[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 99 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3499-S3500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 439. Ms. ERNST (for herself, Ms. Sinema, and Mr. Braun) submitted
an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1790, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title X, add the following:
Subtitle I--Presidential Allowance Modernization
SEC. 1091. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Presidential Allowance
Modernization Act of 2019''.
SEC. 1092. 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:
``SECTION 1. FORMER PRESIDENTS LEAVING OFFICE BEFORE
PRESIDENTIAL ALLOWANCE MODERNIZATION ACT OF
2019.
``(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 2019.
``(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 2019; 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 2019; 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. 1093. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this subtitle or an amendment made by this
subtitle 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).
[[Page S3500]]
SEC. 1094. APPLICABILITY.
Section 2 of the Former Presidents Act of 1958, as added by
section 1092(a)(3) of this subtitle, 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).
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