I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2339 

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for Congressional 

oversight and approval of totalization agreements. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 12, 2005 

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 

A BILL 

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide 

for Congressional oversight and approval of totalization 

agreements. 

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 ‘‘Totalization Agree5 ment Congressional Approval Act of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL AND APPROVAL OF TOTALIZATION 

2 AGREEMENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 233(e) of the Social Secu4 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 433(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(e)(1) Any agreement to establish a totalization ar6 rangement which is entered into with another country 

7 under this section shall enter into force with respect to 

8 the United States if (and only if)— 

9 ‘‘(A) the President, at least 90 calendar days 

10 before the date on which the President enters into 

11 the agreement, notifies each House of the Congress 

12 of the President’s intention to enter into the agree13 ment, and promptly thereafter publishes notice of 

14 such intention in the Federal Register, 

15 ‘‘(B) the President transmits the text of such 

16 agreement to each House of the Congress as pro17 vided in paragraph (2), and 

18 ‘‘(C) an approval resolution regarding such 

19 agreement has passed both Houses of the Congress 

20 and has been enacted into law. 

21 ‘‘(2)(A) Whenever an agreement referred to in para22 graph (1) is entered into, the President shall transmit to 

23 each House of the Congress a document setting forth the 

24 final legal text of such agreement and including a report 

25 by the President in support of such agreement. The Presi26 dent’s report shall include the following: 
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1 ‘‘(i) an estimate by the Chief Actuary of the So2 cial Security Administration of the effect of the 

3 agreement, in the short term and in the long term, 

4 on the receipts and disbursements under the social 

5 security system established by this title; 

6 ‘‘(ii) a statement of any administrative action 

7 proposed to implement the agreement and how such 

8 action will change or affect existing law, 

9 ‘‘(iii) a statement describing whether and how 

10 the agreement changes provisions of an agreement 

11 previously negotiated, and 

12 ‘‘(iv) a statement describing how and to what 

13 extent the agreement makes progress in achieving 

14 the purposes, policies, and objectives of this title. 

15 ‘‘(B) If any separate agreement or other under16 standing with another country (whether oral or in writing) 

17 relating to an agreement to establish a totalization ar18 rangement under this section is not disclosed to the Con19 gress in the transmittal to the Congress under this para20 graph of the agreement to establish a totalization arrange21 ment, then such separate agreement or understanding 

22 shall not be considered to be part of the agreement ap23 proved by the Congress under this section and shall have 

24 no force and effect under United States law. 
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1 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘ap2 proval resolution’ means a joint resolution, the matter 

3 after the resolving clause of which is as follows: ‘That the 

4 proposed agreement entered into pursuant to section 233 

5 of the Social Security Act between the United States and 

6 lllllll establishing totalization arrangements 

7 between the social security system established by title II 

8 of such Act and the social security system of 

9 lllllll, transmitted to the Congress by the 

10 President on llllll, is hereby approved.’, the first 

11 two blanks therein being filled with the name of the coun12 try with which the United States entered into the agree13 ment, and the third blank therein being filled with the date 

14 of the transmittal of the agreement to the Congress. 

15 ‘‘(4) The succeeding paragraphs of this subsection 

16 are enacted by the Congress— 

17 ‘‘(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

18 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re19 spectively, and as such they are deemed a part of 

20 the rules of each House, respectively, but applicable 

21 only with respect to the procedure to be followed in 

22 that House in the case of disapproval resolutions 

23 and approval resolutions, and they supersede other 

24 rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent 

25 therewith; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) with full recognition of the constitutional 

2 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

3 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

4 in the same manner and to the same extent as in 

5 the case of any other rule of that House. 

6 ‘‘(5)(A) Whenever a document setting forth an agree7 ment entered into under this section and the President’s 

8 report in support of the agreement is transmitted to the 

9 Congress pursuant to paragraph (2), copies of such docu10 ment shall be delivered to both Houses of Congress on 

11 the same day and shall be delivered to the Clerk of the 

12 House of Representatives if the House is not in session 

13 and to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is not 

14 in session. 

15 ‘‘(6)(A) On the day on which a document setting 

16 forth the agreement is transmitted to the House of Rep17 resentatives and the Senate pursuant to paragraph (1), 

18 an approval resolution with respect to such agreement 

19 shall be introduced (by request) in the House by the ma20 jority leader of the House, for himself or herself and the 

21 minority leader of the House, or by Members of the House 

22 designated by the majority leader and minority leader of 

23 the House; and shall be introduced (by request) in the 

24 Senate by the majority leader of the Senate, for himself 

25 or herself and the minority leader of the Senate, or by 
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1 Members of the Senate designated by the majority leader 

2 and minority leader of the Senate. If either House is not 

3 in session on the day on which such an agreement is trans4 mitted, the approval resolution with respect to such agree5 ment shall be introduced in that House, as provided in 

6 the proceeding sentence, on the first day thereafter on 

7 which that House is in session. The resolution introduced 

8 in the House of Representatives shall be referred to the 

9 Committee on Ways and Means and the resolution intro10 duced in the Senate shall be referred to the Committee 

11 on Finance. 

