Thread: Obama signs law giving himself, Bush lifetime Secret Service guard

Obama signs law giving himself, Bush lifetime Secret Service guard

By Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News | The Ticket – 12 hrs ago

President Barack Obama, accompanied by a Secret Service agent, waves at reporters shouting questions. (Charles …Former presidents have to give up rides on Air Force One. But now they don't have to give up being shadowed by the armed-and-earpieced bodyguards of the Secret Service.

President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into a law a measure giving him, George W. Bush and future former presidents and their spouses lifetime Secret Service protection, the White House announced.

The legislation, crafted by Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, rolls back a mid-1990s law that imposed a 10-year limit on Secret Service protection for former presidents. Bush would have been the first former commander in chief affected.

At the time, lawmakers who supported the measure said it would save the government millions of dollars. They also argued that former presidents could hire private security firms (as Richard Nixon did after he decided to forgo Secret Service protection in 1985).

The bill had sailed through Congress with bipartisan support—it cleared the House of Representatives by voice vote in early December, and then it zipped through the Senate unopposed. The law also provides protection for former presidents’ kids until age 16. But “protection of a spouse shall terminate in the event of remarriage.”

The Secret Service started protecting presidents in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley. In 1965, Congress passed a law authorizing the agency, which is now a part of the Department of Homeland Security, to protect former presidents for life.

Obama signs law giving himself, Bush lifetime Secret Service guard | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

Obama signs bill, gets Secret Service protection for life



CNN's Kevin Liptak
Washington (CNN) – With the stroke of a pen Thursday, President Barack Obama gave himself and his wife Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives.

The new law, which passed the House and Senate in December, designates that all former U.S. presidents who served after January 1, 1997, along with their spouses, receive protection from the Secret Service for their entire lifetimes – meaning former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura are also covered. The law also stipulates that children of presidents receive protection until the age of 16.

Lifetime government-provided security for former presidents was the law of the land until 1997, when Congress passed legislation limiting Secret Service protection to ten years after leaving office.

The 1997 law said any president serving before January 1, 1997 would still receive the lifelong protection. That means with the law signed Thursday, every former president – Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush – along with Obama will continue to receive Secret Service details for the rest of their lives.

Obama signs bill, gets Secret Service protection for life – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs