Black Lung Benefits Reform Act

(Measure indefinitely postponed in Senate, inserted provisions, as amended, in H. R. 4544)

=Title I: Black Lung Benefits Reform Act= - Black Lung Benefits Reform Act - Amends the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 to redefine the term "total disability" to prohibit use of the fact that a deceased miner was still a mine employee at the time of death as evidence that such miner was not totally disabled.

Stipulates that employed miners shall not be eligible for benefits under the Act except under exceptional circumstances.

Details evidentiary requirements to establish claims for disability due to pneumoconiosis under the Act. Requires that claimants be provided an opportunity to substantiate such disability claims with complete pulmonary evaluations.

Makes a coal mine operator who acquired a mine from a previous operator on or after January l, 1970, liable for the payment of black lung benefits to individuals previously employed in the mine.

Establishes a rebuttable presumption favoring eligibility for black lung benefits in the case of miners employed for 25 years or more in coal mines prior to June 30, 1971, who die on or before the date of enactment of this Act.

Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to establish necessary field offices to assist claimants with filing and processing claims.

Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Secretary of Labor to disseminate information to potential beneficiaries of changes made by this Act.

Directs the Department of Labor, in cooperation with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, to conduct a study of occupationally related pulmonary and respiratory diseases, and report on the results of such study to the President and the appropriate committees of Congress within 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

Imposes civil penalties upon employers for failure to secure the payment of compensation under the Act. Imposes criminal penalties for purposefully evading the payment of compensation under this Act, and for making false or misleading statements to obtain benefits thereunder.

Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to establish and carry out a black lung insurance program to enable operators to purchase insurance to cover some or all of certain obligations.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish in the Department of Labor a Black Lung Compensation Insurance Fund, which shall be available to pay claims, to pay administrative expenses of carrying out the insurance program and to repay the Secretary of the Treasury for any funds borrowed, at interest, from the general fund of the Treasury.

=Title II: Black Lung Benefit Revenue Act= - Black Lung Benefits Revenue Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to impose a one percent manufacturers excise tax on the sale of coal by the producer. Exempts lignite from such tax.

Establishes a trust fund, to be known as the Black Lung Disability Fund. Appropriates to such fund amounts equal to the coal tax collected under this Act. Authorizes the appropriation to the fund of certain other revenues. States that amounts in the fund shall be available for making expenditures to meet the obligations acquired by the fund, including the expenses of providing medical benefits where such benefits are not paid by the appropriate mine operator. Stipulates that mine operators shall be liable to the fund for benefits actually paid by the fund for which such operator was liable.

Creates a lien in favor of the United States, if the operators refuse to reimburse the fund. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to bring suit in any Federal district court to enforce such liens.

Establishes as trustees of the fund, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; with the Secretary of the Treasury as the managing trustee.

Provides that receipts of the fund in excess of amounts needed to meet current withdrawals are to be invested only in public debt securities with maturities suitable for the needs of the fund and bearing interest at prevailing market rates. States that earnings from these investments are to be credited to and form a part of the fund.

Provides income tax exemption for a qualifying trust used by a coal mine operator to self- insure for liabilities under Federal and State black lung benefits laws and limited tax deductions for amounts contributed to the trust by the operator.

Imposes taxes for engaging in the acts of self-dealing, for making taxable expenditures, or for making excess contributions to black lung benefit trusts.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, upon written request, to disclose mailing addresses to officers and employees of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. States that such disclosure is solely for the purpose of locating and determining the vital status of persons who, in their occupations, are, or may have been, exposed to occupational hazards, and to refer sick or injured workers for medical care and treatment.