Former Presidents: Federal Expenditures for Pensions, Office Allowances, and Protection
Order Code RL34034
Former Presidents: Federal Expenditures for
Pensions, Office Allowances, and Protection
June 5, 2007
Stephanie Smith
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Former Presidents: Federal Expenditures for Pensions,
Office Allowances, and Protection
Summary
Chief executives leaving office prior to 1958 entered retirement pursuing
various occupations and received no federal assistance. Congressional enactment of
the Former Presidents Act (FPA) in 1958 provided the first pensions for former
Presidents and their widows, and authorized the General Services Administration
(GSA) to provide office and staffing assistance for former Presidents. The purpose
of the legislation was to enable a former President to enjoy a dignified retirement
without having to engage in any occupation that might demean or commercialize the
office he once held. The Former President’s Act has been amended to provide
increases in presidential pensions — currently $186,600 — a furnished office, staff
salaries, office operating expenses, travel funds, and free mailing privileges. GSA’s
federal expenditures for former Presidents were $160,000 in FY1959, and will total
an estimated $2.5 million in FY2008.
Separate legislation was first enacted in 1962 to provide U.S. Secret Service
protection to former Presidents in order to protect their lives against any threat to a
“visible national symbol” associated with the presidency. Protection was
subsequently expanded through legislation to include a former President and his wife
during his lifetime, the widow of a former President until her death or remarriage,
and their minor children under 16 years of age. In 1994, the law was amended to limit
protection to a 10-year period for a former President, and his spouse, who entered the
presidency after January 1, 1997. The revised legislation is applicable to President
George W. Bush, and subsequent former Presidents. Secret Service protection costs
for former Presidents increased from $49,507 in FY1964, to more than $23.7 million
in FY2000, the last year in which Secret Service funding information was made
publicly available.
Beginning in 1979, the 96th Congress held three days of hearings on federal
expenditures for former Presidents, and heard testimony concerning rising costs for
staffing and office expenses for former Presidents, as well as for protection costs.
The GSA Administrator testified that the FPA contained no specific guidelines for
the agency’s authorization of funds for office furniture, travel expenses, and the size
and location of a former President’s office. Since that time, additional hearings have
been held, resulting in several past legislative initiatives to limit federal funding for
office and staff allowances provided to former Presidents. The FY1994 Treasury,
Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act contained a provision
amending the FPA to limit office allowances for former Presidents to a five-year
period, beginning in 1998. However, legislation enacted in 1997 repealed this
provision, and restored lifetime staff and office allowances to former Presidents. The
General Accounting Office reported in 2001 that the FPA did not provide any
definition of suitable office space, and that GSA had no statutory authority to reject
a former President’s office location or size request. The President’s FY2008 budget
requests $2.5 million in funding for presidential pensions and allowances for former
Presidents.
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Statutory Intent and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Current Federal Retirement Benefits for Former Presidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Pensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Staff Allowances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Office Allowances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Travel Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Secret Service Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Policy Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Pending Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
List of Tables
Table 1. Length of Life of Former Presidents After Leaving Office . . . . . . . . . . 5
Table 2. GSA Allowances for Former Presidents, FY2008 Request . . . . . . . . 11
Table 3. Total FPA and Secret Service Expenditures Associated
With Former Presidents, Fiscal Years 1977-2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Former Presidents: Federal Expenditures for
Pensions, Office Allowances, and Protection
Introduction
Congress enacted the Former Presidents Act (FPA) in 1958 to provide former
Presidents annual lifetime pensions and office allowances to be administered by the
General Services Administration (GSA).1 The widow of a former President was also
authorized to receive an annual pension if she waived the right to an annuity
authorized under any other legislation. Since 1958, the FPA has been amended to
provide increases in presidential pensions, currently $186,600; office and staff
allowances; and travel expenses.2 The President’s FY2008 budget requests $2.5
million in funding for presidential pensions and allowances for former Presidents
(see Table 2). Legislation was first enacted in 1962 to provide U.S. Secret Service
protection for former Presidents.3 Protection was subsequently expanded through
legislation to include a former President and his wife during his lifetime, the widow
of a former President until her death or remarriage, and their minor children under
16 years of age.4 In 1994, the law was amended to limit protection to a former
President, and his spouse, for 10 years from the date he leaves office.5 For FY2000,
the General Accounting Office (GAO, now the Government Accountability Office)
reported that Secret Service protection for former Presidents, spouses, widows, and
minor children totaled $23.7 million in federal expenditures.6
Statutory Intent and History
Chief executives leaving office prior to 1958 entered retirement pursuing
various occupations and received no federal assistance. It was not until 1912 that
discussions first occurred about providing former Presidents and their widows with
automatic pensions. That year, industrialist Andrew Carnegie announced his offer to
1 72 Stat. 838.
2 3 U.S.C. § 102 note.
3 76 Stat. 956.
4 82 Stat. 1190, and 1198.
5 18 U.S.C. § 3056. This amendment applies to all Presidents who began their terms of
office after January 1, 1997. Presidents who began their terms of office before January 1,
1997, continue to receive lifetime protection. President George W. Bush is the first
President to be covered by the revised protection legislation.
6 U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, GAO-01-983, September 2001, p. 23. The U.S. Secret Service does not
publicly reveal security costs for former Presidents.
