[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 173 (Monday, December 9, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8561-S8562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE SWISS 
       CONFEDERATION, CONSISTING OF A PRINCIPAL AGREEMENT AND AN 
                    ADMINISTRATIVE AGREEMENT--PM 25

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with accompanying 
reports and papers; 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, as amended 
by the Social Security Amendments of 1977 (Public Law 95-216, 42 U.S.C. 
433(e)(1)),

[[Page S8562]]

I transmit herewith an Agreement on Social Security between the United 
States of America and the Swiss Confederation, signed at Bern on 
December 3, 2012, (the ``U.S.-Swiss Agreement''). The Agreement 
consists of two instruments: a principal agreement and an 
administrative arrangement, and upon entry into force, will replace: 
the Agreement between the United States of America and the Swiss 
Confederation on Social Security with final protocol, signed July 18, 
1979; the Administrative Agreement between the United States of America 
and the Swiss Confederation for the Implementation of the Agreement on 
Social Security of July 18, 1979, signed December 20, 1979; and the 
Supplementary Agreement between the two Contracting States, signed June 
1, 1988.
  The U.S.-Swiss Agreement is similar in objective to the social 
security agreements already in force with most of the European Union 
member states, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Norway, and the 
Republic of Korea. 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 principal updates 
encompassed in the Agreement include amendments to rules for 
entitlement to Swiss disability pensions paid to ensure equality of 
treatments between U.S. and Swiss nationals, updates to personal 
information confidentiality provisions, and modifications necessary to 
take into account changes in U.S. and Swiss laws since 1988.
  The U.S.-Swiss Agreement contains all provisions mandated by section 
233 of the Social Security Act and other provisions that I deem 
appropriate to carry out the purposes of section 233, pursuant to 
section 233(c)(4) of the Social Security Act.
  I also transmit, for the information of the Congress, a report 
prepared by the Social Security Administration explaining the key 
points of the U.S.-Swiss Agreement, along with a paragraph-by-paragraph 
explanation of the provisions of the principal agreement and 
administrative arrangement. Annexed to this report is the report 
required by section 233(e)(1) of the Social Security Act on the number 
of individuals affected by the Agreement and the effect of the 
Agreement on the estimated income and expenditures of the U.S. Social 
Security program. The Department of State and the Social Security 
Administration have recommended the U.S.-Swiss Agreement and related 
documents to me.
  I commend the U.S.-Swiss Agreement on Social Security and related 
documents.
                                                        Barack Obama.  
The White House, December 9, 2013.

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