II 

Calendar No. 507 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1411 

[Report No. 114–271] 

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 

MAY 21, 2015 

Mrs. ERNST (for herself, Mr. KIRK, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs 

JUNE 7, 2016 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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 2015’’. 

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 by 

11 striking the matter preceding subsection (e) and inserting 

12 the following: 

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

14 entitled for the remainder of his or her life to receive from 

15 the United States— 

16 ‘‘(1) an annuity at the rate of $200,000 per 

17 year, subject to subsection (c); and 

18 ‘‘(2) a monetary allowance at the rate of 

19 $200,000 per year, subject to subsections (c) and 

20 (d). 

21 ‘‘(b) DURATION; FREQUENCY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The annuity and allowance 

23 under subsection (a) shall each— 

24 ‘‘(A) commence on the day after the date 

25 on which an individual becomes a former Presi26 dent; 


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1 ‘‘(B) terminate on the date on which the 

2 former President dies; and 

3 ‘‘(C) be payable by the Secretary of the 

4 Treasury on a monthly basis. 

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

6 The annuity and allowance under subsection (a) 

7 shall not be payable for any period during which a 

8 former President holds an appointive or elective po9 sition in or under the Federal Government or the 

10 government of the District of Columbia to which is 

11 attached a rate of pay other than a nominal rate. 

12 ‘‘(c) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—Effective Decem13 ber 1 of each year, each annuity and allowance under sub14 section (a) that commenced before that date shall be in15 creased by the same percentage by which benefit amounts 

16 under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 

17 et seq.) are increased, effective as of that date, as a result 

18 of a determination under section 215(i) of that Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 415(i)). 

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

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

22 provision of this section, the monetary allowance 

23 payable under subsection (a)(2) to a former Presi24 dent for any 12-month period may not exceed the 

25 amount by which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the monetary allowance that (but for 

2 this subsection) would otherwise be so payable 

3 for such 12-month period, exceeds (if at all) 

4 ‘‘(B) the applicable reduction amount for 

5 such 12-month period. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para8 graph (1), the term ‘applicable reduction 

9 amount’ means, with respect to any former 

10 President and in connection with any 12-month 

11 period, the amount by which— 

12 ‘‘(i) the sum of— 

13 ‘‘(I) the adjusted gross income 

14 (as defined in section 62 of the Inter15 nal Revenue Code of 1986) of the 

16 former President for the most recent 

17 taxable year for which a tax return is 

18 available; and 

19 ‘‘(II) any interest excluded from 

20 the gross income of the former Presi21 dent under section 103 of such Code 

22 for such taxable year, exceeds (if at 

23 all) 

24 ‘‘(ii) $400,000, subject to subpara25 graph (C). 


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

2 joint return, subclauses (I) and (II) of subpara3 graph (A)(i) shall be applied by taking into ac4 count both the amounts properly allocable to 

5 the former President and the amounts properly 

6 allocable to the spouse of the former President. 

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

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

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

10 the same percentage by which, the monetary al11 lowance of the former President is increased 

12 under subsection (c) (disregarding this sub13 section). 

14 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.— 

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

16 ‘‘(i) the terms ‘return’ and ‘return in17 formation’ have the meaning given those 

18 terms in section 6103(b) of the Internal 

19 Revenue Code of 1986; and 

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

21 Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary 

22 of the Treasury’s delegate. 

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

24 may not receive a monetary allowance under 

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


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1 discloses to the Secretary, upon the request of 

2 the Secretary, any return or return information 

3 of the former President or spouse of the former 

4 President that the Secretary determines is nec5 essary for purposes of calculating the applicable 

6 reduction amount under paragraph (2) of this 

7 subsection. 

8 ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Except as pro9 vided in section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986 and notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of law, the Secretary may not, with 

12 respect to a return or return information dis13 closed to the Secretary under subparagraph 

14 (B)— 

15 ‘‘(i) disclose the return or return in16 formation to any entity or person; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) use the return or return informa18 tion for any purpose other than to cal19 culate the applicable reduction amount 

20 under paragraph (2).’’. 

21 (b) SURVIVING SPOUSES OF FORMER PRESI22 DENTS.— 

23 (1) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF MONETARY AL24 LOWANCE.—Subsection (e) of the first section of the 

25 Former Presidents Act of 1958 is amended— 


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1 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘$20,000 per annum,’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000 

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

4 (B) in the second sentence— 

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

6 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking the 

8 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (3) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) shall, after its commencement date, be in12 creased at the same time that, and by the same per13 centage by which, annuities of former Presidents are 

14 increased under subsection (c).’’. 

