[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 279 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 279

      To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for 
    Congressional oversight and approval of totalization agreements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 2007

  Mrs. Cubin introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for 
    Congressional oversight and approval of totalization agreements.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Totalization 
Agreement Reform Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL AND APPROVAL OF TOTALIZATION AGREEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 233(e) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 433(e)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) (1) Any agreement to establish a totalization arrangement 
which is entered into with another country under this section shall 
enter into force with respect to the United States if (and only if)--
            ``(A) the President, at least 90 calendar days before the 
        date on which the President enters into the agreement, notifies 
        each House of the Congress of the President's intention to 
        enter into the agreement, and promptly thereafter publishes 
        notice of such intention in the Federal Register,
            ``(B) the President transmits the text of such agreement to 
        each House of the Congress as provided in paragraph (2), and
            ``(C) an approval resolution regarding such agreement has 
        passed both Houses of the Congress and has been enacted into 
        law.
    ``(2)(A) Whenever an agreement referred to in paragraph (1) is 
entered into, the President shall transmit to each House of the 
Congress a document setting forth the final legal text of such 
agreement and including a report by the President in support of such 
agreement. The President's report shall include the following:
            ``(i) an estimate by the Chief Actuary of the Social 
        Security Administration of the effect of the agreement, in the 
        short term and in the long term, on the receipts and 
        disbursements under the social security system established by 
        this title;
            ``(ii) a statement of any administrative action proposed to 
        implement the agreement and how such action will change or 
        affect existing law,
            ``(iii) a statement describing whether and how the 
        agreement changes provisions of an agreement previously 
        negotiated,
            ``(iv) a statement describing how and to what extent the 
        agreement makes progress in achieving the purposes, policies, 
        and objectives of this title,
            ``(v) an estimate by the Chief Actuary of the Social 
        Security Administration, working in consultation with the 
        Comptroller General of the United States, of the numbers of 
        individuals who may become eligible for any benefits under this 
        title by reason of the agreement or who may otherwise be 
        affected by the agreement,
            ``(vi) an assessment of the integrity of the retirement 
        data and records (including birth, death, and marriage records) 
        of the other country that is a party to the agreement, and
            ``(vii) an assessment of the ability of such other country 
        to track and monitor recipients of benefits affected by such 
        agreement.
    ``(B) If any separate agreement or other understanding with another 
country (whether oral or in writing) relating to an agreement to 
establish a totalization arrangement under this section is not 
disclosed to the Congress in the transmittal to the Congress under this 
paragraph of the agreement to establish a totalization arrangement, 
then such separate agreement or understanding shall not be considered 
to be part of the agreement approved by the Congress under this section 
and shall have no force and effect under United States law.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term `approval 
resolution' means a joint resolution, the matter after the resolving 
clause of which is as follows: `That the proposed agreement entered 
into pursuant to section 233 of the Social Security Act between the 
United States and _______ establishing totalization arrangements 
between the social security system established by title II of such Act 
and the social security system of _______, transmitted to the Congress 
by the President on ______, is hereby approved.', the first two blanks 
therein being filled with the name of the country with which the United 
States entered into the agreement, and the third blank therein being 
filled with the date of the transmittal of the agreement to the 
Congress.
    ``(4) The succeeding paragraphs of this subsection are enacted by 
the Congress--
            ``(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House 
        of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such 
        they are deemed a part of the rules of each House, 
        respectively, but applicable only with respect to the procedure 
        to be followed in that House in the case of disapproval 
        resolutions and approval resolutions, and they supersede other 
        rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith; 
        and
            ``(B) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 
        procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner and to 
        the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.
    ``(5)(A) Whenever a document setting forth an agreement entered 
into under this section and the President's report in support of the 
agreement is transmitted to the Congress pursuant to paragraph (2), 
copies of such document shall be delivered to both Houses of Congress 
on the same day and shall be delivered to the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives if the House is not in session and to the Secretary of 
the Senate if the Senate is not in session.
    ``(6)(A) On the day on which a document setting forth the agreement 
is transmitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate pursuant 
to paragraph (1), an approval resolution with respect to such agreement 
shall be introduced (by request) in the House by the majority leader of 
the House, for himself or herself and the minority leader of the House, 
or by Members of the House designated by the majority leader and 
minority leader of the House; and shall be introduced (by request) in 
the Senate by the majority leader of the Senate, for himself or herself 
and the minority leader of the Senate, or by Members of the Senate 
designated by the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate. If 
either House is not in session on the day on which such an agreement is 
transmitted, the approval resolution with respect to such agreement 
shall be introduced in that House, as provided in the preceding 
sentence, on the first day thereafter on which that House is in 
session. The resolution introduced in the House of Representatives 
shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and the resolution 
introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Finance.
    ``(B) No amendment to the approval resolution shall be in order in 
either the House of Representatives or the Senate; and no motion to 
suspend the application of this clause shall be in order in either 
House, nor shall it be in order in either House for the Presiding 
Officer to entertain a request to suspend the application of this 
clause by unanimous consent.
