Politics

Bipartisan Senate Bill Will Reduce Pensions Paid to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama

A bipartisan bill that was just voted out of committee will limit the taxpayer-funded pensions paid to former presidents.  A similar bill was passed in 2015 but was vetoed by Barack Obama.  This time it will go to a president who doesn’t care about the pension.  For that matter, he’s not even keeping his paycheck.  The current pension for a president is $207,000.

That will begin at $200,000 and will be indexed for inflation the same way Social Security is.  However, for every dollar they earn, the ex-president’s pension gets decreased by a dollar.  Obama gave a speech this year that paid him $400,000.  That means he would get no pension in 2017.  Ditto for Bill Clinton.

It’s ridiculous that Obama would get a pension on top of the book money and speaking fees he and Michelle have made.  They both signed book deals with advances of $20 million each and both have been active on the rubber chicken circuit.

 From The Daily Caller

Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?

The update to the Former Presidents Act would reduce how much former presidents receive in pension from the taxpayers and reduce total amount of money taxpayers contribute to former commanders in chief.

“Our national debt now exceeds $20 trillion; this bipartisan effort is another important step toward reigning in Washington’s out-of-control spending,” Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, sponsor of the Senate legislation, said in a statement.

“It is ridiculous to continue asking taxpayers to help foot the bill for former presidents’ perks at a time when they already rake in millions of dollars from book deals, speaking engagements, and more.”

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs unanimously approved the language of the bill, and it awaits a vote by the full Senate chamber. The House is set to consider a companion bill, proposed by Georgia Republican Rep. Jody Hice.

Former presidents receive a salary set at the highest level of federal pay that cabinet-level officials make during their service, currently about $207,000 annually. Ernst’s proposal would cap stipends at $200,000 per year, adjusted each year for cost of living increases.

The bill clearly states that it would not change the security a former president is entitled to.

In the 2017 fiscal year, the five living former presidents cost taxpayers $2.8 billion for salary, security, staff and other perks of office, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

I agree that former presidents should get security but it seems a little bit unethical for Obama and Clinton to continue collecting taxpayer money when they are making untold millions of dollars because of the office they once held.  That’s better than a pension.

Bill Clinton received some $145 million after Hillary signed off giving Russia 20 percent of all U.S. uranium mined.  Then after Hillary agreed to line up against the Magnitsky Act, Bill gave a 20-minute speech to Russians for another half a million dollars.

The only downside I see to this bill is that Michelle will not be able to take twelve vacations a year.  This law will limit her to eleven.  Watch out for flying saucers and plates as well.

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