Marshall Plan for Coal Country Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4306 To invest in workers and jobs, address important legacy costs in coal country, and drive development of advanced manufacturing and technologies. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2020 Ms. DUCKWORTH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To invest in workers and jobs, address important legacy costs in coal country, and drive development of advanced manufacturing and technologies. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Marshall Plan for Coal Country Act of 2020’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. TITLE I—HEALTHCARE VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4306 IS Sec. 101. Medicare coverage for individuals who lost their job at a coal mine or coal power plant. TITLE II—ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Sec. 201. Office of Economic Development at the Department of Energy. Sec. 202. Coal communities as HUBZones. Sec. 203. Extension of qualifying advanced energy project credit. Sec. 204. Small business loans for entrepreneurs. TITLE III—ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP Sec. 301. Abandoned mine reclamation. Sec. 302. Grant program for coal power plants affiliated infrastructure. Sec. 303. Contributions to employee benefit plans and environmental cleanup costs in bankruptcy. Sec. 304. Securitization. TITLE IV—WORKFORCE Sec. 401. Minimum wage increases. Sec. 402. Coal community benefits. Sec. 403. Decommissioning work. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) the United States is undergoing a rapid en- 3 ergy transformation, particularly in the power sec- 4 tor; 5 (2) booming natural gas production, declining 6 costs for renewable energy, increases in energy effi- 7 ciency, flattening electricity demand, and updated 8 clean air standards are changing the way electricity 9 is generated and used across the country; 10 (3) the trends described in paragraph (2) are— 11 (A) producing cleaner air and healthier 12 communities and spurring new jobs and indus- 13 tries; but 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4306 IS (B) simultaneously impacting workers and 1 communities who have relied on the coal indus- 2 try as a source of good jobs and economic pros- 3 perity, particularly in the Midwest and Appa- 4 lachia; and 5 (4) a Marshall plan for the Midwest would 6 make necessary investments into communities that 7 have powered the United States and ensure that 8 those communities are able to benefit and prosper in 9 the energy transition taking place in the United 10 States. 11 TITLE I—HEALTHCARE 12 SEC. 101. MEDICARE COVERAGE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO 13 LOST THEIR JOB AT A COAL MINE OR COAL 14 POWER PLANT. 15 Title XVIII of the Social Security Act is amended by 16 inserting after section 1881A the following new section: 17 ‘‘SEC. 1881B. MEDICARE COVERAGE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO 18 LOST THEIR JOB AT A COAL MINE OR COAL 19 POWER PLANT. 20 ‘‘(a) DEEMING OF INDIVIDUALS AS ELIGIBLE FOR 21 MEDICARE BENEFITS.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of eligibility 23 for benefits under this title, an individual deter- 24 mined under subsection (b) to be an applicable indi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4306 IS vidual be deemed to meet the conditions specified in 1 section 226(a). 2 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF COVERAGE.—An in- 3 dividual who is deemed eligible for benefits under 4 this title under paragraph (1) shall be— 5 ‘‘(A) entitled to benefits under the pro- 6 gram under Part A as of the date of such 7 deeming; and 8 ‘‘(B) eligible to enroll in the program 9 under Part B beginning with the month in 10 which such deeming occurs. 11 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATIONS BY THE COMMISSIONER OF 12 SOCIAL SECURITY.—For purposes of this section, the 13 Commissioner of Social Security, in consultation with the 14 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and using the 15 cost allocation method prescribed in section 201(g), shall 16 determine whether individuals are applicable individuals. 17 The Commissioner shall begin to make such determina- 18 tions as soon as practicable after the date of enactment 19 of this section. 20 ‘‘(c) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—For pur- 21 poses of this section, the term ‘applicable individual’ 22 means an individual who worked at a coal mine or coal 23 power plant and has lost their job (other than a discharge 24 for cause, voluntary departure, or retirement).’