[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.