In the Senate of the United States, 

June 21, 2016. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 1777) entitled ‘‘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.’’, do pass with 

the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 

following: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Modernization Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

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

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

7 and free mailing privileges to former Presidents of the 

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

9 25, 1958 (commonly known as the ‘‘Former Presidents Act 
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1 of 1958’’) (3 U.S.C. 102 note), is amended by striking the 

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

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each former President shall be en4 titled for the remainder of his or her life to receive from 

5 the United States— 

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

7 year, subject to subsection (c); and 

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

9 $200,000 per year, subject to subsections (c) and (d). 

10 ‘‘(b) DURATION; FREQUENCY.— 

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

12 under subsection (a) shall each— 

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

14 which an individual becomes a former President; 

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

16 former President dies; and 

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

18 Treasury on a monthly basis. 

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

20 annuity and allowance under subsection (a) shall not 

21 be payable for any period during which a former 

22 President holds an appointive or elective position in 

23 or under the Federal Government to which is attached 

24 a rate of pay other than a nominal rate. 
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1 ‘‘(c) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—Effective December 

2 1 of each year, each annuity and allowance under sub3 section (a) that commenced before that date shall be in4 creased by the same percentage by which benefit amounts 

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

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

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

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

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

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

11 provision of this section, the monetary allowance pay12 able under subsection (a)(2) to a former President for 

13 any 12-month period— 

14 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

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

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

17 for this subsection) would otherwise be so 

18 payable for such 12-month period, exceeds 

19 (if at all) 

20 ‘‘(ii) the applicable reduction amount 

21 for such 12-month period; and 

22 ‘‘(B) shall not be less than the amount de23 termined under paragraph (4). 

24 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para2 graph (1), the term ‘applicable reduction 

3 amount’ means, with respect to any former 

4 President and in connection with any 12-month 

5 period, the amount by which— 

6 ‘‘(i) the sum of— 

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

8 defined in section 62 of the Internal 

9 Revenue Code of 1986) of the former 

10 President for the most recent taxable 

11 year for which a tax return is avail12 able; and 

13 ‘‘(II) any interest excluded from 

14 the gross income of the former Presi15 dent under section 103 of such Code for 

16 such taxable year, exceeds (if at all) 

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

18 (C). 

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

20 joint return, subclauses (I) and (II) of subpara21 graph (A)(i) shall be applied by taking into ac22 count both the amounts properly allocable to the 

23 former President and the amounts properly allo24 cable to the spouse of the former President. 
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1 ‘‘(C) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—The dol2 lar amount specified in subparagraph (A)(ii) 

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

4 the same percentage by which, the monetary al5 lowance of the former President is increased 

6 under subsection (c) (disregarding this sub7 section). 

8 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.— 

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

10 ‘‘(i) the terms ‘return’ and ‘return in11 formation’ have the meanings given those 

12 terms in section 6103(b) of the Internal 

13 Revenue Code of 1986; and 

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

15 Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary 

16 of the Treasury’s delegate. 

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

18 may not receive a monetary allowance under 

19 subsection (a)(2) unless the former President dis20 closes to the Secretary, upon the request of the 

21 Secretary, any return or return information of 

22 the former President or spouse of the former 

23 President that the Secretary determines is nec24 essary for purposes of calculating the applicable 
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1 reduction amount under paragraph (2) of this 

2 subsection. 

3 ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Except as pro4 vided in section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986 and notwithstanding any other 

6 provision of law, the Secretary may not, with re7 spect to a return or return information disclosed 

8 to the Secretary under subparagraph (B)— 

9 ‘‘(i) disclose the return or return infor10 mation to any entity or person; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) use the return or return informa12 tion for any purpose other than to calculate 

13 the applicable reduction amount under 

14 paragraph (2). 

15 ‘‘(4) INCREASED COSTS DUE TO SECURITY

16 NEEDS.—With respect to the monetary allowance that 

17 would be payable to a former President under sub18 section (a)(2) for any 12-month period but for the 

19 limitation under paragraph (1), the Administrator of 

20 General Services, in coordination with the Director of 

21 the United States Secret Service, shall determine the 

22 amount of the allowance that is needed to pay the in23 creased cost of doing business that is attributable to 

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

25 (b) SURVIVING SPOUSES OF FORMER PRESIDENTS.— 
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1 (1) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF MONETARY ALLOW2 ANCE.—Subsection (e) of the first section of the 

3 Former Presidents Act of 1958 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 government 

12 of the District of Columbia’’; and 

13 (II) by striking the period and in14 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (3) 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) shall, after its commencement date, be in18 creased at the same time that, and by the same per19 centage by which, annuities of former Presidents are 

20 increased under subsection (c).’’. 

21 (2) COVERAGE OF WIDOWER OF A FORMER

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

23 Former Presidents Act of 1958, as amended by para24 graph (1), is 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 or 

4 he’’. 

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

6 Former Presidents Act of 1958 is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (e), by inserting after the sub8 section enumerator the following: ‘‘WIDOWS AND WID9 OWERS.—’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (f), by inserting after the sub11 section enumerator the following: ‘‘DEFINITION.—’’; 

12 and 

13 (3) in subsection (g), by inserting after the sub14 section enumerator the following: ‘‘AUTHORIZATION

15 OF APPROPRIATIONS.—’’. 

16 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

17 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 

18 Act shall be construed to affect— 

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

20 or protection of a former President or a member of 

21 the family of a former President; or 

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

23 1958 or any other law, to carry out any provision of 

24 law described in paragraph (1). 
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1 SEC. 4. TRANSITION RULES. 

2 (a) FORMER PRESIDENTS.—In the case of any indi3 vidual who is a former President on the date of enactment 

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

5 applied as if the commencement date referred in subsection 

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

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

8 date of enactment. 

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

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

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

12 be applied as if the commencement date referred to in sub13 section (e)(1) of the first section of the Former Presidents 

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

15 such date of enactment. 

16 SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY. 

17 For a former President receiving a monetary allow18 ance under the Former Presidents Act of 1958 on the day 

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

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

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

22 the former President, except to the extent that the applica23 tion of the limitation would prevent the former President 

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

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

26 of this Act and under which the former President makes 
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1 payments using the monetary allowance, as determined by 

2 the Administrator of General Services. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H.R. 1777 

AMENDMENT