Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.4519 | Sponsor: Rep. Hice, Jody B. (R-GA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2021
This bill revises the compensation provided to a President who leaves office after enactment of this bill or such a President's widow or widower.
Each such President, excluding a President removed from office through impeachment, shall receive (1) an annuity of $200,000 per year for the remainder of the President's life, and (2) a monetary allowance of $200,000 per year. Such allowance shall be reduced by the amount the President's earned income exceeds $400,000. These monetary amounts are subject to a cost-of-living increase.
The widow or widower of each such President shall be entitled to receive $100,000 per year, payable monthly, if such individual waives the right to each other annuity or pension to which the individual is entitled. This amount is subject to a cost-of-living increase.

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 Representatives 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 2021''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Act entitled ``An Act to provide retirement, 
clerical assistants, and free mailing privileges to former Presidents 
of the United States, and for other purposes'', approved August 25, 
1958 (commonly known as the ``Former Presidents Act of 1958'') (3 
U.S.C. 102 note), is amended--
            (1) by striking ``That (a) each'' and inserting the 
        following:

``SEC. 1. FORMER PRESIDENTS LEAVING OFFICE BEFORE PRESIDENTIAL 
              ALLOWANCE MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2021.

    ``(a) Each'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as section 3 and 
        adjusting the margin accordingly; and
            (3) by inserting after section 1, as so designated, the 
        following:

``SEC. 2. FORMER PRESIDENTS LEAVING OFFICE AFTER PRESIDENTIAL ALLOWANCE 
              MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2021.

    ``(a) Annuities and Allowances.--
            ``(1) Annuity.--Each modern former President shall be 
        entitled for the remainder of his or her life to receive 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 General Services is 
        authorized to provide each modern former President a monetary 
        allowance at the rate of $200,000 per year, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations 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 modern former President;
                    ``(B) terminate on the date on which the modern 
                former President dies; and
                    ``(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 modern former President holds an 
        appointive or elective position 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 December 1 of each year, 
each annuity and allowance under subsection (a) that commenced before 
that date shall be increased 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 modern former President 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 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 determined 
                under paragraph (4).
            ``(2) Definition.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of paragraph (1), 
                the term `applicable reduction amount' means, with 
                respect to any modern 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 Internal 
                                Revenue Code of 1986) of the modern 
                                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 modern former 
                                President under section 103 of such 
                                Code for such taxable year, exceeds (if 
                                at all)
                            ``(ii) $400,000, subject to subparagraph 
                        (C).
                    ``(B) Joint returns.--In the case of a joint 
                return, subclauses (I) and (II) of subparagraph (A)(i) 
                shall be applied by taking into account both the 
                amounts properly allocable to the modern former 
                President and the amounts properly allocable to the 
                spouse of the modern former President.
                    ``(C) Cost-of-living increases.--The dollar amount 
                specified in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be adjusted at 
                the same time that, and by the same percentage by 
                which, the monetary allowance of the modern former 
                President is increased under subsection (c) 
                (disregarding this subsection).
            ``(3) Disclosure requirement.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
                            ``(i) the terms `return' and `return 
                        information' have the meanings given those 
                        terms in section 6103(b) of the Internal 
                        Revenue Code of 1986; and
                            ``(ii) the term `Secretary' means the 
                        Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary of 
                        the Treasury's delegate.
                    ``(B) Requirement.--A modern former President may 
                not receive a monetary allowance under subsection 
                (a)(2) unless the modern former President discloses to 
                the Secretary, upon the request of the Secretary, any 
                return or return information of the modern former 
                President or spouse of the modern former President that 
                the Secretary determines is necessary for purposes of 
                calculating the applicable reduction amount under 
                paragraph (2) of this subsection.
                    ``(C) Confidentiality.--Except as provided in 
                section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
                Secretary may not, with respect to a return or return 
                information disclosed to the Secretary under 
                subparagraph (B)--
                            ``(i) disclose the return or return 
                        information to any entity or person; or
                            ``(ii) use the return or return information 
                        for any purpose other than to calculate the 
                        applicable reduction amount under paragraph 
                        (2).
            ``(4) Increased costs due to security needs.--With respect 
        to the monetary allowance that would be payable to a modern 
        former President under subsection (a)(2) for any 12-month 
        period but for the limitation under paragraph (1)(A) of this 
        subsection, the Administrator of General Services, in 
        coordination with the Director of the United States Secret 
        Service, shall determine the amount of the allowance that is 
        needed to pay the increased cost of doing business that is 
        attributable to the security needs of the modern former 
        President.
    ``(e) Widows and Widowers.--The widow or widower of each modern 
former President shall be entitled to receive from the United States a 
monetary allowance at a rate of $100,000 per year (subject to paragraph 
(4)), payable monthly by the Secretary of the Treasury, if such widow 
or widower shall waive the right to each other annuity or pension to 
which she or he is entitled under any other Act of Congress. The 
monetary allowance of such widow or widower--
            ``(1) commences on the day after the modern former 
        President dies;
            ``(2) terminates on the last day of the month before such 
        widow or widower dies;
            ``(3) is not payable for any period during which such widow 
        or widower holds an appointive or elective office or position 
        in or under the Federal Government to which is attached a rate 
        of pay other than a nominal rate; and
            ``(4) shall, after its commencement date, be increased at 
        the same time that, and by the same percentage by which, 
        annuities of modern former Presidents are increased under 
        subsection (c).
    ``(f) Definition.--In this section, the term `modern former 
President' means a person--
            ``(1) who shall have held the office of President of the 
        United States of America;
            ``(2) whose service in such office shall have terminated--
                    ``(A) other than by removal pursuant to section 4 
                of article II of the Constitution of the United States 
                of America; and
                    ``(B) after the date of enactment of the 
                Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2021; and
            ``(3) who does not then currently hold such office.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--The Former Presidents Act 
of 1958 is amended--
            (1) in section 1(f)(2), as designated by this section--
                    (A) by striking ``terminated other than'' and 
                inserting the following: ``terminated--
                    ``(A) other than''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) on or before the date of enactment of the 
                Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2021; 
                and''; and
            (2) in section 3, as redesignated by this section--
                    (A) by inserting after the section enumerator the 
                following: ``authorization of appropriations.''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``or modern former President'' 
                after ``former President'' each place that term 
                appears.

SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act shall be 
construed to affect--
            (1) any provision of law relating to the security or 
        protection of a former President or modern former President, or 
        a member of the family of a former President or modern former 
        President; or
            (2) funding, under the Former Presidents Act of 1958 or any 
        other law, to carry out any provision of law described in 
        paragraph (1).

SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.

    Section 2 of the Former Presidents Act of 1958, as added by section 
2(a)(3) of this Act, shall not apply to--
            (1) any individual who is a former President on the date of 
        enactment of this Act; or
            (2) the widow or widower of an individual described in 
        paragraph (1).

SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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