For Release: Thursday, November 18, 2004
Contact: David Gillies: 202-225-5661

LEGISLATION TO PROTECT MINER HEALTH BENEFITS DURING BANKRUPTCY INTRODUCED

Washington - U.S. Congressmen Jerry Costello (D-IL), Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Ted Strickland (D-OH) introduced legislation today to protect coal miner health benefits during a bankruptcy proceeding.  The bill would make it illegal for a bankruptcy judge to terminate a company's responsibility to pay promised health benefits. 

"We have seen too many cases where health benefits that employees worked decades to secure were wiped away in an instant by a bankruptcy judge's pen," said Costello.  "Coal mining is hard, dangerous work that supplies critical energy resources for the country.  Our miners deserve to know that their health benefits will be there when they retire."

The bill states:  ".the benefits required to be provided by a last signatory operator under this chapter may not be terminated or modified by any court in a proceeding under title 11 of the United States Code or by agreement at any time when such operator is participating in such a proceeding."

Enacting bankruptcy reform is the second part of a strategy to provide health coverage to miners that have lost their benefits while ensuring benefits cannot be taken away in the future.  Last month, Costello introduced legislation to provide funding to cover the health care costs of coal miners and retirees that lost their coverage, including the 5,000 Horizon Mine workers, retirees and dependents impacted by the company's bankruptcy.

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