,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #afac ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #ag1 #bjag,mr4 ,mc,kinley 7for himself and ,mr4 ,welch7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg to transfer certain funds to the ,multiemployer ,health ,benefit ,plan1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,helping ,ensure ,long-,term ,protection for ,coal ,miners ,health ,care ,act of #bjag or the ,,help for ,coal ,miners ,health ,care ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,inclusion of certain retirees in the ,multiemployer ,health ,benefit ,plan 7a7 ,in general ,section #djb7;h77#b77;,c7 of the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #abcb7;h77#b77;,c77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking clauses 7ii71 7iii71 and 7iv72 and 7#b7 by inserting after clause 7i7 the following3 7ii7 ,calculation of excess ,the excess determined under clause 7i7 shall be calculated by taking into account only-- 7,i7 those beneficiaries actually enrolled in the ,plan as of the date of the enactment of the ,,help for ,coal ,miners ,health ,care ,act of #bjag who are eligible to receive health benefits under the ,plan on the first day of the calendar year for which the transfer is made1 other than those beneficiaries enrolled in the ,plan under the terms of a participation agreement with the current or former employer of such beneficiaries2 and 7,,ii7 those beneficiaries whose health benefits1 defined as those benefits payable1 following death or retirement or upon a finding of disability1 directly by an employer in the bituminous coal industry under a coal wage agreement 7as defined in section #igja7;b77#a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf71 would be denied or reduced as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced in #bjab or #bjae4 ,for purposes of subclause 7,i71 a beneficiary enrolled in the ,plan as of the date of the enactment of the ,,help for ,coal ,miners ,health ,care ,act of #bjag shall be deemed to have been eligible to receive health benefits under the ,plan on ,january #a1 #bjag4 7iii7 ,eligibility of certain retirees ,individuals referred to in clause 7ii77,,ii7 shall be treated as eligible to receive health benefits under the ,plan4 7iv7 ,requirements for transfer ,the amount of the transfer otherwise determined under this subparagraph for a fiscal year shall be reduced by any amount transferred for the fiscal year to the ,plan1 to pay benefits required under the ,plan1 from a voluntary employees' beneficiary association established as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding described in clause 7ii74 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to fiscal years beginning after ,september #cj1 #bjaf4 7c7 ,,gao audit ,not later than #c years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every #c years thereafter1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall conduct a study of the ,multiemployer ,health ,benefit ,plan described in section #djb7;h77#b77;,c77i7 of the ,surface ,mining ,control and ,reclamation ,act of #aigg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #abcb7;h77#b77;,c77i77 and shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report analyzing whether ,federal funds are being spent appropriately by such ,plan4 #c4 ,clarification of financing obligations 7a7 ,in general ,subsection 7a7 of section #igjd of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended-- 7#a7 by striking paragraph 7#c71 7#b7 by striking three premiums and inserting two premiums1 and 7#c7 by striking 1 plus at the end of paragraph 7#b7 and inserting a period4 7b7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,section #igjd of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended-- 7,a7 by striking subsection 7d71 and 7,b7 by redesignating subsections 7e7 through 7j7 as subsections 7d7 through 7i71 respectively4 7#b7 ,subsection 7d7 of section #igjd of such ,code1 as so redesignated1 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking #c separate accounts for each of the premiums described in subsections 7b71 7c71 and 7d7 in paragraph 7#a7 and inserting #b separate accounts for each of the premiums described in subsections 7b7 and 7c71 and 7,b7 by striking or the unassigned beneficiaries premium account in paragraph 7#c77;,b74 7#c7 ,subclause 7,i7 of section #igjc7;b77#b77;,c77ii7 of such ,code is amended by striking #igjd7;e77#c77;,b77i7 and inserting #igjd7;d77#c77;,b77i74 7#d7 ,paragraph 7#c7 of section #igje7;a7 of such ,code is amended-- 7,a7 by striking the unassigned beneficiary premium under section #igjd7;a77#c7 and in subparagraph 7,b71 and 7,b7 by striking #igjd7;i77#a77;,b7 and inserting #igjd7;h77#a77;,b74 7#e7 ,paragraph 7#b7 of section #igaa7;c7 of such ,code is amended-- 7,a7 by striking #igjd7;j77#b7 in subparagraph 7,a77i7 and inserting #igjd7;i77#b71 7,b7 by striking #igjd7;j77#b77;,b7 in subparagraph 7,b7 and inserting #igjd7;i77#b77;,b71 and 7,c7 by striking #igjd7;j7 and inserting #igjd7;i74 7#f7 ,paragraph 7#d7 of section #igab7;d7 of such ,code is amended by striking #igjd7;j7 and inserting #igjd7;i74 7c7 ,elimination of additional backstop premium 7#a7 ,in general ,paragraph 7#a7 of section #igab7;d7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking subparagraph 7,c74 7#b7 ,conforming amendment ,paragraph 7#b7 of section #igab7;d7 of such ,code is amended-- 7,a7 by striking subparagraph 7,b71 7,b7 by striking 1 and at the end of subparagraph 7,a7 and inserting a period1 and 7,c7 by striking shall provide for-- and all that follows through annual adjustments and inserting shall provide for annual adjustments4 7d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to plan years beginning after ,september #cj1 #bjaf4 #d4 ,sense of the ,house of ,representatives ,it is the sense of the ,house of ,representatives that ,congress should work with the administration to support economic growth in ,appalachia and other coal communities by promoting growth-oriented economic development efforts4