Cite as: 537 U. S. 149 (2003)
Scalia, J., dissenting
"[T]he Commissioner of Social Security shall, before October 1, 1993, assign each coal industry retiree who is an eligible beneficiary to a signatory operator which (or any related person with respect to which) remains in business in the following order: "(1) First, to the signatory operator which— "(A) was a signatory to the 1978 coal wage agreement or any subsequent coal wage agreement, and "(B) was the most recent signatory operator to employ the coal industry retiree in the coal industry for at least 2 years.
"(2) Second, if the retiree is not assigned under paragraph (1), to the signatory operator which— "(A) was a signatory to the 1978 coal wage agreement or any subsequent coal wage agreement, and "(B) was the most recent signatory operator to employ the coal industry retiree in the coal industry. "(3) Third, if the retiree is not assigned under paragraph (1) or (2), to the signatory operator which employed the coal industry retiree in the coal industry for a longer period of time than any other signatory operator prior to the effective date of the 1978 coal wage agreement."
The Commissioner failed to complete the task of assigning each eligible beneficiary to a signatory operator before October 1, 1993. As a result, many eligible beneficiaries were "unassigned," and their benefits were financed, for a time, by the United Mine Workers of America 1950 Pension Plan (UMWA Pension Plan) and the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund. See §§ 9705(a)(3)(B), 9705(b)(2).
The Commissioner blames her failure to meet the statutory deadline on the "magnitude of the task" and the lack of appropriated funds. Brief for Petitioners Trustees of the UMWA Combined Benefit Fund 15. It should not be thought, however, that these cases are about letting the
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