[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 7, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H3181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AGREEMENT WITH CZECH REPUBLIC ON SOCIAL SECURITY--MESSAGE FROM THE 
          PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 110-110)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means and ordered to be printed:
To the Congress of the United States:
  Pursuant to section 233(e)(1) of the Social Security Act, as amended 
by the Social Security Amendments of 1977 (Public Law 95-216, 42 U.S.C. 
433(e)(1)), I transmit herewith the Agreement Between the United States 
of America and the Czech Republic on Social Security, which consists of 
two separate instruments: a principal agreement and an administrative 
arrangement. The Agreement was signed in Prague on September 7, 2007.
  The United States-Czech Republic Agreement is similar in objective to 
the social security agreements already in force with Australia, 
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, 
Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, 
Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Such 
bilateral agreements provide for limited coordination between the 
United States and foreign social security systems to eliminate dual 
social security coverage and taxation, and to help prevent the lost 
benefit protection that can occur when workers divide their careers 
between two countries. The United States-Czech Republic Agreement 
contains all provisions mandated by section 233 and other provisions 
that I deem appropriate to carry out the purposes of section 233, 
pursuant to section 233(c)(4).
  I also transmit for the information of the Congress a report prepared 
by the Social Security Administration explaining the key points of the 
Agreement, along with a paragraph-by-paragraph explanation of the 
provisions of the principal agreement and the related administrative 
arrangement. Annexed to this report is the report required by section 
233(e)(1) of the Social Security Act, which describes the effect of the 
Agreement on income and expenditures of the U.S. Social Security 
program and the number of individuals affected by the Agreement. The 
Department of State and the Social Security Administration have 
recommended the Agreement and related documents to me.
  I commend to the Congress the United States-Czech Republic Social 
Security Agreement and related documents.
                                                        George W. Bush.
The White House, May 7, 2008.

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