[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 185 (Monday, November 13, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9145-H9148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PRESIDENTIAL ALLOWANCE MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2017

  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 3739) 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 amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3739

       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 2017''.

     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--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections 
     (h) and (i), respectively;
       (2) by striking the matter preceding subsection (e) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(a) Annuities and Allowances.--
       ``(1) Annuity.--Each former President shall be entitled to 
     receive from the United States an annuity, subject to 
     subsections (b) and (c)--
       ``(A) at the rate of $200,000 per year; and
       ``(B) which shall commence on the day after the date on 
     which an individual becomes a former President.
       ``(2) Allowance.--The General Services Administration is 
     authorized to provide each former President a monetary 
     allowance, subject to appropriations and subsections (b), 
     (c), and (d), at the rate of--
       ``(A) $500,000 per year for 5 years beginning on the day 
     after the last day of the period described in the first 
     sentence of section 5 of the Presidential Transition Act of 
     1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note);
       ``(B) $350,000 per year for the 5 years following the 5-
     year period under subparagraph (A); and
       ``(C) $250,000 per year thereafter.
       ``(b) Duration; Frequency.--
       ``(1) In general.--The annuity and monetary allowance under 
     subsection (a) shall--
       ``(A) terminate on the date that is 30 days after the date 
     on which the former President dies; and
       ``(B) be payable by the Secretary of the Treasury on a 
     monthly basis.
       ``(2) Appointive or elective positions.--The annuity and 
     monetary 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 monetary 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 the 12-month period, 
     exceeds (if at all)
       ``(ii) the applicable reduction amount for the 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 earned income (as defined in section 32(c)(2) of 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the former President 
     for the most recent taxable year for which a tax return is 
     available, exceeds (if at all)
       ``(ii) $400,000, subject to subparagraph (C).
       ``(B) Joint returns.--In the case of a joint return, 
     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) 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 monetary allowance that is needed 
     to pay the increased cost of doing business that is 
     attributable to the security needs of the former 
     President.'';
       (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
       ``(f) Office Staff.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Administrator of General Services 
     shall, without regard to the civil service and classification 
     laws, provide for each former President an office staff of 
     not more than 13 individuals, at the request of the former 
     President, on a reimbursable basis.
       ``(2) Compensation.--The annual rate of compensation 
     payable to any individual under paragraph (1) shall not 
     exceed the highest annual rate of basic pay for positions at 
     level II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of 
     title 5, United States Code.

[[Page H9146]]

       ``(3) Selection; responsibility.--An individual employed 
     under this subsection--
       ``(A) shall be selected by the former President; and
       ``(B) shall be responsible only to the former President for 
     the performance of duties.
       ``(g) Office Space and Related Furnishings and Equipment.--
       ``(1) Office space.--The Administrator of General Services 
     (referred to in this subsection as the `Administrator') 
     shall, at the request of a former President, on a 
     reimbursable basis provide for the former President suitable 
     office space, as determined by the Administrator, at a place 
     within the United States specified by the former President.
       ``(2) Furnishings and equipment.--
       ``(A) Reimbursable.--The Administrator may, at the request 
     of a former President, provide the former President with 
     suitable office furnishings and equipment on a reimbursable 
     basis.
       ``(B) Without reimbursement.--
       ``(i) Grandfathered former presidents.--In the case of any 
     individual who is a former President on the date of enactment 
     of the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2017, the 
     former President may retain without reimbursement any 
     furniture and equipment in the possession of the former 
     President.
       ``(ii) Presidential transition act.--A former President may 
     retain without reimbursement any furniture or equipment 
     acquired under section 5 of the Presidential Transition Act 
     of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note).
       ``(iii) Excess furniture and equipment.--The Administrator 
     may provide excess furniture and equipment to the office of a 
     former President at no cost other than necessary 
     transportation costs.''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(j) Applicability.--Subsections (f), (g) (other than 
     paragraph (2)(B)(i) of that subsection), and (i) shall apply 
     with respect to a former President on and after the day after 
     the last day of the period described in the first sentence of 
     section 5 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 
     U.S.C. 102 note).''.
       (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 (h) (as redesignated by subsection 
     (a)(1)), by inserting after the subsection enumerator the 
     following: ``Definition.--''; and
       (3) in subsection (i) (as redesignated by subsection 
     (a)(1)), by inserting after the subsection enumerator the 
     following: ``Authorization of Appropriations.--''.
       (d) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Title 5.--Subpart G of part III of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (A) in section 8101(1)(E), by striking ``1(b)'' and 
     inserting ``1(f)'';
       (B) in section 8331(1)(I), by striking ``1(b)'' and 
     inserting ``1(f)'';
       (C) in section 8701(a)(9), by striking ``1(b)'' and 
     inserting ``1(f)''; and
       (D) in section 8901(1)(H) by striking ``1(b)'' and 
     inserting ``1(f)''.
       (2) Presidential transition act of 1963.--Section 5 of the 
     Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is 
     amended by striking the last sentence.

