PSI Sci
New here? Follow the money and the votes · Not sure of your district? Find your U.S. House member · Find your state legislators

H.R. 179: Miners Protection Act of 2017

Before you vote › Federal bills

H.R. 179: Miners Protection Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-01-03 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-01-03 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. 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.
  5. 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

Miners Protection Act of 2017

Plain summary

Miners Protection 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 and the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan to provide health and pension 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. A voluntary employees' beneficiary association (VEBA) established as a result of certain bankruptcy proceedings must transfer to the plan any amounts received as a result of the bankruptcy proceeding, reduced by the amount of the VEBA's administrative costs. Transfers by Treasury are reduced by the amount of the VEBA transfers. Treasury must also transfer additional funds 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 also: (1) prohibits the pension plan from making certain changes to benefits during any year in which a transfer is received, and (2) establishes additional reporting requirements for the plan. The bill repeals requirements for current and former signatories to labor agreements with the UMWA 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

A “Yea” vote

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

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Miners Protection Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] · 78 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Mike Bost (R-IL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), David P. Joyce (R-OH), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Robert J. Wittman (R-VA), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Andy Barr (R-KY), Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Michael R. Turner (R-OH), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), Tom Cole (R-OK), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) and 18 more.

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

Record fed-us-cong115-hr179 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115