H.R. 1613: HELP for Coal Miners Health Care Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-03-17 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-03-17 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

HELP for Coal Miners Health Care Act of 2017

Plain summary

Helping Ensure Long-Term Protection for Coal Miners Health Care Act of 2017 or the HELP for Coal Miners Health Care Act of 2017 This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) to transfer certain funds to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan to provide health benefits to retired coal miners and their families. The bill expands the group whose retiree health benefits are taken into account in determining the amount that the Department of the Treasury must transfer from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and the General Fund of the Treasury to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan. The Government Accountability Office must study the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan and submit to Congress reports analyzing whether federal funds are being spent appropriately by the plan. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal requirements for current and former signatories to labor agreements with the United Mineworkers of America to pay unassigned beneficiaries premiums or backstop premiums if transfers under SMCRA are less than the amount required to be transferred.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

HELP for Coal Miners Health Care Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Peter Welch (D-VT), James Comer (R-KY)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hr1613.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr1613 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115