     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;
       (2) funding, under the Former Presidents Act of 1958 or any 
     other law, to carry out any provision of law described in 
     paragraph (1); or
       (3) funding for any office space lease in effect on the day 
     before the date of enactment of this Act under subsection (c) 
     of the first section of the Former Presidents Act of 1958 (as 
     in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 
     Act) until the expiration date contained in the lease, if the 
     lease was submitted to the Committee on Oversight and 
     Government Reform of the House of Representatives on April 
     12, 2017.

     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 amendments made by section 2(a) shall be applied as if 
     the commencement date referred in subsections (a)(1)(B) and 
     (a)(2)(A) of the first section of the Former Presidents Act 
     of 1958, as amended by section 2(a), coincided with the date 
     that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
       (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 the date that is 
     180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

     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 SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice) and the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. 
Kelly) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 3739, a bill I introduced to limit 
the allowances paid to former Presidents.
  Congress passed the Former Presidents Act of 1958 to maintain the 
dignity of the Office of the President and assist former Presidents who 
did not have sufficient financial resources. It is a noble purpose, but 
times have changed. When the Former Presidents Act was passed, Herbert 
Hoover and Harry Truman were the only two former living Presidents. 
Unlike the more recent former Presidents, they did not earn millions of 
dollars from speaking fees and book deals after leaving office.
  For example, President Clinton earned more than $100 million in 
speaking fees between 2001 and 2013. President George W. Bush received 
$10 million for his book deal. In April 2017, President Obama spoke at 
a Wall Street firm for a fee of $400,000, and he and the former First 
Lady also reportedly signed a joint book deal worth over $65 million.
  It is a fact of the modern Presidency that these lucrative financial 
opportunities are available now as they were not to former Presidents. 
Because of these opportunities, it is no longer necessary to provide 
taxpayer-funded support to former Presidents in the same way as 
envisioned in 1958.
  H.R. 3739 presents a fair way to reduce taxpayer support to those 
former Presidents who no longer need such assistance. Furthermore, with 
our Nation facing $20 trillion in debt, we must find ways to save 
taxpayer money, and our former Presidents will lead by example in 
cutting costs under this bill.
  The Presidential Allowance Modernization Act reforms pensions and 
allowances provided to former Presidents and surviving spouses and 
reduces unnecessary costs to the taxpayer.
  This bill sets a former President's pension at $200,000, compared to 
current law where the pension is linked to the Cabinet Secretary's pay 
level, currently at $204,700. Surviving spouses of former Presidents 
will be eligible for a pension of $100,000, a more realistic amount 
than the $20,000 pension available under current law.
  Currently, former Presidents are also eligible for other benefits 
paid through annual appropriations. These include

[[Page H9147]]

office space and leases, furniture and supplies, and staff salaries. 
Such additional benefits provided to former Presidents totaled $2.84 
million in fiscal year 2017 and $2.43 million the year before.
  Instead, this bill will provide a $500,000 lump sum allowance for 
each eligible former President to cover such expenses. This allowance 
will be reduced dollar-for-dollar for any earned income in excess of 
$400,000. For example, a former President making $900,000 in earned 
income would not be eligible for the allowance.
  For former Presidents eligible for the allowance, the allowance will 
decrease over time. Five years after the former President has left 
office, the allowance is reduced to $350,000, and then 10 years later, 
the allowance is reduced to $250,000.
  In the 114th Congress, the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act 
of 2016 was passed, but it was not signed into law. Senator Joni Ernst 
and I have worked with other stakeholders to improve the bill in 2017. 
This 2017 bill advances the same principles of accountability and 
modernization as the 2016 legislation but makes some key changes.
  First, the bill provides a 6-month period after the date of enactment 
before the bill takes effect to ensure current former Presidents have 
time to plan for the changes.
  Second, the bill increases the allowance amount from $200,000 in the 
previous bill language to $500,000. However, as described earlier, this 
allowance decreases over time, but it is not entirely eliminated should 
a former President be eligible for the allowance.
  The office of the former President is an important institution to 
support in a nominal way. We were all recently reminded of the 
importance of this institution by the joint effort of former Presidents 
to raise hurricane relief funds.
  The third change made in this version of the bill is the pension and 
allowance are terminated 30 days after the death of a former 
President--instead of immediately upon death. This change was made to 
accommodate the work that must be done to wrap up the affairs of a 
former President.

