    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [May 17, 1996]
    [Pages 767-768]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting the Austria-United States
    Social Security Agreement
    May 17, 1996

    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 Supplementary Agreement Amending the
    Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of
    Austria on Social Security (the ``Supplementary Agreement''). The
    Supplementary Agreement, signed at Vienna on October 5, 1995, is
    intended to modify certain provisions of the original United States-
    Austria Social Security Agreement, signed July 13, 1990.
        The United States-Austria Social Security Agreement is similar in
    objective to the social security agreements with Belgium, Canada,
    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 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 Supplementary Agreement, which would amend the 1990 Agreement to
    update and clarify several of its provisions, is necessitated by changes
    that have occurred in U.S. and Austrian law in recent years. Among other
    things, it would introduce a new method of computing Austrian benefits
    under the Agreement that will result in higher Austrian benefits for
    certain people who have divided their careers between the United States
    and Austria. Another provision in the Supplementary Agreement will allow
    U.S. citizens hired in Austria by U.S. Foreign Service Posts to be
    covered by the Austrian Social Security System rather than the U.S.
    system. The Supplementary Agreement will also make a number of minor
    revisions in the Agreement to take account of other changes in U.S. and
    Austrian law that have occurred in recent years.
        The United States-Austria 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(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 Supplementary Agreement, along with a paragraph-by-paragraph
    explanation of the effect of the amendments of the Agreement. Annexed to
    this report is the report required by section 233(e)(1) of the Social
    Security Act on 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 Supplementary Agreement and
    related documents to me.

    [[Page 768]]

        I commend the United States-Austria Social Security Agreement and
    related documents to the Congress.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,
    May 17, 1996.