For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 14, 2002
Message 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 Agreement Between the
Government of the United States of America and the Government of
Australia on Social Security, which consists of two separate
instruments: a principal agreement and an administrative
arrangement along with a paragraph-by-paragraph explanation of each
provision. The Agreement was signed at Canberra on September
27, 2001.
The United States-Australia Agreement is similar in objective to
the social security agreements already in force with Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Korea,
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 lost benefit protection
that can occur when workers divide their careers between two
countries. The United States-Australia Agreement contains
all provisions mandated by section 233 and other provisions that I deem
appropriate to carry out the purposes of section 233, pursuant to
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 Agreement. Annexed to this report is the
report required by section 233(e)(1) of the Social Security Act, a
report 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 Agreement and related
documents to me.
I commend the United States-Australia Social Security Agreement and
related documents.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 12, 2002.
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