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fund $25,000 annual pensions for all future former Presidents and their widows until
they were provided for by the federal government.7 The pensions were to be funded
from the Carnegie Foundation of New York, which had been founded in 1911.8 It
was reported that many Members of Congress deemed it inappropriate that pensions
to former Presidents would be provided by a private corporation executive. President
William Howard Taft publicly declined to become the first beneficiary of Carnegie’s
former President’s pension fund when he left office in 1913.9
At the time, some believed that Carnegie’s proposal was intended to bring to the
attention of Congress and the general public the financial difficulties that some
former Presidents faced after leaving federal office.10 By the end of the 19th century,
public sentiment reportedly dictated that, while it was not appropriate for former
Presidents to engage actively in business affairs, the practice of law or university
professorships were considered suitable occupations.11 In December 1912, two bills
were introduced to provide pensions for former Presidents and their widows. The
proposed House legislation would have provided a $2,000 per month pension for
former Presidents, a $1,000 per month pension for widows, and a $200 per month
pension for minor children under 21, if both parents were deceased.12 Legislation
introduced in the Senate would have provided for the $10,000 annual retirement
pension of the President as Commander in Chief of the Army. It would also have
provided an annual pension of $5,000 for the unmarried widows of former
Presidents.13
In view of former President Harry S. Truman’s financial limitations in hiring an
office staff to handle his mail and the requests for speeches once he left the White
House, the Senate introduced legislation in 1955 to provide retirement benefits to
former Presidents.14 The proposal passed the Senate but was never acted on by the
7 “Carnegie Pension to Ex-Presidents; Bars Roosevelt,” New York Times, November 22,
1912,
p. 1.
8 Ibid.
9 “Taft Would Refuse a Carnegie Pension,” New York Times, November 23, 1912, p. 1. As
former President, Mr. Taft taught law courses at Yale University, and later served as Chief
Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
10 “Carnegie Pension to Ex-Presidents; Bars Roosevelt,” New York Times, pp. 1-4.
11 Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency (New York: Macmillian Publishing Co., Inc.,
1976), p. 214.
12 “President’s Pension Bill In,” New York Times, December 3, 1912, p. 3; and U.S.
Congress, House, Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 62nd Cong.,
3rd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1913), p. 6.
13 “For $10,000 Presidential Pension,” New York Times, December 4, 1912, p. 5; and U.S.
Congress, Senate, Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 62nd Cong., 3rd sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1912), p. 12.
14 Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency, p. 187.
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House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service.15 Two years later, on January
14, 1957, Senator A.S. Mike Monroney introduced S. 607 to provide an annual
pension of $25,000, clerical assistants, and free mailing privileges for former
Presidents.16 An identical bill was introduced by Representative John McCormack,
majority leader of the House, on February 15, 1957.17 Both bills were strongly
supported by Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democratic leader in the Senate.18
Former President Truman’s financial difficulties were very real, as he admitted
in a 1957 letter to House Speaker Sam Rayburn: if such legislation was not enacted,
he would be forced to “go ahead with some contracts to keep ahead of the hounds.”19
Having rejected several business proposals that were offered to him when he left the
presidency in 1953, former President Truman acknowledged his economic situation
was based on the sale of his father’s farm and the publication of his memoirs. In
1958, Mr. Truman became the first former President to grant a televised interview
for a substantial fee.20
Congressional debate in favor of the proposed legislation emphasized that the
expenditures necessary to implement a $25,000 annual pension and office expenses
for former Presidents were modest, “in consideration of the assurance it provides that
former Presidents ... will not want either for a matter of subsistence or for the
necessary clerical employees to answer the letters of the public.”21 The amount of the
proposed pension for former Presidents was based on comparable pensions accorded
to retired five-star generals.22 Majority Leader John McCormack stated that the
proposed retirement allowances provided recognition and gratitude for a former
President’s service to his country, which did not end with his term of office. He urged
favorable consideration of S. 607 to authorize retirement benefits for an outgoing
15 “Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents of the
United States,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, vol. 101, May 5, 1955, p.
5731. See also U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Post Office and Civil Service,
Allowances for Former Presidents and Their Widows, 84th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 205
(Washington: GPO, 1955), p. 3.
16 “Bills and Joint Resolutions Introduced,” Congressional Record, vol. 103, January 14,
1957, p. 480.
17 “Bills and Joint Resolutions Introduced,” Congressional Record, vol. 103, February 15,
1957, p. 1573.
18 Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency, pp. 187-188.
19 Ibid.
20 John W. Chambers, “Presidents Emeritus,” American Heritage, vol. 30, June-July 1979,
p. 18.
21 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Retirement, Staff
Assistants, and Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents and Annuities for Widows of
Former Presidents, report to accompany S. 607, 85th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 2200
(Washington: GPO, 1958), p. 4.
22 “Retirement for Former Presidents,” remarks in the House, Congressional Record, vol.
104, July 30, 1958, p. 15624.
