Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Wealthy Former Presidents Have Smaller Pensions? (H.R. 1496)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 1496?

(Updated March 11, 2021)

This bill would reduce the allowance paid to former U.S. presidents to a maximum of $200,000 per president each year. The Former Presidents Act would be amended to allow each former president to receive a lifetime annual annuity of $200,000 — plus an annual monetary allowance of $200,000 — each adjusted annually for inflation.

The annual allowance would decrease by the amount that a president’s adjusted gross income in a tax year exceeds $400,000. Any former president who holds an appointive or elective position in the federal government that pays more than a nominal amount would be denied the lifetime and annual allowance.

This bill would increase former presidents’ spouses’ annual allowance from $20,000 per year to $100,000 per year. This would apply to both spouses of living former presidents and widows/widowers of deceased former presidents. 

Nothing in this bill would impact the security and protection of a former president or their family members, or the funding to provide that security and protection.

This bill would only apply to future former presidents. It would not apply to anyone who is already a former president or the widow of a former president as of the date of enactment.

Under current law, presidents who leave office receive annual pensions of $220,000-$280,000.

Argument in favor

Former presidents earn enough money from giving speeches and writing books, and don't rely on their allowance from the federal government. This bill maintains the payments as a safety net — but saves the money when it isn’t needed.

Argument opposed

Former presidents should be richly compensated for their service to the country once they leave office. It may not be their old salary, but these payments represent the nation’s gratitude for the president’s contributions while in office.

Impact

Former presidents; former presidents’ surviving spouses; former presidents’ families; and taxpayers.

Cost of H.R. 1496

The CBO estimates that this bill would save the federal government $2 million over the 2020-2024 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) reintroduced this bill from the 115th Congress to limit former presidents’ pensions and reduce allowances provided to them for post-presidential expenditures: 

“In recent years, former presidents have had no shortage of lucrative opportunities upon leaving office. Despite this, taxpayers are still footing the bill for the official expenditures of former Commanders-in-Chief. The Presidential Modernization Act modifies the pensions provided to future former presidents and their spouses by taking into account the modern-day financial realities realized after leaving office while keeping in place funding for security and protections needed in today’s world.”

After this bill passed the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Rep. Hice added: 

“Times have changed, and no former U.S. president today is dependent solely on taxpayer subsidies to support their quality of life. The modern post-presidency allows presidents to earn big bucks through book tours and speaking engagements, and this bill serves as a simple and fair method to reform presidential pensions. With strong bipartisan and public support, I’m glad the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act cleared the committee by unanimous consent, and I look forward to its consideration on the House Floor.”

Original cosponsor Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, adds that lucrative post-presidential opportunities obviate the need for taxpayer-funded office allowances for former presidents:

“This legislation would end government payments to former presidents who often earn substantial income from post-presidential work. History shows that former presidents do very well financially after they leave office, making it very unlikely that they need taxpayer funded office allowances to make ends meet.”

This legislation passed the House Oversight and Reform Committee by a unanimous vote with the support of one House cosponsor, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). Its Senate companion, sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), passed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs by voice vote with the support of five bipartisan Senate cosponsors, including three Republicans and two Democrats.

In the 115th Congress, this legislation passed the House by voice vote with the support of three Republican House cosponsors. Its Senate companion, sponsored by Sen. Ernst, passed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs by voice vote with the support of three bipartisan Senate cosponsors, including two Republicans and one Democrat.

In 2016, then-president Barack Obama vetoed a previous version of this bill on the grounds that the sudden loss of funded would create “onerous” demands on presidential staff and General Services Administration (GSA) staff.


Of Note: The Former Presidents Act, which this bill amends, was passed in 1958 because prior to that the federal government offered no pension or retirement benefits to former U.S. presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to leave office and receive a pension, while both Herbert Hoover and Harry Truman began receiving benefits upon the bill’s enactment.

In 2015, around $2.4 million was set aside for former president allowances — ~$600,000 per president. These taxpayer funded allowances were used to cover costs for offices, staff, supplies, and other services intended to help former presidents perform duties related to their unofficial public status. 

In a September 4, 2019 tweet about this bill, Rep. Hice cited figures from Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk to make a point about this bill’s necessity. In a September 3, 2019 tweet, Kirk said that the Obamas, who are worth over $135 million, will cost taxpayers $1.176 million in 2019. He argued that former president Obama could “give two speeches on Wall Street at his rate of $1.2M each and take the cost off the taxpayer for the whole year,” but chooses instead to have taxpayers “subsidize his lifestyle.”


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell and Lorelei Yang

(Photo Credit: "Photograph of the Four Presidents (Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon) toasting in the Blue Room prior to leaving for Egypt... - NARA - 198522" by Unknown or not provided - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons)