II 

Calendar No. 337 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1791 

[Report No. 115–211] 

To amend the Act of August 25, 1958, commonly known as the ‘‘Former 

Presidents Act of 1958’’, with respect to the monetary allowance payable 

to a former President, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 

Mrs. ERNST (for herself, Mr. ENZI, Mrs. FISCHER, and Mrs. MCCASKILL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

FEBRUARY 26, 2018 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, without amendment 

A BILL 

To amend the Act of August 25, 1958, commonly known 

as the ‘‘Former Presidents Act of 1958’’, with respect 

to the monetary allowance payable to a former President, 

and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Allowance 

3 Modernization Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

5 (a) FORMER PRESIDENTS.—The first section of the 

6 Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide retirement, clerical assist7 ants, and free mailing privileges to former Presidents of 

8 the United States, and for other purposes’’, approved Au9 gust 25, 1958 (commonly known as the ‘‘Former Presi10 dents Act of 1958’’) (3 U.S.C. 102 note), is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

12 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; 

13 (2) by striking the matter preceding subsection 

14 (e) and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each former President shall be 

16 entitled to receive from the United States— 

17 ‘‘(1) an annuity, subject to subsections (b) and 

18 (c)— 

19 ‘‘(A) at the rate of $200,000 per year; and 

20 ‘‘(B) which shall commence on the day 

21 after the date on which an individual becomes 

22 a former President; and 

23 ‘‘(2) a monetary allowance, subject to sub24 sections (b), (c), and (d), at the rate of— 

25 ‘‘(A) $500,000 per year for 5 years begin26 ning on the day after the last day of the period 


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1 described in the first sentence of section 5 of 

2 the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 

3 U.S.C. 102 note); 

4 ‘‘(B) $350,000 per year for the 5 years fol5 lowing the 5-year period under subparagraph 

6 (A); and 

7 ‘‘(C) $250,000 per year thereafter. 

8 ‘‘(b) DURATION; FREQUENCY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The annuity and monetary 

10 allowance under subsection (a) shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) terminate on the date that is 30 days 

12 after the date on which the former President 

13 dies; and 

14 ‘‘(B) be payable by the Secretary of the 

15 Treasury on a monthly basis. 

16 ‘‘(2) APPOINTIVE OR ELECTIVE POSITIONS.— 

17 The annuity and monetary allowance under sub18 section (a) shall not be payable for any period dur19 ing which a former President holds an appointive or 

20 elective position in or under the Federal Government 

21 to which is attached a rate of pay other than a 

22 nominal rate. 

23 ‘‘(c) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—Effective Decem24 ber 1 of each year, each annuity and monetary allowance 

25 under subsection (a) that commenced before that date 


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1 shall be increased by the same percentage by which benefit 

2 amounts under title II of the Social Security Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) are increased, effective as of that date, 

4 as a result of a determination under section 215(i) of that 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)). 

6 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON MONETARY ALLOWANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

8 provision of this section, the monetary allowance 

9 payable under subsection (a)(2) to a former Presi10 dent for any 12-month period— 

11 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

12 (B), may not exceed the amount by which— 

13 ‘‘(i) the monetary allowance that (but 

14 for this subsection) would otherwise be so 

15 payable for the 12-month period, exceeds 

16 (if at all) 

17 ‘‘(ii) the applicable reduction amount 

18 for the 12-month period; and 

19 ‘‘(B) shall not be less than the amount de20 termined under paragraph (4). 

21 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para23 graph (1), the term ‘applicable reduction 

24 amount’ means, with respect to any former 


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1 President and in connection with any 12-month 

2 period, the amount by which— 

3 ‘‘(i) the earned income (as defined in 

4 section 32(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986) of the former President for 

6 the most recent taxable year for which a 

7 tax return is available, exceeds (if at all) 

8 ‘‘(ii) $400,000, subject to subpara9 graph (C). 

10 ‘‘(B) JOINT RETURNS.—In the case of a 

11 joint return, subparagraph (A)(i) shall be ap12 plied by taking into account both the amounts 

13 properly allocable to the former President and 

14 the amounts properly allocable to the spouse of 

15 the former President. 

16 ‘‘(C) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—The 

17 dollar amount specified in subparagraph (A)(ii) 

18 shall be adjusted at the same time that, and by 

19 the same percentage by which, the monetary al20 lowance of the former President is increased 

21 under subsection (c) (disregarding this sub22 section). 