15 (2) COVERAGE OF WIDOWER OF A FORMER

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

17 the Former Presidents Act of 1958, as amended by 

18 paragraph (1), is amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘widow’’ each place it ap20 pears and inserting ‘‘widow or widower’’; and 

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

22 or he’’. 

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

24 Former Presidents Act of 1958 is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (e), by inserting after the sub2 section enumerator the following: ‘‘WIDOWS AND

3 WIDOWERS.—’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (f), by inserting after the sub5 section enumerator the following: ‘‘DEFINITION.—’’; 

6 and 

7 (3) in subsection (g), by inserting after the sub8 section enumerator the following: ‘‘AUTHORIZATION

9 OF APPROPRIATIONS.—’’. 

10 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

11 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect— 

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

13 or protection of a former President or a member of 

14 the family of a former President; or 

15 (2) funding, under the Former Presidents Act 

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

17 of law described in paragraph (1). 

18 SEC. 4. TRANSITION RULES. 

19 (a) FORMER PRESIDENTS.—In the case of any indi20 vidual who is a former President on the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the amendment made by section 2(a) shall 

22 be applied as if the commencement date referred in sub23 section (b)(1)(A) of the first section of the Former Presi24 dents Act of 1958, as amended by section 2(a), coincided 

25 with such date of enactment. 


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

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

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

4 be applied as if the commencement date referred to in sub5 section (e)(1) of the first section of the Former Presidents 

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

7 with such date of enactment. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

10 Modernization Act of 2016’’. 

11 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

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

13 entitled ‘‘An Act to provide retirement, clerical assistants, 

14 and free mailing privileges to former Presidents of the 

15 United States, and for other purposes’’, approved August 

16 25, 1958 (commonly known as the ‘‘Former Presidents Act 

17 of 1958’’) (3 U.S.C. 102 note), is amended by striking the 

18 matter preceding subsection (e) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each former President shall be en20 titled for the remainder of his or her life to receive from 

21 the United States— 

22 ‘‘(1) an annuity at the rate of $200,000 per 

23 year, subject to subsection (c); and 

24 ‘‘(2) a monetary allowance at the rate of 

25 $200,000 per year, subject to subsections (c) and (d). 


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1 ‘‘(b) DURATION; FREQUENCY.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The annuity and allowance 

3 under subsection (a) shall each— 

4 ‘‘(A) commence on the day after the date on 

5 which an individual becomes a former President; 

6 ‘‘(B) terminate on the date on which the 

7 former President dies; and 

8 ‘‘(C) be payable by the Secretary of the 

9 Treasury on a monthly basis. 

10 ‘‘(2) APPOINTIVE OR ELECTIVE POSITIONS.—The 

11 annuity and allowance under subsection (a) shall not 

12 be payable for any period during which a former 

13 President holds an appointive or elective position in 

14 or under the Federal Government to which is attached 

15 a rate of pay other than a nominal rate. 

16 ‘‘(c) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—Effective December 

17 1 of each year, each annuity and allowance under sub18 section (a) that commenced before that date shall be in19 creased by the same percentage by which benefit amounts 

20 under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 

21 et seq.) are increased, effective as of that date, as a result 

22 of a determination under section 215(i) of that Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 415(i)). 

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


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

2 provision of this section, the monetary allowance pay3 able under subsection (a)(2) to a former President for 

4 any 12-month period— 

5 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

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

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

8 for this subsection) would otherwise be so 

9 payable for such 12-month period, exceeds 

10 (if at all) 

11 ‘‘(ii) the applicable reduction amount 

12 for such 12-month period; and 

13 ‘‘(B) shall not be less than the amount de14 termined under paragraph (4). 

15 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para17 graph (1), the term ‘applicable reduction 

18 amount’ means, with respect to any former 

19 President and in connection with any 12-month 

20 period, the amount by which— 

21 ‘‘(i) the sum of— 

22 ‘‘(I) the adjusted gross income (as 

23 defined in section 62 of the Internal 

24 Revenue Code of 1986) of the former 

25 President for the most recent taxable 


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1 year for which a tax return is avail2 able; and 

3 ‘‘(II) any interest excluded from 

4 the gross income of the former Presi5 dent under section 103 of such Code for 

6 such taxable year, exceeds (if at all) 

7 ‘‘(ii) $400,000, subject to subparagraph 

8 (C). 

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

10 joint return, subclauses (I) and (II) of subpara11 graph (A)(i) shall be applied by taking into ac12 count both the amounts properly allocable to the 

13 former President and the amounts properly allo14 cable to the spouse of the former President. 

