518
Opinion of OTMConnor, J.
retroactive application . . . is supported by a legitimate legislative purpose furthered by rational means," for "judgments about the wisdom of such legislation remain within the exclusive province of the legislative and executive branches." Id., at 156 (internal quotation marks omitted). The court concluded that Congress' purpose in enacting the Coal Act was legitimate and that Eastern's obligations under the Act are rationally related to those objectives, because Eastern's execution of pre-1974 NBCWA's contributed to miners' expectations of lifetime health benefits. Id., at 157. The court rejected Eastern's argument that costs of retiree health benefits should be borne by post-1974 coal operators, reasoning that Eastern's proposal would require coal operators to fund health benefits for miners whom the operators had never employed. Id., at 158, n. 5. The court also noted the substantial dividends that Eastern had received from EACC. Id., at 158.
The court analyzed Eastern's claim that the Coal Act effects an uncompensated taking under the three factors set out in Connolly v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 475 U. S. 211, 225 (1986): "(1) the economic impact of the regulation on the claimant, (2) the extent to which the regulation interferes with the claimant's reasonable investment-backed expectations, and (3) the nature of the governmental action." 110 F. 3d, at 160. With respect to the Act's economic impact on Eastern, the court observed that the Act "does not involve the total deprivation of an asset." Ibid. The Act's terms, the court found, "reflec[t] a sufficient degree of proportionality" because Eastern is assigned liability only for miners "whom it employed for a relevant (and relatively long) period of time," and then only if no post-1977 NBCWA signatory (or related person) can be found. Ibid. The court also rejected Eastern's contention that the Act unreasonably interferes with its investment-backed expectations, explaining that the pattern of federal intervention in the coal industry and Eastern's role in fostering an expectation of
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