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President who would “not [be] expected to engage in any business or occupation
which would demean the office he once held.”23
Despite strong support by the leadership of both the House and the Senate, there
still existed considerable opposition to the concept of providing benefits to former
Presidents. In an effort to bring their dissenting views “to the attention of the
Members of the House of Representatives and of the American public,” seven
members of the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service prepared a formal
report on why they opposed authorizing presidential retirement benefits.24 They
argued that there was no adequate need or justification to provide such benefits, and
that enactment of S. 607 would create a “separate entity” for former Presidents, with
“an aura of official standing yet a wholly undefined relationship to the constitutional
functions of the Federal Government.”25 Equally problematic for the seven
dissenting Members was the “vagueness” of the proposed legislation’s provisions for
staff and office allowances, which were “unprecedented” in the history of the House
committee.26 One point of concern pertained to the provision to provide each former
President with suitable office space appropriately furnished and equipped to be
located anywhere within the United States. Such a broad provision, the dissenting
Members argued, took into account only the proposed costs for providing allowances
to the two surviving former Presidents, Herbert Hoover and Truman, and overlooked
the future costs that would be incurred as subsequent Presidents began receiving their
pension benefits after leaving office.27
The original text of S. 607 provided that the compensation for an administrative
assistant, secretary, and other clerical assistants for each former President should not
exceed the aggregate amount authorized for the “staff of a Senator from the least
populous State of the Union,” which at the time was $100,000. During House debate
on S. 607, however, it was argued that the staffing provision of the proposed
legislation could involve salaries totaling as much as $120,000 for each former
President’s office, depending on the individual salary paid to each staff person.
House and Senate conferees believed that even $100,000 was excessive, and imposed
a $50,000 limitation on the total compensation authorized for a former President’s
office staff.28 Senate bill S. 607 also originally authorized the GSA Administrator to
furnish suitable office space for each former President in a federal building “at such
place within the United States as the former President shall specify.” The conference
23 Ibid., p. 4.
24 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Retirement, Staff
Assistants, and Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents and Annuities for Widows of
Former Presidents, report to accompany S. 607, 85th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 2200, Part 2,
(Washington: GPO, 1958), p. 1.
25 Ibid., pp. 1-2.
26 Ibid., p. 4.
27 Ibid., pp. 2-3.
28 “Retirement, Clerical Assistants, and Free Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents,”
remarks in the House, Congressional Record, vol. 104, August 21, 1958, p. 18941.
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committee deleted the reference to “federal building,” allowing GSA to furnish
suitable office space for a former President in non-federal office space.29
Senate bill S. 607, as amended, was approved by the Senate on August 16, 1958,
passed by the House on August 21, 1958, and signed into law by President Dwight
D. Eisenhower on August 25, 1958.30 As enacted, the Former Presidents Act (FPA)
provided each former President an annual taxable allowance of $25,000, payable
monthly by the Secretary of the Treasury. The GSA Administrator was authorized by
the FPA to provide and fund an office staff and suitable office space, appropriately
furnished and equipped, at a location within the United States designated by a former
President. The FPA also authorized free mailing privileges for former Presidents.
The widow of a former President was provided an annual pension of $10,000, if she
waived the right to any annuity or pension authorized under any other legislation.
As noted in Table 1, Herbert Hoover lived for 31 years, 231 days after leaving
office, which was the longest post-presidential retirement period among the 30
Presidents who survived the presidency. The shortest Presidential retirement period
was James K. Polk’s 103 days. On average, former Presidents have lived nearly 13
years (12 years, 341 days) after leaving office.
Table 1. Length of Life of Former Presidents
After Leaving Office
Length of life after
President
Date left office
Date of death
leaving office
George Washington
March 4, 1797
December 14, 1799
2 years, 285 days
John Adams
March 4, 1801
July 4, 1826
25 years, 122 days
Thomas Jefferson
March 4, 1809
July 4, 1826
17 years, 122 days
James Madison
March 4, 1817
June 28, 1836
19 years, 116 days
James Monroe
March 4, 1825
July 4, 1831
6 years, 122 days
John Quincy Adams
March 4, 1829
February 23, 1848
18 years, 356 days
Andrew Jackson
March 4, 1837
June 8, 1845
8 years, 96 days
Martin Van Buren
March 4, 1841
July 24, 1862
21 years, 142 days
John Tyler
March 4, 1845
January 18, 1882
16 years, 320 days
James K. Polk
March 4, 1849
June 15, 1849
103 days
Millard Fillmore
March 4, 1853
March 8, 1874
21 years, 4 days
Franklin Pierce
March 4, 1857
October 8, 1869
12 years, 218 days
James Buchanan
March 4, 1861
June 1, 1868
7 years, 89 days
Andrew Johnson
March 4, 1869
July 31, 1875
6 years, 149 days
Ulysses S. Grant
March 4, 1877
July 23, 1885
8 years, 141 days
Rutherford B. Hayes
March 4, 1881
January 17, 1893
11 years, 319 days
Chester A. Arthur
March 4, 1885
November 18, 1886
1 year, 260 days
Grover Cleveland a
March 4, 1889
June 24, 1908
19 years, 112 days
Benjamin Harrison
March 4, 1893
March 13, 1901
8 years, 9 days
Grover Cleveland b
March 4, 1897
June 24, 1908
11 years, 112 days
Theodore Roosevelt
March 4, 1909
January 6, 1919
9 years, 309 days
William Howard Taft
March 4, 1913
March 8, 1930
17 years, 4 days
29 Ibid.
30 72 Stat. 838.