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4306 IS TITLE II—ECONOMIC 1 DEVELOPMENT 2 SEC. 201. OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT THE 3 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Department of En- 5 ergy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7131 et seq.) is amend- 6 ed by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘SEC. 218. OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF COAL COMMUNITY.—In this 9 section, the term ‘coal community’ means a community 10 that has a coal power plant or coal mine that closed not 11 earlier than January 1, 2010, and has not been 12 repurposed. 13 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 14 the date of enactment of this section, there shall be estab- 15 lished within the Department an Office of Economic De- 16 velopment (referred to in this section as the ‘Office’). 17 ‘‘(c) MISSION.—The mission of the Office shall be to 18 use the technical expertise and financial resources of the 19 Department to assist a wide group of external stake- 20 holders, including State and local governments, private 21 sector energy and manufacturing businesses, nonprofit or- 22 ganizations, academic institutions, and labor unions, 23 with— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4306 IS ‘‘(1) implementing Federal programs aimed at 1 helping coal communities; 2 ‘‘(2) developing and deploying clean energy in 3 coal communities; and 4 ‘‘(3) carrying out workforce training in coal 5 communities. 6 ‘‘(d) DIRECTOR.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 8 by a Director (referred to in this section as the ‘Di- 9 rector’), who shall be appointed by the President, by 10 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 11 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF DIRECTOR.—The Director 12 shall— 13 ‘‘(A) collaborate with National Labora- 14 tories to establish partnerships between the De- 15 partment and coal communities for the purpose 16 of matching skilled workers to fill current and 17 future energy jobs in the energy sectors de- 18 scribed in subsection (e); 19 ‘‘(B) engage stakeholders about assess- 20 ment and analysis of the skills necessary to fill 21 those jobs; and 22 ‘‘(C) carry out any other activity in sup- 23 port of the mission of the Office described in 24 subsection (c). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4306 IS ‘‘(e) ENERGY SECTORS DESCRIBED.—The energy 1 sectors referred to in subsections (d)(2)(A) and (g)(1) 2 are— 3 ‘‘(1) the electric power generation and fuel sec- 4 tor; 5 ‘‘(2) the transmission, distribution, and storage 6 sector; 7 ‘‘(3) the energy efficiency sector; 8 ‘‘(4) the motor vehicle and component parts 9 manufacturing sector; and 10 ‘‘(5) any other energy sector determined by the 11 Secretary. 12 ‘‘(f) GRANT SPECIALISTS.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 14 within the Office a team of grant specialists (re- 15 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘team’) that 16 shall— 17 ‘‘(A) assist with soliciting applications 18 from coal communities for grants administered 19 by the Department or any other relevant Fed- 20 eral agency that are for the purpose of helping 21 coal communities, including grants made avail- 22 able under the Marshall Plan for Coal Country 23 Act of 2020 or by the amendments made by 24 that Act; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4306 IS ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to coal 1 communities with applications for the grants 2 described in subparagraph (A); and 3 ‘‘(C) oversee the implementation of grant 4 programs authorized by the Marshall Plan for 5 Coal Country Act of 2020 or by the amend- 6 ments made by that Act. 7 ‘‘(2) COAL COMMUNITIES.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each specialist on the 9 team shall— 10 ‘‘(i) work with only 1 coal community 11 at a time; and 12 ‘‘(ii) to the maximum extent prac- 13 ticable, reside in that coal community for 14 the duration of the work. 15 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM DURATION.—Each spe- 16 cialist on the team shall work with a coal com- 17 munity for a period of not less than 10 years. 18 ‘‘(C) EXISTING FEDERAL OFFICE.—If a 19 Federal office building exists in the coal com- 20 munity with which a specialist on the team 21 shall work, the Director may consider locating 22 the specialist in that office building. 23 ‘‘(3) TEAM POSITIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4306 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall en- 1 sure that the team comprises the number of 2 grant specialists necessary to assist coal com- 3 munities. 4 ‘‘(B) FILLING OF VACANCY.