Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1496 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 17, 2019 Received AN ACT 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1496 RDS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Allowance 2 Modernization Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro- 5 vide retirement, clerical assistants, and free mailing privi- 6 leges to former Presidents of the United States, and for 7 other purposes’’, approved August 25, 1958 (commonly 8 known as the ‘‘Former Presidents Act of 1958’’) (3 U.S.C. 9 102 note), is amended— 10 (1) by striking ‘‘That (a) each’’ and inserting 11 the following: 12 ‘‘SECTION 1. FORMER PRESIDENTS LEAVING OFFICE BE- 13 FORE PRESIDENTIAL ALLOWANCE MOD- 14 ERNIZATION ACT OF 2019. 15 ‘‘(a) Each’’; 16 (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as section 3 17 and adjusting the margin accordingly; and 18 (3) by inserting after section 1, as so des- 19 ignated, the following: 20 ‘‘SEC. 2. FORMER PRESIDENTS LEAVING OFFICE AFTER 21 PRESIDENTIAL ALLOWANCE MODERNIZA- 22 TION ACT OF 2019. 23 ‘‘(a) ANNUITIES AND ALLOWANCES.— 24 ‘‘(1) ANNUITY.—Each modern former President 25 shall be entitled for the remainder of his or her life 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1496 RDS to receive from the United States an annuity at the 1 rate of $200,000 per year, subject to subsections 2 (b)(2) and (c), to be paid by the Secretary of the 3 Treasury. 4 ‘‘(2) ALLOWANCE.—The Administrator of Gen- 5 eral Services is authorized to provide each modern 6 former President a monetary allowance at the rate 7 of $200,000 per year, subject to the availability of 8 appropriations and subsections (b)(2), (c), and (d). 9 ‘‘(b) DURATION; FREQUENCY.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The annuity and allowance 11 under subsection (a) shall each— 12 ‘‘(A) commence on the day after the date 13 on which an individual becomes a modern 14 former President; 15 ‘‘(B) terminate on the date on which the 16 modern former President dies; and 17 ‘‘(C) be payable on a monthly basis. 18 ‘‘(2) APPOINTIVE OR ELECTIVE POSITIONS.— 19 The annuity and allowance under subsection (a) 20 shall not be payable for any period during which a 21 modern former President holds an appointive or 22 elective position in or under the Federal Government 23 to which is attached a rate of pay other than a 24 nominal rate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1496 RDS ‘‘(c) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—Effective Decem- 1 ber 1 of each year, each annuity and allowance under sub- 2 section (a) that commenced before that date shall be in- 3 creased by the same percentage by which benefit amounts 4 under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 5 et seq.) are increased, effective as of that date, as a result 6 of a determination under section 215(i) of that Act (42 7 U.S.C. 415(i)). 8 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON MONETARY ALLOWANCE.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 10 provision of this section, the monetary allowance 11 payable under subsection (a)(2) to a modern former 12 President for any 12-month period— 13 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 14 (B), may not exceed the amount by which— 15 ‘‘(i) the monetary allowance that (but 16 for this subsection) would otherwise be so 17 payable for such 12-month period, exceeds 18 (if at all) 19 ‘‘(ii) the applicable reduction amount 20 for such 12-month period; and 21 ‘‘(B) shall not be less than the amount de- 22 termined under paragraph (4). 23 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1496 RDS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para- 1 graph (1), the term ‘applicable reduction 2 amount’ means, with respect to any modern 3 former President and in connection with any 4 12-month period, the amount by which— 5 ‘‘(i) the sum of— 6 ‘‘(I) the adjusted gross income 7 (as defined in section 62 of the Inter- 8 nal Revenue Code of 1986) of the 9 modern former President for the most 10 recent taxable year for which a tax re- 11 turn is available; and 12 ‘‘(II) any interest excluded from 13 the gross income of the modern 14 former President under section 103 of 15 such Code for such taxable year, ex- 16 ceeds (if at all) 17 ‘‘(ii) $400,000, subject to subpara- 18 graph (C). 19 ‘‘(B) JOINT RETURNS.—In the case of a 20 joint return, subclauses (I) and (II) of subpara- 21 graph (A)(i) shall be applied by taking into ac- 22 count both the amounts properly allocable to 23 the modern former President and the amounts 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1496 RDS properly allocable to the spouse of the modern 1 former President. 2 ‘‘(C) COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.—The 3 dollar amount specified in subparagraph (A)(ii) 4 shall be adjusted at the same time that, and by 5 the same percentage by which, the monetary al- 6 lowance of the modern former President is in- 7 creased under subsection (c) (disregarding this 8 subsection). 9 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.— 10 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 11 ‘‘(i) the terms ‘return’ and ‘return in- 12 formation’ have the meanings given those 13 terms in section 6103(b) of the Internal 14 Revenue Code of 1986; and 15 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘Secretary’ means the 16 Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary 17 of the Treasury’s delegate. 