Crs Report for Congress - Former Presidents: Federal Expenditures for Pensions, Office Allowances, and Protection: June 5, 2007 - Rl34034 (Paperback)

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 ...