[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 21, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4426-S4427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4852. Mr. McCONNELL (for Mrs. Ernst) proposed an amendment to the
bill H.R. 1777, 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; as
follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Allowance
Modernization Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.
(a) Former Presidents.--The first section of 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 by striking the
matter preceding subsection (e) and inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--Each former President shall be entitled
for the remainder of his or her life to receive from the
United States--
``(1) an annuity at the rate of $200,000 per year, subject
to subsection (c); and
``(2) a monetary allowance at the rate of $200,000 per
year, subject to subsections (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 President;
``(B) terminate on the date on which the former President
dies; and
``(C) be payable by the Secretary of the Treasury 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 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 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
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 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 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 former President and the amounts properly
allocable to the spouse of the 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 former President is increased under
subsection (c) (disregarding this subsection).
``(3) Disclosure requirement.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
[[Page S4427]]
``(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 former President may not receive a
monetary allowance under subsection (a)(2) unless the former
President discloses to the Secretary, upon the request of the
Secretary, any return or return information of the former
President or spouse of the 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 former
President under subsection (a)(2) for any 12-month period but
for the limitation under paragraph (1), 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 former President.''.
(b) Surviving Spouses of Former Presidents.--
(1) Increase in amount of monetary allowance.--Subsection
(e) of the first section of the Former Presidents Act of 1958
is amended--
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ``$20,000 per
annum,'' and inserting ``$100,000 per year (subject to
paragraph (4)),''; and
(B) in the second sentence--
(i) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(ii) in paragraph (3)--
(I) by striking ``or the government of the District of
Columbia''; and
(II) by striking the period and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) shall, after its commencement date, be increased at
the same time that, and by the same percentage by which,
annuities of former Presidents are increased under subsection
(c).''.
(2) Coverage of widower of a former president.--Subsection
(e) of the first section of the Former Presidents Act of
1958, as amended by paragraph (1), is amended--
(A) by striking ``widow'' each place it appears and
inserting ``widow or widower''; and
(B) by striking ``she'' and inserting ``she or he''.
(c) Subsection Headings.--The first section of the Former
Presidents Act of 1958 is amended--
(1) in subsection (e), by inserting after the subsection
enumerator the following: ``Widows and Widowers.--'';
(2) in subsection (f), by inserting after the subsection
enumerator the following: ``Definition.--''; and
(3) in subsection (g), by inserting after the subsection
enumerator the following: ``Authorization of
Appropriations.--''.
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 a member of the family of
a 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. TRANSITION RULES.
(a) Former Presidents.--In the case of any individual who
is a former President on the date of enactment of this Act,
the amendment made by section 2(a) shall be applied as if the
commencement date referred in subsection (b)(1)(A) of the
first section of the Former Presidents Act of 1958, as
amended by section 2(a), coincided with such date of
enactment.
(b) Widows.--In the case of any individual who is the widow
of a former President on the date of enactment of this Act,
the amendments made by section 2(b)(1) shall be applied as if
the commencement date referred to in subsection (e)(1) of the
first section of the Former Presidents Act of 1958, as
amended by section 2(b)(1), coincided with such date of
enactment.
SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY.
For a former President receiving a monetary allowance under
the Former Presidents Act of 1958 on the day before the date
of enactment of this Act, the limitation under subsection
(d)(1) of the first section of that Act, as amended by
section 2(a), shall apply to the monetary allowance of the
former President, except to the extent that the application
of the limitation would prevent the former President from
being able to pay the cost of a lease or other contract that
is in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this
Act and under which the former President makes payments using
the monetary allowance, as determined by the Administrator of
General Services.
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