[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 21, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4428-S4429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PRESIDENTIAL ALLOWANCE MODERNIZATION ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged 
from further consideration of H.R. 1777 and the Senate proceed to its 
immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A 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.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the Ernst substitute 
amendment be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and 
passed; and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon 
the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 4852) was agreed to, as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

       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).

[[Page S4429]]

       ``(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--
       ``(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.

  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed, and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The bill (H.R. 1777), as amended, was passed.

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