The U.S. Congress decided to cut pensions and benefits to former presidents

The U.S. Congress decided to cut pensions and benefits to former presidents

On Monday, the House of representatives voted for a reduction of pensions and Federal benefits provided to former presidents of the United States.

Before approving the bill, lawmakers have agreed that former presidents do not need financial assistance from the government if they do receive income, calculated in the millions.

The U.S. Congress decided to cut pensions and benefits to former presidents

In accordance with the current law, 1958, former presidents are entitled to an annual six-figure pension, plus money to pay salaries to the employees of his office building, office space rental and other expenses.

The author of the bill Jody Heath questioned the need for additional funds to former presidents, who can earn millions of dollars on their performances and publication of his memoirs.

According to analysis by CNN, former President bill Clintonand his wife Hillary Clinton, received an average of 210 795 dollars for each paid speech since the time when the former President left office in 2001.

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama receives tens of millions of dollars in profits from the publication of their memoirs (the contracts are already signed with publishers).

In 2017, the benefits and pensions of ex-presidents left 2,84 million from the state budget.

However, the proposed limitation cannot be considered ambitious. Thus, the pensions of ex-presidents would be cut by only 4 000 dollars to 200 000 dollars a year, and the costs of office and paying employees limited to $ 500,000 per year. However, in the next 6 years, the cost for offices of former presidents gradually reduced to 350,000 a year, and in the next 10 years – up to 250 000 dollars a year.

In 2016, a similar bill was passed by Congress and sent to the President for signature. However, Barack Obama has vetoed the bill, fearing that the office staff of former presidents will not be a sufficient transitional period to adapt to the new budget, which, in turn, appear on the security of ex-presidents.

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