Mrs. CUBIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee
on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for Congressional
oversight and approval of totalization agreements.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL AND APPROVAL OF TOTALIZATION AGREEMENTS.
(a) In General- Section 233(e) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 433(e)) is amended to read as follows:
(e) (1) Any agreement to establish a totalization arrangement
which is entered into with another country under this section
shall enter into force with respect to the United States if (and
only if)--
(A) the President, at least 90 calendar days before the date
on which the President enters into the agreement, notifies each
House of the Congress of the President's intention to enter
into the agreement, and promptly thereafter publishes notice
of such intention in the Federal Register,
(B) the President transmits the text of such agreement to
each House of the Congress as provided in paragraph (2), and
(C) an approval resolution regarding such agreement has passed
both Houses of the Congress and has been enacted into law.
(2)(A) Whenever an agreement referred to in paragraph (1) is
entered into, the President shall transmit to each House of the
Congress a document setting forth the final legal text of such
agreement and including a report by the President in support of
such agreement. The President's report shall include the following:
(i) an estimate by the Chief Actuary of the Social Security
Administration of the effect of the agreement, in the short
term and in the long term, on the receipts and disbursements
under the social security system established by this title;
(ii) a statement of any administrative action proposed to
implement the agreement and how such action will change or affect
existing law,
(iii) a statement describing whether and how the agreement
changes provisions of an agreement previously negotiated,
(iv) a statement describing how and to what extent the agreement
makes progress in achieving the purposes, policies, and objectives
of this title,
(v) an estimate by the Chief Actuary of the Social Security
Administration, working in consultation with the Comptroller
General of the United States, of the numbers of individuals
who may become eligible for any benefits under this title by
reason of the agreement or who may otherwise be affected by
the agreement,
(vi) an assessment of the integrity of the retirement data
and records (including birth, death, and marriage records) of
the other country that is a party to the agreement, and
(vii) an assessment of the ability of such other country to
track and monitor recipients of benefits affected by such agreement.
(B) If any separate agreement or other understanding with another
country (whether oral or in writing) relating to an agreement
to establish a totalization arrangement under this section is
not disclosed to the Congress in the transmittal to the Congress
under this paragraph of the agreement to establish a totalization
arrangement, then such separate agreement or understanding shall
not be considered to be part of the agreement approved by the
Congress under this section and shall have no force and effect
under United States law.
(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term `approval resolution'
means a joint resolution, the matter after the resolving clause
of which is as follows: `That the proposed agreement entered into
pursuant to section 233 of the Social Security Act between the
United States and XXXXXXX establishing totalization arrangements
between the social security system established by title II of
such Act and the social security system of XXXXXXX, transmitted
to the Congress by the President on XXXXXX, is hereby approved.',
the first two blanks therein being filled with the name of the
country with which the United States entered into the agreement,
and the third blank therein being filled with the date of the
transmittal of the agreement to the Congress.
(4) The succeeding paragraphs of this subsection are enacted
by the Congress--
(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of
Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such they
are deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively,
but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed
in that House in the case of disapproval resolutions and approval
resolutions, and they supersede other rules only to the extent
that they are inconsistent therewith; and
(B) with full recognition of the constitutional right of either
House to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure
of that House) at any time, in the same manner and to the same
extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.
(5)(A) Whenever a document setting forth an agreement entered
into under this section and the President's report in support
of the agreement is transmitted to the Congress pursuant to paragraph
(2), copies of such document shall be delivered to both Houses
of Congress on the same day and shall be delivered to the Clerk
of the House of Representatives if the House is not in session
and to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is not in session.
(6)(A) On the day on which a document setting forth the agreement
is transmitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate
pursuant to paragraph (1), an approval resolution with respect
to such agreement shall be introduced (by request) in the House
by the majority leader of the House, for himself or herself and
the minority leader of the House, or by Members of the House designated
by the majority leader and minority leader of the House; and shall
be introduced (by request) in the Senate by the majority leader
of the Senate, for himself or herself and the minority leader
of the Senate, or by Members of the Senate designated by the majority
leader and minority leader of the Senate. If either House is not
in session on the day on which such an agreement is transmitted,
the approval resolution with respect to such agreement shall be
introduced in that House, as provided in the preceding sentence,
on the first day thereafter on which that House is in session.
The resolution introduced in the House of Representatives shall
be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and the resolution
introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on
Finance.
(B) No amendment to the approval resolution shall be in order
in either the House of Representatives or the Senate; and no motion
to suspend the application of this clause shall be in order in
either House, nor shall it be in order in either House for the
Presiding Officer to entertain a request to suspend the application
of this clause by unanimous consent.
