Republicans in Congress want to cut retirement Obama and other former presidents

Republicans in Congress want to cut retirement Obama and other former presidents

WASHINGTON, may 5. /Offset. TASS Dmitry Kirsanov/. Members of the ruling Republican party in the U.S. Congress are going to attempt to significantly reduce the pensions paid to Barack Obama and other former American presidents.

The bill relevant content will be submitted to Congress later this month. To make this step going the Chairperson of the Committee on oversight and government reform of the house of representatives Jason Chaffetz (from Utah) and acceding States Senator Joni Ernst (Iowa).

No more than 400 thousand

As reported on Thursday the newspaper USA Today, developed for these Republicans, the bill provides for an annual limit of $200 thousand for the payment of pensions to former heads of state. In addition, the document sets a similar limit on covered from the Federal budget various expenses of ex-presidents, associated primarily with staff assistants.

Finally, the bill instructs the US government to reduce the payments to the ex-presidents, if the additional revenues exceed the last $400 thousand per year. In such cases, pensions, and payments for entertainment expenses, in accordance with the bill, is expected to cut in proportion to the additional income.

The reason for the preparation of the bill have become recently publicized information that Obama will receive a fee in the amount of $400 thousand for a forthcoming performance with a single speech at the conference, which is organized by the major firm on wall street. This amount is approximately seven times greater than the annual income of the average American family and equal to the annual amount of the stipend, which Obama has received while in the White house.

The second attempt Chaffetz

Chaffetz in 2016 have already made to Congress almost identical to the one described in the bill. He then received bipartisan support and was unanimously approved by the House of representatives and the Senate. However, in respect of the bill in July, has used its veto Democrat Obama.

He expressed the opinion that, in the case of acquiring the document the force of law, could be negative “unforeseen circumstances”, and the former presidents would constitute “undue (financial) burden”, forcing, for example, to fire the assistants and urgent to look for less expensive offices.

The initiative of the Republican Chaffetz last year supported the senior Democrat of the Committee on oversight and government reform of the house of representatives Elijah Cummings (Maryland), became a cosponsor of the bill. His press Secretary Jennifer Hoffman-Warner confirmed that Cummings is going to vote for a new similar document will be resolved if associated with certain “technical issues”.

The 41st U.S. President George H. W. Bush through his press Secretary Jim McGrath signaled that no objection to the initiative Chaffetz and Ernst. For its part the official representative of the Obama Kevin Lewis stated that the previous U.S. President has no comments regarding the generated bill.

The current law

Currently, U.S. law authorizes the payment of five living former heads of the US administration of pensions equal to the current annual salary of the Ministers ($207.8 U.S. million). In addition, ex-presidents owed $150 thousand per year for the services of assistants and rent furnished and equipped with office equipment office plus some other payments. In General, former presidents receive annually from $430 thousand, as is the case with Jimmy Carter, to $1.1 million — as with George Bush. Prepared even if Obama is another bill which on Wednesday was passed by the House of representatives but not yet passed the Senate, provides for increases in pensions and some compensation payments to former presidents to the level of $588 thousand per year.

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