American Miners Pension Act of 2017
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Energy and Mineral Resources.
American Miners Pension Act of 2017
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.
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 analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on October 3, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 6, 2017: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
David McKinley (R-WV) introduced it on October 3, 2017, and 49 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 28 Democrats, 21 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on October 3, 2017, 3264 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3261 days ago, on October 6, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers