119-s534

[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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