I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 132 

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict totalization agreements 

between the United States and other countries to providing for appropriate exchange of Social Security taxes or contributions between the 

parties to such agreements, and to prohibit crediting of individuals under 

such title with earnings from employment or self-employment in the 

United States performed while such individuals are not citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents of the United States and are not 

authorized by law to be employed in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. GALLEGLY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict 

totalization agreements between the United States and 

other countries to providing for appropriate exchange 

of Social Security taxes or contributions between the 

parties to such agreements, and to prohibit crediting 

of individuals under such title with earnings from employment or self-employment in the United States performed while such individuals are not citizens, nationals, 

or lawful permanent residents of the United States and 

are not authorized by law to be employed in the United 

States. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Total Overhaul of To5 talization Agreements Law of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RESTRICTION OF TOTALIZATION AGREEMENTS TO 

7 PROVIDING FOR APPROPRIATE EXCHANGE 

8 OF SOCIAL SECURITY TAXES OR CONTRIBU9 TIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 233 of the Social Security 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 433) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘for the pur13 poses of’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol14 lowing: ‘‘for the purposes of providing appropriate 

15 exchange between the parties to such agreements of 

16 taxes or contributions paid under their respective so17 cial security systems, as provided in subsection 

18 (c)(1).’’; and 

19 (2) by striking subsection (c)(1) and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(c)(1) Any agreement establishing a totalization ar22 rangement pursuant to this section between the United 

23 States and another country shall provide that— 

24 ‘‘(A) in any case in which— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an individual who is a citizen or na2 tional of the other country or lawfully admitted 

3 to the other country for permanent residence in 

4 the other country becomes entitled to cash ben5 efits under the Social Security system of the 

6 other country, and 

7 ‘‘(ii) such individual (or, in the case of a 

8 survivor or derivative benefit, the individual on 

9 whose contributions such benefits are based) 

10 has been credited with at least 6 quarters of 

11 coverage as defined in section 213 based on 

12 wages paid for services performed in the United 

13 States or self-employment income derived in the 

14 United States, 

15 the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the 

16 Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust 

17 Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust 

18 Fund to the other country amounts appropriated to 

19 each such Trust Fund under section 201 in connec20 tion with taxes under chapters 2 and 21 of the In21 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 paid in connection with 

22 such wages and self-employment income, and 

23 ‘‘(B) in any case in which— 

24 ‘‘(i) an individual who is a citizen or na25 tional of the United States or lawfully admitted 


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1 for permanent residence in the United States 

2 becomes entitled to cash benefits under this 

3 title, and 

4 ‘‘(ii) such individual (or, in the case of a 

5 survivor or derivative benefit, the individual on 

6 whose wages and self-employment income such 

7 benefits are based) has been credited with a pe8 riod of coverage under the Social Security sys9 tem of the other country, based on service per10 formed, or earnings derived, in the other coun11 try, equivalent (under the terms of the agree12 ment) to 6 quarters of coverage as defined in 

13 section 213, 

14 the other country shall pay to the United States an 

15 amount equivalent to any taxes or other contribu16 tions paid by the credited individual described in 

17 clause (ii) or such individual’s employer to the Social 

18 Security system of the other country, based on such 

19 service or earnings, as required under the Social Se20 curity system of the other country.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 233(c)(3) 

22 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 433(c)(3)) is amended to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(3) Any such agreement shall provide for the ex25 change of such information between the parties to the 


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1 agreement as is necessary to provide for the transfers be2 tween the parties under paragraph (1). The Secretary of 

3 the Treasury and the Commissioner of Social Security 

4 shall exchange such information as is necessary to enable 

5 the Secretary of the Treasury to carry out any transfers 

6 referred to in paragraph (1)(A).’’. 

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply with respect to agreements becom9 ing effective on or after January 1, 2009. 

10 SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON COVERAGE OF INDIVIDUALS 

11 BASED ON EARNINGS BY INDIVIDUALS IN 

12 THE UNITED STATES WHILE SUCH INDIVID13 UALS WERE NOT CITIZENS, NATIONALS, OR 

14 LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS OF THE 

15 UNITED STATES AND WERE NOT AUTHOR16 IZED TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE UNITED 

17 STATES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 215(e) of the Social Secu19 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 415(e)) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

21 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(e)’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(2) For purposes of subsections (b) and (d), in com2 puting an individual’s average indexed monthly earnings 

3 (or in the case of an individual whose primary insurance 

4 amount is computed under section 215(a) as in effect 

5 prior to January 1979, average monthly wage), such indi6 vidual shall not be credited with any wages paid to such 

7 individual for services performed in the United States, or 

8 any self-employment income derived by such individual in 

9 the United States, if such services were performed, or such 

10 self-employment income was derived, while such individual 

11 was neither a citizen or national of the United States nor 

12 lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United 

13 States and was not authorized to be employed in the 

14 United States.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to wages paid, and 

17 self-employment income derived, before, on, or after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act. Notwithstanding section 

19 215(f)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(f)(1)), 

20 as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall recom22 pute all primary insurance amounts to the extent nec23 essary to carry out such amendments. Such amendments 


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1 shall affect benefits only for months after the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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