    ``(C) If the committee of either House to which an approval 
resolution has been referred has not reported it at the close of the 
45th day after its introduction, such committee shall be automatically 
discharged from further consideration of the resolution and it shall be 
placed on the appropriate calendar. A vote on final passage of the 
resolution shall be taken in each House on or before the close of the 
15th day after the resolution is reported by the committee of that 
House to which it was referred, or after such committee has been 
discharged from further consideration of the resolution.
    ``(D)(i) On or after the third day after the date on which the 
committee to which the approval resolution is referred has reported, or 
has been discharged from further consideration of, such resolution, it 
is in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been 
disagreed to) for any Member of the respective House to move to proceed 
to the consideration of the resolution. A Member may make the motion 
only on the day after the calendar day on which the Member announces to 
the respective House the Member's intention to make the motion, except 
that, in the case of the House of Representatives, the motion may be 
made without such prior announcement if the motion is made by direction 
of the Committee on Ways and Means. All points of order against the 
approval resolution (and against consideration of the resolution) are 
waived. The motion is highly privileged in the House of Representatives 
and is privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not 
subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to 
proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider 
the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be 
in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the resolution 
is agreed to, the respective House shall immediately proceed to 
consideration of the approval resolution without intervening motion, 
order, or other business, and the resolution shall remain the 
unfinished business of the respective House until disposed of.
    ``(ii) Debate on the approval resolution, and on all debatable 
motions and appeals in connection with the resolution, shall be limited 
to not more than 20 hours, which shall be divided equally between those 
favoring and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to the 
resolution is not in order. A motion further to limit debate is in 
order and not debatable. A motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed 
to the consideration of other business, or a motion to recommit the 
resolution is not in order.
    ``(iii) Immediately following the conclusion of the debate in the 
respective House on the approval resolution and a single quorum call at 
the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance with the rules 
of the respective House, the vote on final passage of the resolution 
shall occur.
    ``(iv) Appeals from the decisions of the Presiding Officer relating 
to the application of the rules of the respective House to the 
procedure relating to the approval resolution shall be decided without 
debate.
    ``(v) A motion to reconsider the vote by which the approval 
resolution is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.
    ``(E) For purposes of this paragraph, in computing a number of days 
in either House, there shall be excluded any day on which that House is 
not in session.
    ``(7)(A) If, before the passage by one House of an approval 
resolution of that House, that House receives an approval resolution 
from the other House, then the following procedures shall apply:
            ``(i) The approval resolution of the other House shall not 
        be referred to a committee and may not be considred in the 
        House receiving it except in the case of final passage as 
        provided in clause (ii)(II).
            ``(ii) With respect to an approval resolution of the House 
        receiving the resolution--
                    ``(I) the procedure in that House shall be the same 
                as if no resolution had been received from the other 
                House, and
                    ``(II) the vote on final passage shall be on the 
                resolution of the other House.
    ``(B) Upon disposition of the resolution received from the other 
House, it shall no longer be in order to consider the resolution that 
originated in the receiving House.''.
    (b) Additional Reports and Evaluations.--Section 233 of such Act is 
amended further by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(f) Biennial SSA Report on Impact of Totalization Agreements.--
Not later than 2 years after the effective date of each totalization 
agreement that is transmitted to the Congress pursuant to subsection 
(e), and biennially thereafter, the Commissioner of Social Security 
shall submit to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General a report relating to such agreement. Such report shall--
            ``(1) compare the estimates contained in the report 
        submitted to Congress under clauses (i) and (v) of subsection 
        (e)(2)(A) with respect to that agreement with the actual number 
        of individuals affected by the agreement and the actual effect 
        of the agreement on receipts and disbursements of the social 
        security system established by this title; and
            ``(2) contain recommendations for adjusting the methods 
        used to make the estimates.
    ``(g) GAO Evaluation and Report.--
            ``(1) Evaluation of initial report on impact of 
        totalization agreements.--With respect to each initial report 
        regarding a totalization agreement submitted under subsection 
        (f), the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 
        an evaluation of the report that includes--
                    ``(A) an evaluation of the procedures used for 
                making the estimates required by subsection (e)(2)(A);
                    ``(B) an evaluation of the procedures used for 
                determining the actual number of individuals affected 
                by the agreement and the effects of the totalization 
                agreement on receipts and disbursements under the 
                social security system established by this title; and
                    ``(C) such recommendations as the Comptroller 
                General determines appropriate.
            ``(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
        submission of an initial report regarding a totalization 
        agreement under subsection (f), the Comptroller General shall 
        submit to Congress a report setting forth the results of the 
        evaluation conducted under paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Data collection.--The Commissioner of Social Security 
        shall collect and maintain the data necessary for the 
        Comptroller General of the United States to conduct the 
        evaluation required by paragraph (1).''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to agreements establishing totalization arrangements 
entered into under section 233 of the Social Security Act with are 
transmitted to the Congress on or after January 1, 2007.
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