23 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the terms ‘return’ and ‘return in2 formation’ have the meanings given those 

3 terms in section 6103(b) of the Internal 

4 Revenue Code of 1986; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘Secretary’ means the 

6 Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary 

7 of the Treasury’s delegate. 

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—A former President 

9 may not receive a monetary allowance under 

10 subsection (a)(2) unless the former President 

11 discloses to the Secretary, upon the request of 

12 the Secretary, any return or return information 

13 of the former President or spouse of the former 

14 President that the Secretary determines is nec15 essary for purposes of calculating the applicable 

16 reduction amount under paragraph (2) of this 

17 subsection. 

18 ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Except as pro19 vided in section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 

20 Code of 1986 and notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of law, the Secretary may not, with 

22 respect to a return or return information dis23 closed to the Secretary under subparagraph 

24 (B)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) disclose the return or return in2 formation to any entity or person; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) use the return or return informa4 tion for any purpose other than to cal5 culate the applicable reduction amount 

6 under paragraph (2). 

7 ‘‘(4) INCREASED COSTS DUE TO SECURITY

8 NEEDS.—With respect to the monetary allowance 

9 that would be payable to a former President under 

10 subsection (a)(2) for any 12-month period but for 

11 the limitation under paragraph (1) of this sub12 section, the Administrator of General Services, in co13 ordination with the Director of the United States 

14 Secret Service, shall determine the amount of the 

15 monetary allowance that is needed to pay the in16 creased cost of doing business that is attributable to 

17 the security needs of the former President.’’; 

18 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(f) OFFICE STAFF.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of Gen22 eral Services shall, without regard to the civil service 

23 and classification laws, provide for each former 

24 President an office staff of not more than 13 indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Feb 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1791.RS S1791

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1 viduals, at the request of the former President, on 

2 a reimbursable basis. 

3 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATION.—The annual rate of com4 pensation payable to any individual under paragraph 

5 (1) shall not exceed the highest annual rate of basic 

6 pay for positions at level II of the Executive Sched7 ule under section 5313 of title 5, United States 

8 Code. 

9 ‘‘(3) SELECTION; RESPONSIBILITY.—An indi10 vidual employed under this subsection— 

11 ‘‘(A) shall be selected by the former Presi12 dent; and 

13 ‘‘(B) shall be responsible only to the 

14 former President for the performance of duties. 

15 ‘‘(g) OFFICE SPACE AND RELATED FURNISHINGS

16 AND EQUIPMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) OFFICE SPACE.—The Administrator of 

18 General Services (referred to in this subsection as 

19 the ‘Administrator’) shall, at the request of a former 

20 President, on a reimbursable basis provide for the 

21 former President suitable office space, as determined 

22 by the Administrator, at a place within the United 

23 States specified by the former President. 

24 ‘‘(2) FURNISHINGS AND EQUIPMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) REIMBURSABLE.—The Administrator 

2 may, at the request of a former President, pro3 vide the former President with suitable office 

4 furnishings and equipment on a reimbursable 

5 basis. 

6 ‘‘(B) WITHOUT REIMBURSEMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(i) GRANDFATHERED FORMER

8 PRESIDENTS.—In the case of any indi9 vidual who is a former President on the 

10 date of enactment of the Presidential Al11 lowance Modernization Act of 2017, the 

12 former President may retain without reim13 bursement any furniture and equipment in 

14 the possession of the former President. 

15 ‘‘(ii) PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION

16 ACT.—A former President may retain with17 out reimbursement any furniture or equip18 ment acquired under section 5 of the Pres19 idential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 

20 102 note). 

21 ‘‘(iii) EXCESS FURNITURE AND EQUIP22 MENT.—The Administrator may provide 

23 excess furniture and equipment to the of24 fice of a former President at no cost other 

25 than necessary transportation costs.’’; and 


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1 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(j) APPLICABILITY.—Subsections (f), (g) (other 

3 than paragraph (2)(B)(i) of that subsection), and (i) shall 

4 apply with respect to a former President on and after the 

5 day after the last day of the period described in the first 

6 sentence of section 5 of the Presidential Transition Act 

7 of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note).’’. 

