior year; and
‘‘(ii) a signatory operator, or member
of the controlled group of corporations
which includes such signatory operator,
which has previously established an asso-
ciation under section 501(c)(9) for pur-
poses including those set forth in subpara-
graph (D), may use funds from such pre-
viously established association to fund all
or a portion of the association established
pursuant to this section.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 419A(f)(5)
is amended by adding before the comma in subparagraph
(A) the following: ‘‘, which shall include an association es-
tablished under section 9701(c)(2)(C)’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to associations estab-
lished after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 117. DEFINITION OF SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 9701 is
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(8) SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST.—
‘‘(A) SAFE HARBOR.—The term ‘successor
in interest’ shall not include any person who is
an unrelated person and, as a result of a bona
fide, arm’s-length sale, purchases for fair mar-
ket value assets, or all the stock of a related
person, if the transaction is subject to—
‘‘(i) section 5 of the Securities Act of
1933 (15 U.S.C. 77f et seq.), or
‘‘(ii) the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (15 U.S.C.78a et seq.).
‘‘(B) UNRELATED PARTY.—The term ‘un-
related party’ means a purchaser who does not
bear a relationship to the seller described in
section 267(b).
‘‘(C) CONTINGENT LIABILITY.—This para-
graph shall apply if the contract for sale pro-
vides that, if the seller fails to make a premium
payment to the Combined Fund during the first
5 plan years beginning after the sale, then the
purchaser shall be secondarily liable for any li-
ability to the Combined Fund it would have had
but for the provisions of this paragraph.
‘‘(D) NO INFERENCE.—In the event of a
sale not described in this paragraph, there shall
be no inference that because the sale is not so
described the purchaser is a ‘successor in inter-
est’.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
subsection (a) shall apply to transactions after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
TITLE II—RETROACTIVE
PROVISIONS
SEC. 201. REFORM OF RETROACTIVE PROVISIONS OF COAL
INDUSTRY HEALTH BENEFIT SYSTEM.
(a) AGREEMENTS COVERED BY HEALTH BENEFIT
SYSTEM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9701(b)(1) (defining
coal wage agreement) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) COAL AGREEMENTS.—
‘‘(A) 1988 AGREEMENT.—The term ‘1988
agreement’ means the collective bargaining
agreement between the settlors which became
effective on February 1, 1988.
‘‘(B) COAL WAGE AGREEMENT.—The term
‘coal wage agreement’ means the 1988 agree-
ment and any predecessor to the 1988 agree-
ment.’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
9701(b) (relating to agreements) is amended by
striking paragraph (3).
(b) DEFINITIONS APPLICABLE TO OPERATORS.—
(1) SIGNATORY OPERATOR.—Section 9701(c)(1)
(defining signatory operator) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘(1) SIGNATORY OPERATOR.—The term ‘signa-
tory operator’ means a 1988 agreement operator.’’.
(2) 1988 
AGREEMENT
OPERATOR.—Section
9701(c)(3) (defining 1988 agreement operator) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(3) 1988 AGREEMENT OPERATOR.—The term
‘1988 agreement operator’ means—
‘‘(A) an operator which was a signatory to
the 1988 agreement, or
‘‘(B) a person in business which, during
the term of the 1988 agreement, was a signa-
tory to an agreement (other than the National
Coal Mine Construction Agreement or the Coal
Haulers’ Agreement) containing pension and
health care contribution and benefit provisions
which are the same as those contained in the
1988 agreement.
Such term shall not include any operator who was
assessed, and paid the full amount of, contractual
withdrawal liability to the 1950 UMWA Benefit
Plan, the 1974 UMWA Benefit Plan, or the Com-
bined Fund.’’.
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) Section 9711(a) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘maintained pursuant to a 1978 or subse-
quent coal wage agreement’’.
(B) Section 9711(b)(1) is amended by
striking ‘‘pursuant to a 1978 or subsequent
coal wage agreement’’.
(c) MODIFICATIONS TO REFLECT REACHBACK RE-
FORMS.—
(1) BOARD
OF
TRUSTEES
OF
COMBINED
FUND.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 9702(b)(1) is
amended—
(i) by striking ‘‘one individual who
represents’’ in subparagraph (A) and in-
serting ‘‘two individuals who represent’’,
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and
redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D)
as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec-
tively, and
(iii) by striking ‘‘(A), (B), and (C)’’ in
subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated) and
inserting ‘‘(A) and (B)’’.
(B) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
9702(b)(3) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—If the BCOA ceases to
exist, any trustee or successor under paragraph
(1)(A) shall be designated by the 3 employers who
were members of the BCOA on October 24, 1992,
and who have been assigned the greatest number of
eligible beneficiaries under section 9706.’’.
(C) TRANSITION RULE.—Any trustee serv-
ing on the date of the enactment of this Act
who was appointed to serve under section
9702(b)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (as in effect before the amendments made
by this paragraph) shall continue to serve until
a 
successor 
is 
appointed 
under 
section
9702(b)(1)(A) of such Code (as in effect after
such amendments).
(2) ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFICIARIES.—Section
9706 (relating to assignment of eligible bene-
ficiaries) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(h) ASSIGNMENT AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2001.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Effective October 1, 2001,
the Commissioner of Social Security shall—
‘‘(A) revoke all assignments to persons
other than 1988 agreement operators for pur-
poses of assessing premiums for periods after
September 30, 2001,
‘‘(B) make no further assignments to per-
sons other than 1988 agreement operators, and
‘‘(C) terminate all unpaid liabilities of per-
sons other than 1988 agreement operators with
respect to eligible beneficiaries whose assign-
ment to such persons is pending on October 1,
2001.
‘‘(2) REASSIGNMENT
UPON
PURCHASE.—This
subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the re-
assignment under subsection (b)(2) of an eligible
beneficiary.’’.
(3) LIABILITY FOR 1992 PLAN.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 9712(d) (relat-
ing to guarantee of benefits) is amended by
striking paragraph (3) and by redesignating
paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (3),
(4), and (5), respectively.
(B) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
9712(d)(3) (as redesignated under subpara-
graph (A)) is amended by striking ‘‘or last sig-
natory operator described in paragraph (3)’’.
(C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments
made by this paragraph shall apply to pre-
miums assessed for periods after September 30,
2001, except that a person other than a 1988
agreement operator shall not be liable for any
unpaid premium under section 9712(d) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as of such date
if liability for such premium had not been as-
sessed or was being contested on such date.
Æ