Friday, June 15, 2007
Tweet[IWS] CRS: FORMER PRESIDENTS--PENSIONS, OFFICE ALLOWANCES & PROTECTION EXPENDITURES [5 June 2007]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
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
http://www.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34034_20070605.pdf
[full-text, 20 pages]
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
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
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
http://www.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34034_20070605.pdf
[full-text, 20 pages]
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
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 11:25 AM