(C) If the committee of either House to which an approval resolution
has been referred has not reported it at the close of the 45th
day after its introduction, such committee shall be automatically
discharged from further consideration of the resolution and it
shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. A vote on final passage
of the resolution shall be taken in each House on or before the
close of the 15th day after the resolution is reported by the
committee of that House to which it was referred, or after such
committee has been discharged from further consideration of the
resolution.
(D)(i) On or after the third day after the date on which the
committee to which the approval resolution is referred has reported,
or has been discharged from further consideration of, such resolution,
it is in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect
has been disagreed to) for any Member of the respective House
to move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution. A Member
may make the motion only on the day after the calendar day on
which the Member announces to the respective House the Member's
intention to make the motion, except that, in the case of the
House of Representatives, the motion may be made without such
prior announcement if the motion is made by direction of the Committee
on Ways and Means. All points of order against the approval resolution
(and against consideration of the resolution) are waived. The
motion is highly privileged in the House of Representatives and
is privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is
not subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a
motion to proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion
to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed
to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration
of the resolution is agreed to, the respective House shall immediately
proceed to consideration of the approval resolution without intervening
motion, order, or other business, and the resolution shall remain
the unfinished business of the respective House until disposed
of.
(ii) Debate on the approval resolution, and on all debatable
motions and appeals in connection with the resolution, shall be
limited to not more than 20 hours, which shall be divided equally
between those favoring and those opposing the resolution. An amendment
to the resolution is not in order. A motion further to limit debate
is in order and not debatable. A motion to postpone, or a motion
to proceed to the consideration of other business, or a motion
to recommit the resolution is not in order.
(iii) Immediately following the conclusion of the debate in the
respective House on the approval resolution and a single quorum
call at the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance
with the rules of the respective House, the vote on final passage
of the resolution shall occur.
(iv) Appeals from the decisions of the Presiding Officer relating
to the application of the rules of the respective House to the
procedure relating to the approval resolution shall be decided
without debate.
(v) A motion to reconsider the vote by which the approval resolution
is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.
(E) For purposes of this paragraph, in computing a number of
days in either House, there shall be excluded any day on which
that House is not in session.
(7)(A) If, before the passage by one House of an approval resolution
of that House, that House receives an approval resolution from
the other House, then the following procedures shall apply:
(i) The approval resolution of the other House shall not be
referred to a committee and may not be considred in the House
receiving it except in the case of final passage as provided
in clause (ii)(II).
(ii) With respect to an approval resolution of the House receiving
the resolution--
(I) the procedure in that House shall be the same as if
no resolution had been received from the other House, and
(II) the vote on final passage shall be on the resolution
of the other House.
(B) Upon disposition of the resolution received from the other
House, it shall no longer be in order to consider the resolution
that originated in the receiving House.'.
(b) Additional Reports and Evaluations- Section 233 of such
Act is amended further by adding at the end the following new
subsections:
(f) Biennial SSA Report on Impact of Totalization Agreements-
Not later than 2 years after the effective date of each totalization
agreement that is transmitted to the Congress pursuant to subsection
(e), and biennially thereafter, the Commissioner of Social Security
shall submit to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller
General a report relating to such agreement. Such report shall--
(1) compare the estimates contained in the report submitted
to Congress under clauses (i) and (v) of subsection (e)(2)(A)
with respect to that agreement with the actual number of individuals
affected by the agreement and the actual effect of the agreement
on receipts and disbursements of the social security system
established by this title; and
(2) contain recommendations for adjusting the methods used
to make the estimates.
(g) GAO Evaluation and Report-
(1) EVALUATION OF INITIAL REPORT ON IMPACT OF TOTALIZATION
AGREEMENTS- With respect to each initial report regarding a
totalization agreement submitted under subsection (f), the Comptroller
General of the United States shall conduct an evaluation of
the report that includes--
(A) an evaluation of the procedures used for making the
estimates required by subsection (e)(2)(A);
(B) an evaluation of the procedures used for determining
the actual number of individuals affected by the agreement
and the effects of the totalization agreement on receipts
and disbursements under the social security system established
by this title; and
(C) such recommendations as the Comptroller General determines
appropriate.
(2) REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of the submission
of an initial report regarding a totalization agreement under
subsection (f), the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress
a report setting forth the results of the evaluation conducted
under paragraph (1).
(3) DATA COLLECTION- The Commissioner of Social Security shall
collect and maintain the data necessary for the Comptroller
General of the United States to conduct the evaluation required
by paragraph (1).'.
(c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to agreements establishing totalization arrangements
entered into under section 233 of the Social Security Act with
are transmitted to the Congress on or after January 1, 2007.
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