15 ‘‘(C) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—The dol16 lar amount specified in subparagraph (A)(ii) 

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

18 the same percentage by which, the monetary al19 lowance of the former President is increased 

20 under subsection (c) (disregarding this sub21 section). 

22 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.— 

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

24 ‘‘(i) the terms ‘return’ and ‘return in25 formation’ have the meanings given those 


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1 terms in section 6103(b) of the Internal 

2 Revenue Code of 1986; and 

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

4 Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary 

5 of the Treasury’s delegate. 

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

7 may not receive a monetary allowance under 

8 subsection (a)(2) unless the former President dis9 closes to the Secretary, upon the request of the 

10 Secretary, any return or return information of 

11 the former President or spouse of the former 

12 President that the Secretary determines is nec13 essary for purposes of calculating the applicable 

14 reduction amount under paragraph (2) of this 

15 subsection. 

16 ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Except as pro17 vided in section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 

18 Code of 1986 and notwithstanding any other 

19 provision of law, the Secretary may not, with re20 spect to a return or return information disclosed 

21 to the Secretary under subparagraph (B)— 

22 ‘‘(i) disclose the return or return infor23 mation to any entity or person; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) use the return or return informa25 tion for any purpose other than to calculate 


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1 the applicable reduction amount under 

2 paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(4) INCREASED COSTS DUE TO SECURITY

4 NEEDS.—With respect to the monetary allowance that 

5 would be payable to a former President under sub6 section (a)(2) for any 12-month period but for the 

7 limitation under paragraph (1), the Administrator of 

8 General Services, in coordination with the Director of 

9 the United States Secret Service, shall determine the 

10 amount of the allowance that is needed to pay the in11 creased cost of doing business that is attributable to 

12 the security needs of the former President.’’. 

13 (b) SURVIVING SPOUSES OF FORMER PRESIDENTS.— 

14 (1) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF MONETARY ALLOW15 ANCE.—Subsection (e) of the first section of the 

16 Former Presidents Act of 1958 is amended— 

17 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

18 ‘‘$20,000 per annum,’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000 

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

20 (B) in the second sentence— 

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

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

23 (ii) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (I) by striking ‘‘or the government 

25 of the District of Columbia’’; and 


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1 (II) by striking the period and in2 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (3) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) shall, after its commencement date, be in6 creased at the same time that, and by the same per7 centage by which, annuities of former Presidents are 

8 increased under subsection (c).’’. 

9 (2) COVERAGE OF WIDOWER OF A FORMER

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

11 Former Presidents Act of 1958, as amended by para12 graph (1), is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘widow’’ each place it ap14 pears and inserting ‘‘widow or widower’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘she’’ and inserting ‘‘she or 

16 he’’. 

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

18 Former Presidents Act of 1958 is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (e), by inserting after the sub20 section enumerator the following: ‘‘WIDOWS AND WID21 OWERS.—’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (f), by inserting after the sub23 section enumerator the following: ‘‘DEFINITION.—’’; 

24 and 


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1 (3) in subsection (g), by inserting after the sub2 section enumerator the following: ‘‘AUTHORIZATION

3 OF APPROPRIATIONS.—’’. 

4 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

5 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 

6 Act shall be construed to affect— 

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

8 or protection of a former President or a member of 

9 the family of a former President; or 

10 (2) funding, under the Former Presidents Act of 

11 1958 or any other law, to carry out any provision of 

12 law described in paragraph (1). 

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 amendment made by section 2(a) shall be 

17 applied as if the commencement date referred in subsection 

18 (b)(1)(A) of the first section of the Former Presidents Act 

19 of 1958, as amended by section 2(a), coincided with such 

20 date of enactment. 

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

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

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

24 be applied as if the commencement date referred to in sub25 section (e)(1) of the first section of the Former Presidents 


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

2 such date of enactment. 

3 SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY. 

4 For a former President receiving a monetary allow5 ance under the Former Presidents Act of 1958 on the day 

6 before the date of enactment of this Act, the limitation under 

7 subsection (d)(1) of the first section of that Act, as amended 

8 by section 2(a), shall apply to the monetary allowance of 

9 the former President, except to the extent that the applica10 tion of the limitation would prevent the former President 

11 from being able to pay the cost of a lease or other contract 

12 that is in effect on the day before the date of enactment 

13 of this Act and under which the former President makes 

14 payments using the monetary allowance, as determined by 

15 the Administrator of General Services. 


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Calendar No. 507 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1411 

[Report No. 114–271] 

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’’, 

JUNE 7, 2016 

Reported with an amendment 


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