Summary: Legislation has been proposed which would reform the laws relating to former Presidents. The bill proposed a number of amendments to the Former Presidents Act of 1958 and the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, many of which are consistent with recommedations previously made by GAO. The bill provides that any Federal employee may be detailed to the office staff of a former President on a reimbursable basis with the consent of the head of the agency involved. GAO recommended that the bill be modified to limit the authority for employee details to the fiscal year in which the transition occurs. Provisions should be added to the bill to clarify the authority for the use of military or chartered aircraft by a former President, the appropriation to be charged, and the disposition of any receipts from the Secret Service and others accompanying a former President. GAO recommended the addition of a provision to require the President to include in the budget transmitted to Congress for the fiscal year in which his regular term of office expires, a proposed appropriation providing sufficient funds for the outgoing administration. To prevent any problems which might arise from the use of transitional checking accounts, the bill should be modified to limit the expenditures that can be made under the Former Presidents Act without prior approval by the General Services Administration. Provisions should be made to specifically authorize the shipment of the personal effects of the former President and his family and the former Vice President and his family from their official residences in Washington, D.C., to locations in the United States selected by them.