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Length of life after
President
Date left office
Date of death
leaving office
Woodrow Wilson
March 4, 1921
February 3, 1924
2 years, 337 days
Calvin Coolidge
March 4, 1929
January 5, 1933
3 years, 308 days
Herbert Hoover
March 4, 1933
October 20, 1964
31 years, 231 days
Harry S. Truman
January 20, 1953
December 26, 1972
19 years, 340 days
Dwight D.
January 20, 1961
March 28, 1969
8 years, 67 days
Eisenhower
Lyndon B. Johnson
January 20, 1969
January 22, 1973
4 years, 2 days
Richard Nixon
January 20, 1974
April 22, 1994
20, years, 92 days
Gerald Ford
January 20, 1977
December 26, 2006
29 years, 340 days
Jimmy Carter
January 20, 1981
—
—
Ronald Reagan
January 20, 1989
June 4, 2004
15 years,136 days
George H.W. Bush
January 20, 1993
—
—
Bill Clinton
January 20, 2001
—
—
Average length of life after leaving office:
12 years, 341 days
Source: Dates left office are available at [http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Hx/
PresidentialAdministrations.html]. Dates of death found at [http://www.presidentsusa.net/birth.html].
Length of life after leaving office computed by CRS.
a. Grover Cleveland was elected to the presidency two different times, not in succession. He lived 11
years, 112 days after the end of his second term.
b. This figure excludes Grover Cleveland’s first term.
Current Federal Retirement Benefits for Former Presidents
Each former President is authorized by statute to a lifetime federal pension, a
furnished office, staff salaries, office operating expenses, travel funds, franked mail
privileges, and Secret Service protection.31 Since 1958, the Former Presidents Act
has been amended to provide increases in federal pensions for former Presidents and
widows, GSA-administered office and staff allowances, and travel funds for former
Presidents.32 Separate legislation has been enacted to provide Secret Service
protection for former Presidents.33
Pensions. In 1971, the Former Presidents Act was amended to make the
lifetime pension of a former President equal to the rate of pay of the head of an
executive department (Executive Level I), with annual pay adjustments.34 Section
1(a) specifies that a former President shall not be entitled to a monetary allowance
for any period during which he holds “an appointive or elective office or position”
in the federal government or the District of Columbia government, and receives a
“rate of pay other than a normal rate.” The annual taxable pension for a former
President is currently $186,000, and begins immediately upon a President’s departure
31 U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, p. 2.
32 3 U.S.C. § 102.
33 18 U.S.C. § 3056.
34 84 Stat. 1963. The pay adjustment is based on a calculation of the percentage in the
Employment Cost Index’s (ECI) private industry wages and salaries.
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from office at noon on Inauguration Day, January 20.35 The Secretary of the Treasury
is responsible for making the monthly pension payments, as authorized by the FPA.
According to a 1974 opinion by the Department of Justice concerning President
Richard Nixon’s resignation from office, a President who resigns before his official
term of office expires is entitled to the same lifetime pension and benefits that are
authorized for other former Presidents. However, a President who is removed from
office by impeachment forfeits his pension and related benefits. The ruling states,
The FPA [Former Presidents Act] provides certain benefits to “former
Presidents.” A former President is defined in Section (f) as a person who has
been President, is not currently President, and who was not removed from office
pursuant to impeachment and conviction in the Senate. The statutory language
is unambiguous and Mr. Nixon clearly meets the statutory definition of a former
President.36
In 1971, the FPA was amended to provide the widow of a former President a
$20,000 taxable annual pension, to be paid monthly by the Secretary of the
Treasury.37 The widow’s pension begins on the day after the former President’s
death, and terminates with her death, or her remarriage before reaching 60 years of
age. In addition, the FPA prohibits payment of the pension for any period during
which a widow holds an appointive or elective office or position within the federal
government or the District of Columbia government and receives a rate of pay other
than a “nominal rate.” The former President’s widow must also waive the right to any
annuity or pension under any other legislation. Lady Bird Johnson, Nancy Reagan,
and Betty Ford are the current surviving widows. Mrs. Johnson is the only surviving
widow who receives the annual $20,000 pension, since Mrs. Reagan and Mrs. Ford
did not waive their rights to any other annuities or pensions provided by statute (see
Table 2).
Staff Allowances. Six months after a former President leaves office, GSA
is authorized by the FPA to provide an allowance to each former President for office
staff salaries. 38 The staff members are selected by the former President and report
35 U.S. General Accounting Office, Costs Associated with Former Presidents and Their
Dependents, GAO/GGD-85-68, September1985, p. 2.
36 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Assistant Attorney General, letter to the
Administrator of the General Services Administration from Mary C. Lawton, Acting
Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, Washington, DC, August 15, 1974.
37 84 Stat. 1963.
38 As authorized by the Presidential Transition Act, as amended (3 U.S.C. § 102 note),
transition funding is available to the outgoing President and Vice President for seven
months, beginning one month before the January 20 inauguration, to facilitate their return
to private life. These funds are used to provide suitable office space, staff compensation,
communications services, and printing and postage associated with the transition. A
President who resigns before his term of office has expired is also entitled to transition
expenses. For a detailed discussion of transition benefits, see CRS Report RS20709,
Presidential Transitions: Background and Federal Support, by Stephanie Smith; and CRS
(continued...)
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directly to the former President. During the first 30-month period beginning July 20
when a former President is entitled to assistance under the FPA, the total annual basic
compensation for his office staff cannot exceed $150,000.39 Thereafter, the aggregate
rates of staff compensation for a former President cannot exceed $96,000 annually.40
The maximum annual rate of compensation for any one staff member cannot exceed
the pay provided at Level II of the Executive Schedule,41 currently $168,000. While
a former President’s office staff receives federal compensation, they are not classified
as federal employees. However, staff members are eligible to participate in retirement
and health insurance benefits programs that are available to federal employees.42
Besides receiving federal compensation, staff members can also receive additional
non-federal compensation funded directly by a former President, or a former
President’s private foundation.43 Former Presidents’ office staff may include full-
and part-time paid employees, as well as volunteers and interns. GAO reported that,
in several instances, staff members performed a variety of tasks associated with their
GSA-related former Presidents’ duties, personal assistance, and the private
foundations:
GSA officials informed us that there is no legal prohibition that would preclude
the former [P]resident’s staff from receiving compensation from other sources
or doing personal work for the former [P]residents. We are unaware of any legal
prohibition that would preclude these activities. With regard to the former
[P]resident’s staff doing personal work for him, the Former Presidents Act
provides that staffs are only responsible to the former [P]resident in the
performance of their duties.44
GSA’s FY1994 and FY1995 appropriations contained a provision that
proscribed the use of FPA funding for partisan political activities.45 GAO reported
in 2001 that GSA officials had long adhered to its policy to advise former Presidents
“against using federal funds or federally funded office staff time for partisan political
38 (...continued)
Report RL30736, Presidential Transitions, by Stephanie Smith.
39 91 Stat. 1170.
40 In 1964, the FPA was amended to increase the aggregate rates of staff compensation from
$50,000 to $65,000 (78 Stat. 412); to $80,000 in 1967 (81 Stat. 642); and to $96,000 in 1970
(84 Stat. 198).
41 81 Stat. 642.
42 U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, p. 16.
43 GAO listed the following presidential foundations in its 2001 report: the Gerald R. Ford
Library and Museum Foundation, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center, the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Foundation, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Center Foundation, and the
William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Foundation. Ibid., pp. 17-21.
44 Ibid.
45 107 Stat. 1266; and 108 Stat. 2410.
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activities,” and that GAO’s review of the former Presidents’ staff activities revealed
no improprieties.46
Office Allowances. The GSA Administrator provides suitable office space,
equipment, and supplies at any location within the United States selected by a former
President. The funding for this provision becomes effective six months after the
expiration of a President’s term of office. The FPA does not provide any information
or guidance for GSA concerning the office space; therefore, a former President
selects the “city, building, floor, and even [the] location on a floor” for his office.47
Since GSA has no statutory authority to reject a former President’s location request,
GSA officials stated in 2001 that the agency had not issued any written guidance on
the issue.48 In addition, the FPA does not provide specifications or limitations
pertaining to the actual size or type of office space that GSA provides. Since a
former President’s pension is comparable to the salary of the head of an executive
branch agency, GSA applies “the cabinet-level office standard” for the quality of a
former President’s office space, equipment, and supplies.49 GAO reported that
historical space data of previous former Presidents’ offices, and advice from GSA
officials, were used in determining the total square footage of office space requested
by two former Presidents.50 After inspecting the offices of four former Presidents and
two cabinet-level offices, GAO reported that the former Presidents’ offices did not
exceed GSA’s standards to provide office space equivalent to that of an executive
department head.51
GSA, as the lessee for a former President’s office space, is authorized to design,
construct, and furnish the leased space.52 If the office space requires interior
construction, GSA attempts to negotiate with the office building’s owner to provide
a portion of the construction costs, or to offer a construction allowance allotted per
square foot, as part of the total lease cost. According to GAO,
If the costs of the construction exceed the allowance provided by the owner,
GSA and the former [P]resident, as the tenant, are responsible for the additional
costs. Such costs can be charged against the former [P]resident’s account in one
lump-sum, or GSA can amortize the cost as part of the rent over some period of
46 U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, pp. 18-19.
47 Ibid., p. 9.
48 Ibid.
49 U.S. General Accounting Office, Costs Associated with Former Presidents and Their
Dependents, p. 6.
50 U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, p. 9.
51 Ibid., p. 15.
52 GSA also includes space for the U.S. Secret Service as part of the lease for each former
President’s office, and is reimbursed by the agency for rental costs. Ibid., p. 12.
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time .... Using the funds on a lump-sum basis keeps the rent costs lower than if
those costs were amortized and collected as part of the monthly rent.53
As stated earlier, the Presidential Transition Act (PTA), as amended, provides
transition funds to an outgoing President to provide suitable office space and
expenses for seven months, beginning one month before the January 20
inauguration.54 According to GSA, transition funds can be used for interior office
space construction. GAO reported that former President Bush authorized $134,500
and former President Clinton authorized $415,000 of their PTA funds for the
construction of their interior office space.55 After the interior space is constructed,
GSA furnishes a former President’s office with furniture, computers, telephone
systems, and other office equipment and supplies. Depending on the date of purchase,
either PTA funds or FPA funds are used for these office expenditures.56
The rental rates paid by GSA for a former President’s office are generally
comparable to rental rates for similar office space in the same geographical location.