18 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—A modern former 19 President may not receive a monetary allowance 20 under subsection (a)(2) unless the modern 21 former President discloses to the Secretary, 22 upon the request of the Secretary, any return 23 or return information of the modern former 24 President or spouse of the modern former 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1496 RDS President that the Secretary determines is nec- 1 essary for purposes of calculating the applicable 2 reduction amount under paragraph (2) of this 3 subsection. 4 ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Except as pro- 5 vided in section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 6 Code of 1986 and notwithstanding any other 7 provision of law, the Secretary may not, with 8 respect to a return or return information dis- 9 closed to the Secretary under subparagraph 10 (B)— 11 ‘‘(i) disclose the return or return in- 12 formation to any entity or person; or 13 ‘‘(ii) use the return or return informa- 14 tion for any purpose other than to cal- 15 culate the applicable reduction amount 16 under paragraph (2). 17 ‘‘(4) INCREASED COSTS DUE TO SECURITY 18 NEEDS.—With respect to the monetary allowance 19 that would be payable to a modern former President 20 under subsection (a)(2) for any 12-month period but 21 for the limitation under paragraph (1)(A) of this 22 subsection, the Administrator of General Services, in 23 coordination with the Director of the United States 24 Secret Service, shall determine the amount of the al- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1496 RDS lowance that is needed to pay the increased cost of 1 doing business that is attributable to the security 2 needs of the modern former President. 3 ‘‘(e) WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS.—The widow or wid- 4 ower of each modern former President shall be entitled 5 to receive from the United States a monetary allowance 6 at a rate of $100,000 per year (subject to paragraph (4)), 7 payable monthly by the Secretary of the Treasury, if such 8 widow or widower shall waive the right to each other annu- 9 ity or pension to which she or he is entitled under any 10 other Act of Congress. The monetary allowance of such 11 widow or widower— 12 ‘‘(1) commences on the day after the modern 13 former President dies; 14 ‘‘(2) terminates on the last day of the month 15 before such widow or widower dies; 16 ‘‘(3) is not payable for any period during which 17 such widow or widower holds an appointive or elec- 18 tive office or position in or under the Federal Gov- 19 ernment to which is attached a rate of pay other 20 than a nominal rate; and 21 ‘‘(4) shall, after its commencement date, be in- 22 creased at the same time that, and by the same per- 23 centage by which, annuities of modern former Presi- 24 dents are increased under subsection (c). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 1496 RDS ‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘modern 1 former President’ means a person— 2 ‘‘(1) who shall have held the office of President 3 of the United States of America; 4 ‘‘(2) whose service in such office shall have ter- 5 minated— 6 ‘‘(A) other than by removal pursuant to 7 section 4 of article II of the Constitution of the 8 United States of America; and 9 ‘‘(B) after the date of enactment of the 10 Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 11 2019; and 12 ‘‘(3) who does not then currently hold such of- 13 fice.’’. 14 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 15 The Former Presidents Act of 1958 is amended— 16 (1) in section 1(f)(2), as designated by this sec- 17 tion— 18 (A) by striking ‘‘terminated other than’’ 19 and inserting the following: ‘‘terminated— 20 ‘‘(A) other than’’; and 21 (B) by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(B) on or before the date of enactment of 23 the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 24 2019; and’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 1496 RDS (2) in section 3, as redesignated by this sec- 1 tion— 2 (A) by inserting after the section enu- 3 merator the following: ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF 4 APPROPRIATIONS.’’; and 5 (B) by inserting ‘‘or modern former Presi- 6 dent’’ after ‘‘former President’’ each place that 7 term appears. 8 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 9 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 10 Act shall be construed to affect— 11 (1) any provision of law relating to the security 12 or protection of a former President or modern 13 former President, or a member of the family of a 14 former President or modern former President; or 15 (2) funding, under the Former Presidents Act 16 of 1958 or any other law, to carry out any provision 17 of law described in paragraph (1). 18 SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY. 19 Section 2 of the Former Presidents Act of 1958, as 20 added by section 2(a)(3) of this Act, shall not apply to— 21 (1) any individual who is a former President on 22 the date of enactment of this Act; or 23 (2) the widow or widower of an individual de- 24 scribed in paragraph (1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 1496 RDS SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 1 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 2 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 3 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 4 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 5 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 6 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 7 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 8 vote on passage. 9 Passed the House of Representatives October 16, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1496.RDS H1496 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS