United States-Switzerland Agreement on Social Security Message to the Congress Transmitting the Agreement.

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 (P.L. 95-216, 42 U.S.G. 1305 note), I transmit herewith the Agreement between the United States of America and the Swiss Confederation on Social Security, signed on July 18, 1979, the Final Protocol to the 1979 Agreement, also signed on July 18, 1979, and the Administrative Agreement for the Implementation of the 1979 Agreement, signed on December 20, 1979.

These U.S.-Swiss agreements are similar in objective to the U.S.-Italian social security agreements that I transmitted to the Congress on February 23, 1978, and to the U.S.-West Germany social security agreements that I transmitted to Congress on February 28, 1979. These bilateral agreements, which are generally known as totalization agreements, provide for limited coordination between the United States and foreign social security systems to overcome the problems created by gaps in protection and by dual coverage and taxation.

I also transmit for the information of the Congress a comprehensive report prepared by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, which explains the provisions of the Agreements and provides data on the number of persons affected by the Agreements and on their effect on social security financing, as required by the same provision of the Social Security Amendments of 1977.

The Department of State and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare join in commending this Agreement, Protocol, and Administrative Agreement.

JIMMY CARTER

The White House,

February 1, 1980.