GSA determines the rent it charges to each of the former President’s offices in the
same way it charges rent fees to federal agencies that occupy GSA-leased office
space. A former President’s office rental rate is based upon what GSA pays to the
building owner, in addition to GSA administrative costs and property management
fees. A standard-level user charge, equivalent to space rental cost, is included in
GSA’s budget for former Presidents. GSA, in consultation with officials
representing the former Presidents, prepares an annual operating budget. GSA also
provides the funds for office expenses, such as telephones, office supplies, and
postage costs (see Table 2).57 All FPA funds are appropriated and authorized by
Congress as part of GSA’s annual appropriation act.58
Currently, former President Carter’s 4,223 square foot office is located in
Atlanta, Georgia, with an estimated rental payment totaling $102,000 in FY2008.59
Former President Bush’s Houston, Texas, leased office space is 4,574 square feet in
53 Ibid., p. 14.
54 3 U.S.C. § 102 note.
55 U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, p. 15.
56 Ibid.
57 The FPA entitled each former President to free mailing privileges within the United
States. Subsequently, this provision was repealed when separate legislation was enacted to
authorize a former President (84 Stat. 754), and the widow of a former President (87 Stat.
742), to send free nonpolitical mail as franked mail (39 U.S.C. § 3214).
58 U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, p. 7 and p. 12.
59 GAO reported that former President Carter’s office is located in the Carter Presidential
Center, a nonprofit foundation, and utilizes additional conference and office space that is
not federally funded. Ibid., pp. 12-13, and Table 2.
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size, with an FY2008 rental cost of approximately $175,000.60 The 8,300 square foot
leased office of former President Clinton has an estimated FY2008 rental payment
of $516,000, and is located in New York (Harlem), New York.61
The FPA does not specify the length of time a former President’s office is
authorized to receive federal funding following his death. At the discretion of the
GSA Administrator, a former President’s office is closed six months following his
death to allow sufficient time to complete unfinished business and transfer
appropriate documents and other items to his presidential library.62 The widow of a
former President is not entitled to any staff or office allowance.63
Travel Expenses. Legislation enacted in 1968 authorizes GSA’s Former
President’s Act funding to be made available to a former President and no more than
two members of his staff for official travel and related expenses. GSA makes the
final determination on appropriate costs for travel expenses.64
Table 2 indicates GSA’s FY2008 budget request for former Presidents and their
widows.
Table 2. GSA Allowances for Former Presidents,
FY2008 Request
Allowance
Widows
Carter
Bush
Clinton
Pensiona
$20,000
$191,000
$191,000
$201,000
Staff Salaries
0
96,000
96,000
96,000
Staff Benefits
0
2,000
64,000
65,000
Travel
0
2,000
56,000
50,000
Rental Payments
0
102,000
175,000
516,000
Telephone
0
10,000
17,000
79,000
Postage
14,000
15,000
13,000
15,000
Other Services
0
83,000
76,000
65,000
Printing
0
5,000
14,000
14,000
Supplies
0
5,000
15,000
26,000
60 Ibid., p. 13, and Table 2.
61 GSA reported that the U.S. Secret Service occupies 308 sq. ft. of former President
Clinton’s office space, and reimburses GSA for the space. U.S. General Services
Administration, GSA Awards Lease for Former President Clinton’s Harlem Office, at
[http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentI
d=8980&noc=T], and Table 2.
62 For further information on presidential libraries, see CRS Report RS20825, Presidential
Libraries: The Federal System and Related Legislation, by Harold C. Relyea.
63 U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and Security Costs and Other
Information, pp. 6-7.
64 82 Stat. 1192.
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Allowance
Widows
Carter
Bush
Clinton
Equipment
0
7,000
69,000
35,000
TOTAL
$34,000
$518,000
$786,000
$1,162,000
Source: U.S. General Services Administration, FY2008 Congressional Justifications (Washington:
2007), p. FP-5.
a. This FY2008 pension request anticipates the annual increase in Executive Level I rate of pay for
former Presidents. According to GSA, the additional $10,000 requested for former President
William J. Clinton is for health benefits insurance. Mrs. Johnson is the only surviving widow
to receive a $20,000 annual pension, since Mrs. Reagan and Mrs. Ford did not waive their rights
to any other pensions provided by statute. They do, however, receive franking privileges.
Secret Service Protection. In 1962, Congress enacted legislation which
authorized the U.S. Secret Service, for the first time, to protect former Presidents at
their request.65 This protection, however, was limited to a “reasonable period” of six
months after a President had left office. The following year, the Secret Service was
authorized to protect the widow of President John F. Kennedy, and his two children.66
In 1965, this protection was broadened to include a former President and his wife
during his lifetime, and the widow and minor children of a former President for a
four-year period following his death.67 Legislation enacted in 1968 extended lifetime
Secret Service protection to a former President and his wife, the widow of a former
President until her death or remarriage, and minor children of a former President until
the age of 16, unless such protection was declined.68
The FY1995 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations
Act amended the law to limit future Secret Service protection to 10 years for all
former Presidents, and their spouses, who would begin their term of office after
January 1, 1997.69 The revised legislation is applicable to President George W. Bush,
and subsequent former Presidents. The act also provides that a spouse’s 10-year
protection ends upon divorce, remarriage, or the former President’s death. If the
death of a President occurs while he is in office, or within one year after he leaves
office, the widow shall receive protection for a one-year period. Protection for a
former President’s children is available to them until the age of 16, or for a period not
to exceed 10 years, whichever occurs first. The Secretary of the Treasury can also
authorize temporary protection at any time. Lady Bird Johnson, Nancy Reagan, and
Betty Ford, former Presidents Carter, Bush, Clinton, and their wives continue to
receive lifetime protection under the revised legislation, since each of these former
Presidents began his term of office before January 1, 1997.
65 76 Stat. 956.
66 77 Stat. 348. See also, U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Providing
Continuing Authority for the Protection of Former Presidents, 89th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept.
89-611(Washington: GPO, 1965), pp. 1-2.
67 79 Stat. 791.
68 82 Stat. 1190, and 1198.
69 18 U.S.C. § 3056.
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Table 3 lists total FPA and Secret Service expenditures for former Presidents,
FY1977-FY2008.
Table 3. Total FPA and Secret Service Expenditures Associated
With Former Presidents, Fiscal Years 1977-2008
Fiscal
Secret Service
Former Presidents Act
Total
Year
protection
1977
$378,749
$5,576,349
$5,955,098
1978
$651,965
$7,936,728
$8,588,693
1979
$720,697
$9,072,373
$9,793,070
1980
$739,795
$7,563,432
$8,303,227
1981
$718,325
$9,741,663
$10,459,988
1982
$1,024,405
$11,750,238
$12,774,643
1983
$1,028,820
$10,941,419
$11,970,239
1984
$1,075,176
$10,547,659
$11,622,835
1985a
$1,103,933
$11,416,329
$12,520,262
1986a
$1,036,729
$8,359,615
$9,396,344
1987a
$1,055,273
$9,265,491
$10,320,764
1988
$1,058,305
$8,331,803
$9,390,108
1989
$1,247,848
$13,472,939
$14,720,787
1990
$1,710,716
$12,785,902
$14,496,618
1991
$1,815,394
$12,897,617
$14,713,011
1992
$1,976,800
$13,481,078
$15,457,878
1993
$2,247,506
$18,945,296
$21,192,802
1994
$2,495,498
$18,797,425
$21,292,923
1995
$2,072,824
$20,942,654
$23,015,478
1996
$1,992,168
$21,139,287
$23,131,455
1997
$2,002,882
$22,746,170
$24,749,052
1998
$2,036,002
$22,580,904
$24,616,906
1999
$2,023,888
$23,186,699
$25,210,587
2000
$2,083,331
$23,743,561
$25,826,892
2001
$2,343,000
NA
—
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Fiscal
Secret Service
Former Presidents Act
Total
Year
protection
2002
$3,038,000
NA
—
2003
$3,156,000
NA
—
2004
$3,115,000
NA
—
2005
$2,850,000
NA
—
2006
$2,668,000
NA
—
2007
$2,922,000
NA
—
estimate
2008
$2,500,000
NA
—
request
Total
$54,389,029
NA
—
Source: For FY1977-FY2000 data, U.S. General Accounting Office, Former Presidents: Office and
Security Costs and Other Information, p. 23; and for FY2001-FY2008 former Presidents’ funding,
U.S. General Services Administration, FY2001-FY2008 Congressional Justifications (Washington:
2000-2007). For FY2001-FY2008 (NA), the U.S. Secret Service has declined to reveal information
about its costs for protecting former Presidents and their families, for security reasons.
a. For FY1985 through FY1987, the amount shown includes FPA funds used to pay the rental charge
for a townhouse owned by the federal government in Washington, DC, that was used exclusively
by former Presidents when they visited the capital. In FY1988, Congress eliminated the rental
payments because the property was seldom used. The charges to the FPA account were $62,913
in FY1985; $63,627 in FY1986; and $53,821 in FY1987.
Policy Considerations
Congressional enactment of the Former Presidents Act in 1958 provided the first
pensions for former Presidents and their widows, and authorized office and staffing
allowances for former Presidents. The purpose of the legislation was to enable a
former President to enjoy a dignified retirement without having to engage in any
occupation that might demean or commercialize the office he once held. The FPA
also authorized federal funding to pay for a former President’s necessary office
expenses to permit him to continue in his role as a “dedicated statesman.”70 In 1962,
Secret Service protection was added to the list of federal services provided to former
Presidents, with the intent to protect their lives against any threat to a “visible
national symbol” associated with the presidency.71 In subsequent Congresses,
legislation was enacted to provide increases in FPA allowances for former Presidents.
70 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Retirement, Staff
Assistants, and Mailing Privileges for Former Presidents and Annuities for Widows of
Former Presidents, p. 3.
71 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Former Presidents Facilities
and Services Reform Act of 1983, 98th Cong., 2nd sess., S. Rept 98-637 (Washington: GPO,
1984), p. 2.
