The Former Presidents Act was enacted in 1958 to “maintain the dignity of the Office of President”. In 1958, $25,000 was the pay for ex-presidents, but “currently it pays former Presidents $203,700 for the 2015 calendar year and has increased by $2,000 for 2016.” This Act also “provides living former presidents with a pension, office staff and support, funds for travel, Secret Service protection, and mailing privileges. It also provides benefits for presidential spouses”.
The report, which discusses the pensions and other federal benefits offered to former commanders-in-chief by way of the Former Presidents Act, specifies that Obama’s 2017 budget proposes a nearly 18 percent hike in appropriations for expenditures of former presidents. He successfully requested an increase in such appropriations for fiscal year 2016.
“The President’s FY2017 budget request seeks $3,865,000 in appropriations for expenditures for former Presidents, an increase of $588,000 (17.9%) from the FY2016 appropriation level. The increase in requested appropriations for FY2017 anticipates President Barack Obama’s transition from incumbent to former President,” the report reads.
“For FY2016, President Obama requested and received appropriations of $3,277,000 for expenditures for former Presidents–an increase of $25,000 from FY2015 appropriated levels.”
There are many who argue that the Act is being abused as Presidents are not struggling after leaving office, thus the need to “maintain the dignity of the Office of the President” is not what it used to be. So many former Presidents have written books, speak for substantial amounts of money and other private enterprises that the pension paid is really a tax subsidy for the wealthy.
An example of a President who does not need the pension would be Bill Clinton.
Former President Bill Clinton, for example, earned $132 million for delivering paid speeches between February 2001 and March 2015, according to an analysis from CNN. Clinton received $924,000 in taxpayer dollars last year by way of the Former Presidents Act.
Representative Jason Chaffetz, (R,Utah) introduced a bill in the House that would cap annual pensions for former Presidents at $200,000.
“It’s pretty simple. You want a retirement and pension, it’s there. But if you’re going to go out and make enormous sums of money, then you don’t need taxpayer subsidies,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah), who introduced the bill in the House, told ABC News in an interview.
Republicans in the House and Senate have introduced legislation that would cap annual pensions for former presidents at $200,000. Additionally, the bills would cut each pension by a dollar for every dollar the former president earns over $400,000 in the private sector in a given year. The measure was approved by the House in January with bipartisan support.
Obama certainly would not sign such a bill as it cuts back on his subsidized green fees, but at least there is a show of restraint in the House bill that would effect both sides of the aisle if it was passed.
Source: Free Beacon
Really? Obama is gone guys. All the excuses are gone too. Both Houses of Congress are now Republican(since November 2014), Supreme Court Republican control for last 8 years, next President Republican guaranteeing a super majority (7 out of 9 Supreme Court Justices, first time in history). No more liberals to blame. How are they going to explain to the American People why Roe vs Wade is not reversed, IRS is not closed, no passage of “flat” tax, & no repeal of Obama Care etc. It will be entertaining. The dog just caught the car.
President Obama requested $3.865 million in his fiscal year 2017 budget request for the General Services Administration (GSA) to support pensions and benefits for former presidents. That was an increase of $588,000 (about 18%) from the previous fiscal year’s budget, which led to claims that Obama had “given himself a massive raise.”
In truth, Obama requested an 18% increase in fiscal year 2017 because there will be another former president to support that year: himself. The president’s budget request doesn’t change the law or give himself a raise, it simply allocates funding to support terms laid out in the Former Presidents Act of 1958, the Congressional Research Officereports:
The President’s FY2017 budget request seeks $3,865,000 in appropriations for expenditures for former Presidents, an increase of $588,000 (17.9%) from the FY2016 appropriation level. The increase in requested appropriations for FY2017 anticipates President Barack Obama’s transition from incumbent to former President. For FY2016, President Obama requested and received appropriations of $3,277,000 for expenditures for former Presidents—an increase of $25,000 from FY2015 appropriated levels.
Just to make sure that the spending increases that Obama requested for former presidents wasn’t out of line, we looked at what increases President George W. Bush requested for fiscal year 2009, when he was transitioning to a former president. As it turns out, Bush’s funding increase was very similar to Obama’s, the Congressional Research Service reports:
The FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act allocated $2,478,000 for pensions and GSA assistance to former Presidents. The President’s FY2009 budget requested $2,934,000 for expenditures for former Presidents. Pending House and Senate appropriations legislation recommends the requested amount.
Bush requested a 15% increase in former presidents spending before he left office, and Obama requested about 18%. But, to be clear, those increases didn’t change the amount either president would received in pensions. The increased funding was to support pensions and benefits laid out in the Former Presidents Act of 1958.
So, reports that President Obama gave himself a huge raise before leaving office are false
This should be left to the people of the United States of America to decided what he gets.. I believe 17 cents an hour is the going rate for making license plates in federal prison.
When or if he leaves office that’s the first thing to change.
I think we need Trump in office if we hope to get out of this mess.
He needs to be in prison
FALSE: Obama Signs Executive Order Giving Himself a Pay Increase.
F**e news reports President Obama issued an executive order granting himself a $100,000 pay raise.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/payraise.asp
nope but you believe it so it must be true
You know what did happen the repubs in congress reset an automatic pay raise for tbemselves look this up!!!! asshat greedy repubs.