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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide 
for Congressional oversight and approval of totalization 
agreements. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Totalization Agree-
ment Congressional Approval Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL AND APPROVAL OF TOTALIZATION 
AGREEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 233(e) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 433(e)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(e)(1) Any agreement to establish a totalization ar-
rangement 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 agree-
ment, 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 pro-
vided 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 para-
graph (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 Presi-
dent’s report shall include the following:
‘‘(i) an estimate by the Chief Actuary of the So-
cial 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, and 
‘‘(iv) a statement describing how and to what 
extent the agreement makes progress in achieving 
the purposes, policies, and objectives of this title. 
‘‘(B) If any separate agreement or other under-
standing with another country (whether oral or in writing) 
relating to an agreement to establish a totalization ar-
rangement under this section is not disclosed to the Con-
gress in the transmittal to the Congress under this para-
graph of the agreement to establish a totalization arrange-
ment, then such separate agreement or understanding 
shall not be considered to be part of the agreement ap-
proved 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 ‘ap-
proval 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 
lllllll establishing totalization arrangements 
between the social security system established by title II 
of such Act and the social security system of 
lllllll, transmitted to the Congress by the 
President on llllll, is hereby approved.’, the first 
two blanks therein being filled with the name of the coun-
try with which the United States entered into the agree-
ment, 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, re-
spectively, 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 agree-
ment 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 docu-
ment 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 Rep-
resentatives 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 ma-
jority 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 trans-
mitted, the approval resolution with respect to such agree-
ment shall be introduced in that House, as provided in 
the proceeding 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 intro-
duced 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 enter-
tain 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 dis-
agreed 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 re-
spective House the Member’s intention to make the mo-
tion, except that, in the case of the House of Representa-
tives, the motion may be made without such prior an-
nouncement if the motion is made by direction of the Com-
mittee 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 Sen-
ate 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 pro-
ceed to the consideration of the resolution is agreed to, 
the respective House shall immediately proceed to consid-
eration of the approval resolution without intervening mo-
tion, order, or other business, and the resolution shall re-
main 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 reso-
lution, 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 de-
bate 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 Of-
ficer relating to the application of the rules of the respec-
tive House to the procedure relating to the approval reso-
lution 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 fol-
lowing 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) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall apply with respect to agreements estab-
lishing totalization arrangements entered into under sec-
tion 233 of the Social Security Act which are transmitted 
to the Congress on or after May 1, 2005. 
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