Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2019

Bill: 116-hr-934
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3]
Introduced: 2019-01-31
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Bankruptcy

Employee benefits and pensions

Health care costs and insurance

Health care coverage and access

Mining
Latest action: action_date: 2019-10-23
text: Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-01-31
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p> <b>Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2019</b></p> <p>This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer additional funds to provide health benefits for retired coal miners. The bill adds miners affected by 2018 coal company bankruptcies to the group whose retiree health benefits are taken into account in determining the amount that Treasury must transfer under current law to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 934 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 31, 2019 Mr. Scott of Virginia (for himself and Ms. Wilson of Florida ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to include certain retirees in the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2019 . 2. Inclusion in multiemployer health benefit plan (a) In general Section 402(h)(2)(C) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 ( 30 U.S.C. 1232(h)(2)(C) ) is amended— (1) by striking the Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2017 both places it appears in clause (ii) and inserting the Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2019 ; (2) by striking , would be denied or reduced as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced in 2012 or 2015 in clause (ii)(II) and inserting or a related coal wage agreement, would be denied or reduced as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced in 2012, 2015, or 2018 ; (3) by striking January 1, 2017 in clause (ii) and inserting January 1, 2019 ; and (4) by adding at the end the following new clause: (vi) Related coal wage agreement For purposes of clause (ii), the term related coal wage agreement means an agreement between the United Mine Workers of America and an employer in the bituminous coal industry that— (I) is a signatory operator; or (II) is or was a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding that was consolidated, administratively or otherwise, with the bankruptcy proceeding of a signatory operator or a related person to a signatory operator (as those terms are defined in section 9701(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). . (b) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to fiscal years beginning after September 30, 2018.