I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1496 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 5, 2019 
Mr. HICE of Georgia (for himself and Mr. CUMMINGS) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Allowance 
Modernization Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 
(a) FORMER PRESIDENTS.—The first section of the 
Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide retirement, clerical assist-
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ants, and free mailing privileges to former Presidents of 
the United States, and for other purposes’’, approved Au-
gust 25, 1958 (commonly known as the ‘‘Former Presi-
dents Act of 1958’’) (3 U.S.C. 102 note), is amended by 
striking the matter preceding subsection (e) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(a) ANNUITIES AND ALLOWANCES.— 
‘‘(1) ANNUITY.—Each former President shall 
be entitled for the remainder of his or her life to re-
ceive from the United States an annuity at the rate 
of $200,000 per year, subject to subsections (b)(2) 
and (c), to be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury. 
‘‘(2) ALLOWANCE.—The Administrator of Gen-
eral Services is authorized to provide each former 
President a monetary allowance at the rate of 
$200,000 per year, subject to the availability of ap-
propriations and subsections (b)(2), (c), and (d). 
‘‘(b) DURATION; FREQUENCY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The annuity and allowance 
under subsection (a) shall each— 
‘‘(A) commence on the day after the date 
on which an individual becomes a former Presi-
dent; 
‘‘(B) terminate on the date on which the 
former President dies; and 
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‘‘(C) be payable on a monthly basis. 
‘‘(2) APPOINTIVE OR ELECTIVE POSITIONS.— 
The annuity and allowance under subsection (a) 
shall not be payable for any period during which a 
former President holds an appointive or elective po-
sition in or under the Federal Government to which 
is attached a rate of pay other than a nominal rate. 
‘‘(c) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—Effective Decem-
ber 1 of each year, each annuity and allowance under sub-
section (a) that commenced before that date shall be in-
creased by the same percentage by which benefit amounts 
under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 
et seq.) are increased, effective as of that date, as a result 
of a determination under section 215(i) of that Act (42 
U.S.C. 415(i)). 
‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON MONETARY ALLOWANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this section, the monetary allowance 
payable under subsection (a)(2) to a former Presi-
dent for any 12-month period— 
‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), may not exceed the amount by which— 
‘‘(i) the monetary allowance that (but 
for this subsection) would otherwise be so 
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payable for such 12-month period, exceeds 
(if at all) 
‘‘(ii) the applicable reduction amount 
for such 12-month period; and 
‘‘(B) shall not be less than the amount de-
termined under paragraph (4). 
‘‘(2) DEFINITION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para-
graph (1), the term ‘applicable reduction 
amount’ means, with respect to any former 
President and in connection with any 12-month 
period, the amount by which— 
‘‘(i) the sum of— 
‘‘(I) the adjusted gross income 
(as defined in section 62 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986) of the 
former President for the most recent 
taxable year for which a tax return is 
available; and 
‘‘(II) any interest excluded from 
the gross income of the former Presi-
dent under section 103 of such Code 
for such taxable year, exceeds (if at 
all) 
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