8 (b) SURVIVING SPOUSES OF FORMER PRESI9 DENTS.— 

10 (1) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF MONETARY AL11 LOWANCE.—Subsection (e) of the first section of the 

12 Former Presidents Act of 1958 is amended— 

13 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

14 ‘‘$20,000 per annum,’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000 

15 per year (subject to paragraph (4)),’’; and 

16 (B) in the second sentence— 

17 (i) in paragraph (2), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (ii) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (I) by striking ‘‘or the govern21 ment of the District of Columbia’’; 

22 and 

23 (II) by striking the period and 

24 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (3) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) shall, after its commencement date, be in4 creased at the same time that, and by the same per5 centage by which, annuities of former Presidents are 

6 increased under subsection (c).’’. 

7 (2) COVERAGE OF WIDOWER OF A FORMER

8 PRESIDENT.—Subsection (e) of the first section of 

9 the Former Presidents Act of 1958, as amended by 

10 paragraph (1), is amended— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘widow’’ each place it ap12 pears and inserting ‘‘widow or widower’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘she’’ and inserting ‘‘she 

14 or he’’. 

15 (c) SUBSECTION HEADINGS.—The first section of the 

16 Former Presidents Act of 1958 is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (e), by inserting after the sub18 section enumerator the following: ‘‘WIDOWS AND

19 WIDOWERS.—’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by sub21 section (a)(1)), by inserting after the subsection enu22 merator the following: ‘‘DEFINITION.—’’; and 

23 (3) in subsection (i) (as redesignated by sub24 section (a)(1)), by inserting after the subsection enuVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Feb 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1791.RS S1791

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1 merator the following: ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO2 PRIATIONS.—’’. 

3 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) TITLE 5.—Subpart G of part III of title 5, 

5 United States Code, is amended— 

6 (A) in section 8101(1)(E), by striking 

7 ‘‘1(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘1(f)’’; 

8 (B) in section 8331(1)(I), by striking 

9 ‘‘1(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘1(f)’’; 

10 (C) in section 8701(a)(9), by striking 

11 ‘‘1(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘1(f)’’; and 

12 (D) in section 8901(1)(H) by striking 

13 ‘‘1(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘1(f)’’. 

14 (2) PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ACT OF 1963.— 

15 Section 5 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 

16 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended by striking the last 

17 sentence. 

18 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

19 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 

20 Act shall be construed to affect— 

21 (1) any provision of law relating to the security 

22 or protection of a former President or a member of 

23 the family of a former President; 


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1 (2) funding, under the Former Presidents Act 

2 of 1958 or any other law, to carry out any provision 

3 of law described in paragraph (1); or 

4 (3) funding for any office space lease in effect 

5 on the day before the date of enactment of this Act 

6 under subsection (c) of the first section of the 

7 Former Presidents Act of 1958 (as in effect on the 

8 day before the date of enactment of this Act) until 

9 the expiration date contained in the lease, if the 

10 lease was submitted to the Committee on Oversight 

11 and Government Reform of the House of Represent12 atives on April 12, 2017. 

13 SEC. 4. TRANSITION RULES. 

14 (a) FORMER PRESIDENTS.—In the case of any indi15 vidual who is a former President on the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, the amendments made by section 2(a) shall 

17 be applied as if the commencement date referred in sub18 sections (a)(1)(B) and (a)(2)(A) of the first section of the 

19 Former Presidents Act of 1958, as amended by section 

20 2(a), coincided with the date that is 180 days after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act. 

22 (b) WIDOWS.—In the case of any individual who is 

23 the widow of a former President on the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the amendments made by section 2(b)(1) shall 

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1 section (e)(1) of the first section of the Former Presidents 

2 Act of 1958, as amended by section 2(b)(1), coincided 

3 with the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act. 

5 SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY. 

6 For a former President receiving a monetary allow7 ance under the Former Presidents Act of 1958 on the day 

8 before the date of enactment of this Act, the limitation 

9 under subsection (d)(1) of the first section of that Act, 

10 as amended by section 2(a), shall apply to the monetary 

11 allowance of the former President, except to the extent 

12 that the application of the limitation would prevent the 

13 former President from being able to pay the cost of a lease 

14 or other contract that is in effect on the day before the 

15 date of enactment of this Act and under which the former 

16 President makes payments using the monetary allowance, 

17 as determined by the Administrator of General Services. 


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Calendar No. 337 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1791 

[Report No. 115–211] 

A BILL 

To amend the Act of August 25, 1958, commonly 

to a former President, and for other purposes. with respect to the monetary allowance payable known as the ‘‘Former Presidents Act of 1958’’, 

FEBRUARY 26, 2018 

Reported without amendment 


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