American Miners Pension Act of 2017

Key: what the circles and colors mean

Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:

IntroducedPassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law (gold)Resolution agreed to (full, dark)Failed or vetoed (gray)

Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.

Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.

Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

R McKinleySponsor

49 cosponsors · 28 D, 21 R

14 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.

This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) to transfer certain funds and provide loans to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan in order to provide pension benefits for retired coal miners.

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Oct 3, 2017

American Miners Pension Act of 2017

The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer additional funds from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and the General Fund of the Treasury to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the amounts available for transfer under SMCRA's $490 million annual limit exceed the amounts required to be transferred for other purposes (including to the UMWA Health Plans). The bill prohibits the plan from making certain changes to benefits during any year in which a transfer is received.

Treasury must make annual loans to the plan equal to the amount certified by the trustees of the plan as necessary to prevent insolvency. The loans may not exceed $600 million per year. The trustees must annually certify that the plan is projected to be solvent and is able to repay the loans under terms specified in the bill.

The bill also establishes additional reporting requirements for the plan.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: American Miners Pension Act of 2017

Latest action (Oct 6, 2017): Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

Policy area: Labor and Employment · Origin: House · Introduced: Oct 3, 2017

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.