12 ‘‘(B) No amendment to the approval resolution shall 

13 be in order in either the House of Representatives or the 

14 Senate; and no motion to suspend the application of this 

15 clause shall be in order in either House, nor shall it be 

16 in order in either House for the Presiding Officer to enter17 tain a request to suspend the application of this clause 

18 by unanimous consent. 

19 ‘‘(C) If the committee of either House to which an 

20 approval resolution has been referred has not reported it 

21 at the close of the 45th day after its introduction, such 

22 committee shall be automatically discharged from further 

23 consideration of the resolution and it shall be placed on 

24 the appropriate calendar. A vote on final passage of the 

25 resolution shall be taken in each House on or before the 
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1 close of the 15th day after the resolution is reported by 

2 the committee of that House to which it was referred, or 

3 after such committee has been discharged from further 

4 consideration of the resolution. 

5 ‘‘(D)(i) On or after the third day after the date on 

6 which the committee to which the approval resolution is 

7 referred has reported, or has been discharged from further 

8 consideration of, such resolution, it is in order (even 

9 though a previous motion to the same effect has been dis10 agreed to) for any Member of the respective House to 

11 move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution. A 

12 Member may make the motion only on the day after the 

13 calendar day on which the Member announces to the re14 spective House the Member’s intention to make the mo15 tion, except that, in the case of the House of Representa16 tives, the motion may be made without such prior an17 nouncement if the motion is made by direction of the Com18 mittee on Ways and Means. All points of order against 

19 the approval resolution (and against consideration of the 

20 resolution) are waived. The motion is highly privileged in 

21 the House of Representatives and is privileged in the Sen22 ate and is not debatable. The motion is not subject to 

23 amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a motion 

24 to proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion 

25 to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to 
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1 or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to pro2 ceed to the consideration of the resolution is agreed to, 

3 the respective House shall immediately proceed to consid4 eration of the approval resolution without intervening mo5 tion, order, or other business, and the resolution shall re6 main the unfinished business of the respective House until 

7 disposed of. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Debate on the approval resolution, and on all 

9 debatable motions and appeals in connection with the reso10 lution, shall be limited to not more than 20 hours, which 

11 shall be divided equally between those favoring and those 

12 opposing the resolution. An amendment to the resolution 

13 is not in order. A motion further to limit debate is in order 

14 and not debatable. A motion to postpone, or a motion to 

15 proceed to the consideration of other business, or a motion 

16 to recommit the resolution is not in order. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Immediately following the conclusion of the de18 bate in the respective House on the approval resolution 

19 and a single quorum call at the conclusion of the debate 

20 if requested in accordance with the rules of the respective 

21 House, the vote on final passage of the resolution shall 

22 occur. 

23 ‘‘(iv) Appeals from the decisions of the Presiding Of24 ficer relating to the application of the rules of the respec-
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1 tive House to the procedure relating to the approval reso2 lution shall be decided without debate. 

3 ‘‘(v) A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 

4 approval resolution is agreed to or disagreed to is not in 

5 order. 

6 ‘‘(E) For purposes of this paragraph, in computing 

7 a number of days in either House, there shall be excluded 

8 any day on which that House is not in session. 

9 ‘‘(7)(A) If, before the passage by one House of an 

10 approval resolution of that House, that House receives an 

11 approval resolution from the other House, then the fol12 lowing procedures shall apply: 

13 ‘‘(i) The approval resolution of the other House 

14 shall not be referred to a committee and may not be 

15 considred in the House receiving it except in the 

16 case of final passage as provided in clause (ii)(II). 

17 ‘‘(ii) With respect to an approval resolution of 

18 the House receiving the resolution— 

19 ‘‘(I) the procedure in that House shall be 

20 the same as if no resolution had been received 

21 from the other House, and 

22 ‘‘(II) the vote on final passage shall be on 

23 the resolution of the other House. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Upon disposition of the resolution received from 

2 the other House, it shall no longer be in order to consider 

3 the resolution that originated in the receiving House.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

5 this section shall apply with respect to agreements estab6 lishing totalization arrangements entered into under sec7 tion 233 of the Social Security Act which are transmitted 

8 to the Congress on or after May 1, 2005. 

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