Bill Details
S.534 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-02-12 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Introduced Date
2025-02-12
Policy Area
Government Operations and Politics
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
8
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would update the rules for payments to former presidents and their spouses. It raises and rewrites the money former presidents can receive, setting both the yearly pension and the yearly allowance at $200,000 and making those payments monthly. The payments would rise over time with Social Security cost-of-living increases. The bill also adds a new income test: the allowance could be reduced if a former president’s income is above $400,000, and the Treasury Department could ask for tax information to make that calculation. In addition, the bill would increase the yearly benefit for a surviving spouse from $20,000 to $100,000 and make clear that widowers are included too. The bill says it does not change secret service protection or related security funding, and it would not apply to people who are already former presidents when the bill becomes law, or to their surviving spouses.
- Sets the former president pension at $200,000 per year and the monetary allowance at $200,000 per year, both paid monthly.
- Requires both payments to end when the former president dies, and pauses them if the former president takes a paid federal job.
- Ties yearly increases to the same cost-of-living formula used for Social Security benefits.
- Raises the surviving spouse allowance to $100,000 per year, extends it to widowers, and keeps security protection rules unchanged.
Official Summaries
Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2025
This bill changes the compensation provided to future former Presidents and increases the compensation for the widow or widower of a future former President.
Currently, former Presidents receive an allowance equivalent to the annual rate of basic pay of the head of an executive department ($250,600 in 2025), as well as government-provided office space and office staff.
Under the bill, individuals who become former Presidents after enactment shall annually receive from the United States an annuity of $200,000 and a monetary allowance of $200,000. The allowance shall be reduced by the amount the former President's adjusted gross income and interest on certain tax-exempt bonds exceeds $400,000 (although the reduction may be decreased to account for certain security-related expenditures). Both the annuity and allowance shall receive annual cost-of-living increases. The annuity and allowance shall not be payable for any period during which the former President holds a federal government position with a rate of pay other than a nominal rate.
Other changes made by the bill include (1) removing a statutory provision specifying that former Presidents receive government-provided office space and office staff, and (2) increasing from $20,000 to $100,000 the annual allowance for surviving spouses of individuals who become former Presidents after enactment and providing annual cost-of-living increases for such allowance.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 534 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 534
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 12, 2025
Ms. Ernst introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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 2025''.
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, and referred to
in this Act, 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) Annuities and Allowances.--
``(1) Annuity.--Each 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 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 former President;
``(B) terminate on the date on which the 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 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) 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 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)(B), 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 that term
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. APPLICABILITY.
This Act and the amendments made by 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).
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