IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1777 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12, 2016 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

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’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

5 (a) RELATING TO A FORMER PRESIDENT.—The first 

6 section of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide retirement, 

7 clerical assistants, and free mailing privileges to former 

8 Presidents of the United States, and for other purposes’’, 

9 approved August 25, 1958 (3 U.S.C. 102 note), is amend10 ed by striking the matter before subsection (e) and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(a) Each former President shall be entitled for the 

13 remainder of his or her life to receive from the United 

14 States— 

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

16 year, subject to subsection (c); and 

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

18 $200,000 per year, subject to subsections (c) and 

19 (d). 

20 ‘‘(b)(1) The annuity and allowance under subsection 

21 (a) shall each— 

22 ‘‘(A) commence on the day after the individual 

23 becomes a former President; 

24 ‘‘(B) terminate on the last day of the month be25 fore the former President dies; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) be payable by the Secretary of the Treas2 ury on a monthly basis. 

3 ‘‘(2) The annuity and allowance under subsection (a) 

4 shall not be payable for any period during which the 

5 former President holds an appointive or elective position 

6 in or under the Federal Government to which is attached 

7 a rate of pay other than a nominal rate. 

8 ‘‘(c) Effective December 1 of each year, each annuity 

9 and allowance under subsection (a) having a commence10 ment date that precedes such December 1 shall be in11 creased by the same percentage as the percentage by 

12 which benefit amounts under title II of the Social Security 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 401 and following) are increased, effective 

14 as of such December 1, as a result of a determination 

15 under section 215(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)). 

16 ‘‘(d)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

17 section, the monetary allowance payable under subsection 

18 (a)(2) to a former President for any 12-month period may 

19 not exceed the amount by which— 

20 ‘‘(A) the monetary allowance which (but for this 

21 subsection) would otherwise be so payable for such 

22 12-month period, exceeds (if at all) 

23 ‘‘(B) the applicable reduction amount for such 

24 12-month period. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) For purposes of paragraph (1), the ‘applica2 ble reduction amount’ is, with respect to any former Presi3 dent and in connection with any 12-month period, the 

4 amount by which— 

5 ‘‘(i) the sum of (I) the adjusted gross income 

6 (as defined by section 62 of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code of 1986) of the former President for the last 

8 taxable year ending before the start of such 12- 

9 month period, plus (II) any interest excluded from 

10 the gross income of the former President under sec11 tion 103 of such Code for such taxable year, exceeds 

12 (if at all) 

13 ‘‘(ii) $400,000, subject to subparagraph (C). 

14 ‘‘(B) In the case of a joint return, subclauses (I) and 

15 (II) of subparagraph (A)(i) shall be applied by taking into 

16 account both the amounts properly allocable to the former 

17 President and the amounts properly allocable to the 

18 spouse of the former President. 

19 ‘‘(C) The dollar amount specified in subparagraph 

20 (A)(ii) shall be adjusted at the same time that, and by 

21 the same percentage as the percentage by which, the mon22 etary allowance of the former President is increased under 

23 subsection (c) (disregarding this subsection).’’. 

24 (b) RELATING TO THE SURVIVING SPOUSE OF A

25 FORMER PRESIDENT.— 


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1 (1) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF MONETARY AL2 LOWANCE.—Subsection (e) of the section amended 

3 by subsection (a) is amended— 

4 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

5 ‘‘$20,000 per annum,’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000 

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

7 (B) in the second sentence— 

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

9 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

10 (ii) in paragraph (3)— 

11 (I) by striking ‘‘or the govern12 ment of the District of Columbia’’; 

13 and 

14 (II) by striking the period and 

15 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (iii) by adding after paragraph (3) the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(4) shall, after its commencement date, be in19 creased at the same time that, and by the same per20 centage as the percentage by which, annuities of 

21 former Presidents are increased under subsection 

22 (c).’’. 

23 (2) COVERAGE OF WIDOWER OF A FORMER

24 PRESIDENT.—Such subsection (e), as amended by 

25 paragraph (1), is further amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘widow’’ each place it ap2 pears and inserting ‘‘widow or widower’’; and 

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

4 or he’’. 

5 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

6 Nothing in this Act shall be considered 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 law amended by this sec11 tion or under any other law, to carry out any provi12 sion of law described in paragraph (1). 

13 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULES. 

14 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect on 

15 the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 (b) TRANSITION RULES.— 

17 (1) FORMER PRESIDENTS.—In the case of any 

18 individual who is a former President on the date of 

19 enactment of this Act, the amendment made by sec20 tion 2(a) shall be applied as if the commencement 

21 date referred in subsection (b)(1)(A) of the section 

22 amended by this Act coincided with such date of en23 actment. 

24 (2) WIDOWS.—In the case of any individual 

25 who is the widow of a former President on the date 


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1 of enactment of this Act, the amendments made by 

2 section 2(b)(1) shall be applied as if the commence3 ment date referred to in subsection (e)(1) of the sec4 tion amended by this Act coincided with such date 

5 of enactment. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 11, 

2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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