—A vacant po- 5 sition on the team shall be filled not later than 6 90 days after the date on which the position be- 7 comes vacant. 8 ‘‘(4) COLLABORATION.—The team shall collabo- 9 rate with other Federal and State agencies that im- 10 plement programs aimed at supporting coal commu- 11 nities. 12 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—The Director shall publish and make 13 publicly available an annual report, to be entitled the ‘U.S. 14 Energy and Employment Report’, that— 15 ‘‘(1) provides consistent, usable data measuring 16 job growth throughout each energy sector described 17 in subsection (e); 18 ‘‘(2) compiles analyses of the job skills nec- 19 essary for entry-level jobs in each of those energy 20 sectors; 21 ‘‘(3) identifies barriers to entry (such as edu- 22 cation, training, and physical demands) to jobs in 23 those energy sectors; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4306 IS ‘‘(4) designs strategies to eliminate or minimize 1 the barriers identified under paragraph (3); and 2 ‘‘(5) completes career pathway analysis ladders 3 for each of those energy sectors.’’. 4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 5 tents for the Department of Energy Organization Act 6 (Public Law 95–91; 91 Stat. 565) is amended by inserting 7 after the item relating to section 217 the following: 8 ‘‘Sec. 218. Office of Economic Development.’’. SEC. 202. COAL COMMUNITIES AS HUBZONES. 9 Section 31(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 10 657a(b)) is amended— 11 (1) in paragraph (1)— 12 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘or’’ 13 at the end; 14 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 15 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(H) qualified coal community areas.’’; 18 and 19 (2) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 20 following: 21 ‘‘(G) QUALIFIED COAL COMMUNITY 22 AREA.— 23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘quali- 24 fied coal community area’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4306 IS ‘‘(I) means a community— 1 ‘‘(aa) with a coal power 2 plant or coal mine that closed; 3 and 4 ‘‘(bb) that, following the clo- 5 sure, experienced— 6 ‘‘(AA) an increase in 7 unemployment or poverty; or 8 ‘‘(BB) a decrease in the 9 median income of the com- 10 munity; and 11 ‘‘(II) includes any area within a 12 50-mile radius of the closed coal 13 power plant or coal mine. 14 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—A community may 15 only be considered a qualified coal commu- 16 nity area during the 5-year period begin- 17 ning on the date on which the coal power 18 plant or coal mine closed.’’. 19 SEC. 203. EXTENSION OF QUALIFYING ADVANCED ENERGY 20 PROJECT CREDIT. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 48C of the Internal Rev- 22 enue Code of 1986 is amended— 23 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub- 24 section (f), and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4306 IS (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol- 1 lowing new subsection: 2 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL QUALIFYING ADVANCED ENERGY 3 PROJECT PROGRAM.— 4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 6 days after the date of enactment of the Mar- 7 shall Plan for Coal Country Act of 2020, the 8 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 9 Energy, shall establish an additional qualifying 10 advanced energy project program to consider 11 and award certifications for qualified invest- 12 ments eligible for credits under this section to 13 qualifying advanced energy project sponsors. 14 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The total amount of 15 credits that may be allocated under the pro- 16 gram described in subparagraph (A) shall not 17 exceed $5,000,000,000. 18 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION AND OTHER RULES.— 19 Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (2) through 20 (5) of subsection (d) shall apply for purposes of this 21 subsection.’’. 22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 23 48C(c)(1)(A)(ii) is amended by inserting ‘‘or (e)’’ after 24 ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4306.IS S4306 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4306 IS SEC. 204. SMALL BUSINESS LOANS FOR ENTREPRENEURS. 1 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 2 amended— 3 (1) in section 7(a) (15 U.S.C. 636(a)), by add- 4 ing at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(36) LOANS FOR FORMER COAL PLANT OR 6 COAL MINE WORKERS.—The Administrator, acting 7 through the Director of the Office of Coal Country 8 Small Business described in section 49, may guar- 9 antee [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]