[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 81 (Thursday, May 17, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H4205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND 
 ICELAND--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 
                                115-127)

  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, 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 a social security totalization 
agreement with Iceland, titled ``Agreement on Social Security between 
the United States of America and Iceland'' and the accompanying legally 
binding administrative arrangement, titled ``Administrative Arrangement 
between the Competent Authorities of the United States of America and 
Iceland for the Implementation of the Agreement on Social Security 
between the United States of America and Iceland'' (collectively the 
``Agreements''). The Agreements were signed at Reykjavik, Iceland, on 
September 27, 2016.
  The Agreements are similar in objective and content to the social 
security totalization agreements already in force with other leading 
economic partners in Europe and elsewhere, including Australia, Canada, 
Chile, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, and Switzerland. 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 loss of 
benefit protection that can occur when workers divide their careers 
between two countries.
  The Agreements contain all provisions mandated by section 233 of the 
Social Security Act and, pursuant to section 233(c)(4), other 
provisions which I deem appropriate to carry out the purposes of 
section 233.
  I also transmit for the information of the Congress a report required 
by section 233(e)(1) of the Social Security Act on the estimated number 
of individuals who will be affected by the Agreements and the 
Agreements' estimated cost effect. Also included are a summary of the 
main provisions of the Agreements and an annotated version of the 
Agreements with descriptions of each article. The Department of State 
and the Social Security Administration concluded that these Agreements 
are in the national interest of the United States.
  I commend to the Congress the Agreement on Social Security between 
the United States of America and Iceland and the Administrative 
Arrangement between the Competent Authorities of the United States of 
America and Iceland for the Implementation of the Agreement on Social 
Security between the United States of America and Iceland.
                                                     Donald J. Trump.  
The White House, May 17, 2018.

                          ____________________