[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 25 (Monday, March 3, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1826-S1827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   REPORT ON THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA WITH 
     RESPECT TO SOCIAL SECURITY--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT--PM 19

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying 
report; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

To the Congress of the United States:
  Pursuant to section 233(e)(1) of the Social Security Act (the 
``Act''), as amended by the Social Security Amendments of 1977 (Public 
Law 95-216, 42 USC 433(e)(1)), I transmit herewith the Second 
Supplementary Agreement Amending the Agreement Between the Government 
of the United States of America and the Government of Canada with 
respect to Social Security (the Second Supplementary Agreement). The 
Second Supplementary Agreement, signed at Ottawa on May 28, 1996, is 
intended to modify certain provisions of the original United States-
Canada Social Security Agreement signed at Ottawa March 11, 1981, which 
was amended once before by the Supplementary Agreement of May 10, 1983.
  The United States-Canada Social Security Agreement is similar in 
objective to the social security agreements with Austria, Belgium, 
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The 
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the 
United Kingdom. Such bilateral agreements provide for limited 
coordination between the U.S. and foreign social security systems to 
eliminate dual social security coverage and taxation, and to help 
prevent the loss of benefit protection that can occur when workers 
divide their careers between two countries.
  The Second Supplementary Agreement provides Canada with a specific 
basis to enter into a mutual assistance arrangement with the United 
States. This enables each Governments' Social Security agency to assist 
the other in enhancing the administration of their respective foreign 
benefits programs. The Social Security Administration has benefited 
from a similar mutual assistance arrangement with the United Kingdom. 
The Second Supplementary Agreement will also make a number of minor 
revisions in the Agreement to take into account other changes in U.S. 
and Canadian law that have occurred in recent years.
  The United States-Canada Social Security Agreement, as amended, would 
continue to contain all provisions mandated by section 233 and other 
provisions that I deem appropriate to carry out the provisions of 
section 233, pursuant to section 233(c)(4) of the Act.
  I also transmit for the information of the Congress a report prepared 
by the Social Security Administration explaining the key points of the 
Second Supplementary Agreement, along with a paragraph-by-paragraph 
explanation of the effect of the amendments on the Agreement. Annexed 
to this report is the report required by section 233(e)(1) of the Act 
on the effect of the agreement, as amended, on income and expenditures 
of the U.S. Social Security program and the number of individuals 
affected by the amended Agreement. The Department of State and the 
Social Security Administration have recommended the Second 
Supplementary Agreement and related documents to me.

[[Page S1827]]

  I commend the United States-Canada Second Supplementary Social 
Security Agreement and related documents.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, March 3, 1997.

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