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GSA’s expenditures for former Presidents totaled $160,000 in FY1959,72 nearly
$379,000 in FY1977, and an estimated $2.5 million in FY2008.73 Secret Service
protection costs for former Presidents increased from $49,507 in FY1964,74 to
approximately $5.6 million in FY1977, and totaled more than $23.7 million in
FY2000.75
In 1979, the 96th Congress held three days of hearings on federal expenditures
for former Presidents, and heard testimony concerning rising costs for staffing and
office expenses for former Presidents, as well as for protection costs.76 The GSA
Administrator testified that the FPA contained no specific guidelines for GSA’s
authorization of funds for office furniture, travel expenses, and the size and location
of a former President’s office.77 During the 96th Congress, a related oversight hearing
was held on GSA expenditures for former Presidents as authorized by the Former
Presidents Act and the Presidential Transition Act.78 In 1980, legislation was
introduced in the Senate containing provisions to limit federal funding for office and
staff allowances provided to former Presidents. The proposed legislation also would
have reduced Secret Service protection for a former President to a five-year period.
Similar legislation was introduced in both the 97th and the 98th Congresses.79
Congressional debate in the 98th Congress favored legislation to establish
reasonable spending limits on federal expenditures for former Presidents. It was
noted that the increases in the staff and office allowances for former Presidents had
greatly exceeded the “original expectations” Congress had when it enacted the
Former Presidents Act in 1958.80 The “original intent” of the FPA was to ensure
former Presidents a dignified retirement, and the act was not “intended to create
72 Ibid., p. 3.
73 See Table 3.
74 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Former Presidents Facilities
and Services Reform Act of 1983, p. 4.
75 See Table 3.
76 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal
Service, and General Government, and Committee on Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee
on Civil Service and General Services, Cost of Former Presidents to U.S. Taxpayers,
hearings, 96th Cong., 1st sess., November 6-8, 1979 (Washington: GPO, 1980), pp. 187-199.
77 Ibid., p. 224-226.
78 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Civil
Service and General Services, Oversight on the Former Presidents Act and the Presidential
Transition Act, hearings, 96th Cong., 1st sess., May 16, 1979.
79 S. 2408 was introduced on March 11, 1980; S. 1325 was introduced on June 4, 1981; and
S. 563 was introduced on February 2, 1983. U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on
Governmental Affairs, Former Presidents Facilities and Services Reform Act of 1983, pp.
12-13. Legislation was also introduced to reduce the costs associated with the operation and
maintenance of presidential libraries. For further information, see CRS Report RS20825,
Presidential Libraries: The Federal System and Related Legislation, by Harold C. Relyea.
80 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Former Presidents Facilities
and Services Reform Act of 1983, p. 3.
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extensive and costly offices and staff” to support former Presidents “that have done
quite well financially” after leaving office:
The proper role for a former President has been an issue that has faced this
country since the days of its earliest Presidents. In those days, former Presidents
usually retired to private life upon leaving the duties of office. Today, the
pressures upon that role have changed. The Committee recognizes former
Presidents now have much greater public visibility upon leaving office. The
Committee also recognizes its duty to assure public funds are used consistent
with the intent of the law and it believes a prudently funded and carefully
coordinated program of services to former Presidents should be established to
replace the sometimes conflicting, increasingly costly and open ended set of laws
currently governing such benefits and services.81
Legislation was also introduced in the 99th Congress which contained provisions
that would have authorized the GSA Administrator to provide each former President
one suitable 4,000-square-foot office in a federally owned or leased U.S. building at
a location designated by the former President.82 The GSA Administrator would also
have been authorized to provide payment of office staff, travel expenses, and
communications services. Senate bill S. 1047 would have authorized an initial
appropriation of $1 million to the former President in the first fiscal year when he left
office. In subsequent years, the proposed legislation would have decreased a former
President’s staff and office allowances the longer he was out of office. The
legislation was not enacted during the 99th Congress.
The FY1994 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations
Act contained a provision amending the FPA to limit office allowances for former
Presidents to a five-year period, beginning in 1998.83 However, legislation enacted
in 1997 repealed this provision, and restored lifetime staff and office allowances to
former Presidents.84 In one press account, it was reported the elimination of this
provision was favored by the surviving former Presidents.85
The General Accounting Office reported in 2001 that the FPA did not provide
any definition of suitable office space, and that GSA had no statutory authority to
reject a former President’s office location or size request. Previous congressional
debate favored legislation that would provide more guidance to GSA in determining
the appropriateness of expenditures for office space and equipment, while
maintaining an adequate level of support for former Presidents. It was believed that
81 Ibid., pp. 3-4.
82 S. 1047 was introduced on May 1, 1985.
83 107 Stat. 1226.
84 111 Stat. 1299.
85 Karen Gullo, “Former Presidents Avert a Cut in Expenses for Office and Staff,” Newark,
NJ, Star-Ledger, January 13, 1998, p. 6.
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such legislation would “ensure that benefit programs for former Presidents are well
coordinated, more cost effective and subject to some carefully defined limits.”86
Pending Legislation
No legislation to amend benefits to former Presidents has been introduced in the
110th Congress.
86 U.S. Congress, Former Presidents Facilities and Services Reform Act of 1983, pp. 9-11.