                              {time}  1645

  Finally, I want to assure my colleagues that this bill does not 
impact funding for the security or protection of a former President.
  Again, I want to thank Senator Ernst for her work on this bill in the 
previous years and this particular bill in 2017. It has been a real 
pleasure to work with her and her staff.
  I want to acknowledge Members such as Mr. Cummings, Mr. Grothman, and 
the former chairman, Mr. Chaffetz, whose work on this bill last year 
positioned us to be successful this year. I also want to express my 
gratitude to the professional staff on the House Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee, who have put in so many hours of work on 
this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation would amend the Former Presidents Act 
of 1958 to cap a former President's annual pension at $200,000 indexed 
to inflation. The bill also would provide an additional annual 
allowance for expenses that would start at $500,000 per year and 
decrease gradually to $250,000. Under this bill, the annual allowance 
would be reduced dollar for dollar in instances in which a former 
President's adjusted gross income in a taxable year exceeds $400,000.
  Taxpayers should not have to pay for a former President's allowance 
if the former President is making a comfortable living earning millions 
of dollars a year, as many former Presidents do. This legislation would 
not affect any funding for the security and protection of former 
Presidents and their spouses. This legislation would update the pension 
amount for surviving spouses of former Presidents, which has been 
unchanged since 1958, by increasing it from $20,000 to $100,000.
  Last Congress, President Obama vetoed a previous version of this 
legislation because it would have had unintended consequences. For 
example, due to technical drafting errors, it would have resulted in 
the immediate termination of the salary and benefits of certain staff 
of the former Presidents. It would also have resulted in the 
termination of leases for office space and the removal of furniture and 
equipment. That was clearly not an acceptable situation, and I am glad 
we have been able to resolve these problems in the legislation before 
us today.
  I believe this bill makes fiscal sense, and I urge Members to support 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District 
of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Illinois for 
yielding to me.
  I would also like to thank Representative Hice, our own Chairman 
Gowdy, and Ranking Member Cummings for including in this bill, like the 
similar bill from the last Congress, an update to the Former Presidents 
Act to reflect the positively changed status of the District of 
Columbia government since the enactment of the Former Presidents Act of 
1958. As it affects the District of Columbia, this bill provides an 
update to indeed reflect the law regarding the District of Columbia as 
it is now as opposed to how it was at the time the Former Presidents 
Act was originally passed in 1958.
  In 1958, the District of Columbia had no elected local government. It 
didn't have any member of this body to draw this matter to the 
attention of the House. Instead, the D.C. government was run by three 
Presidentially appointed commissioners, and all locally raised D.C. 
funds were deposited in the U.S. Treasury--locally raised, but put 
right there in the Treasury--and the Federal Government paid the 
employer contribution of the pensions of D.C. government employees. You 
can see why D.C. thought of itself at that time as a colony of the 
United States of America.
  We have changed all that. Thanks to the Home Rule Act and the work of 
this Congress, this bill would treat employment of former Presidents 
and the widows of former Presidents in the District government in the 
same manner as employment in other local and State governments.
  The Former Presidents Act was intended to prevent former Presidents 
and widows of former Presidents from double-dipping in the Treasury by 
collecting a Federal pension during any period they were employed by 
the Federal Government or the D.C. government, just in case that 
happened. However, the Former Presidents Act became outdated with 
respect to the D.C. government after Congress passed the Home Rule Act 
of 1973, and it needs to be updated.
  The Home Rule Act granted the District of Columbia a locally elected 
government. Under the Home Rule Act, D.C. local funds consisting of 
local taxes and fees are deposited in D.C. government accounts, not the 
U.S. Treasury. Also, because of the Home Rule Act, former Presidents 
and widows of former Presidents would not be double-dipping by 
collecting both a Federal pension and a salary from the D.C. government 
because they are funded by what is now different governments.
  I am very grateful that the House passed this bill last year. This 
is, of course, leftover business from more than 40 years ago.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to 
the gentlewoman.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding me 
another minute.
  While the District of Columbia struggles to become the 51st State, we 
certainly appreciate at least being recognized as an independent 
jurisdiction and no longer a ward of the Federal Government, as granted 
by the Home Rule Act of 1973.
  I particularly appreciate my friends from the Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee, on which I serve, seeing to it that this 
bill came to the floor, and Congressman Hice as well, and I appreciate 
the leadership for placing this bill on this calendar.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the adoption of this bill.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this 
bill,

[[Page H9148]]

and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3739, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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