Members of the Secret Service wait after President Barack Obama arrived at Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport March 16, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law H.R. 6620, the Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012, granting lifetime Secret Service protection to all former presidents, their wives (unless they remarry), and their children under the age of 16.
“The measure Obama signed Thursday applies to presidents elected after Jan. 1, 1997, specifically Obama and former President George W. Bush,” the Associated Press explains.
“It reverses a 1994 law that ended Secret Service protection 10 years after a president leaves office. Under that law, the Homeland Security secretary could extend such protection on a temporary basis,” the report adds.
Citing increased terrorist threats and “the greater mobility and youth of former presidents,” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), one of the bill’s chief sponsors, argued that a change in the 10-year limit was necessary.
“Both men are young, enjoy good health, and have long lives ahead of them post-Presidency,” Gowdy said during a speech on the House floor. “This bill proposes to extend that security for the remainder of their lives.”
“There’s an unintended anomaly, Mr. Speaker, that if current law were not changed, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush and Laura Bush would receive more protections by virtue of being First Lady than they would if they had served as President themselves. So I hope my colleagues will make sure that the person and the symbol of our Presidency is safe and secure for the duration of their natural lives,” he added.
The House overwhelmingly supported the bill.
Secret Service snipers stand atop containers as US President George W. Bush makes remarks in Jacksonville, Florida, March 18, 2008. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
“The bill was … passed by voice-vote in early December,” BuffFeed’s Zeke Miller notes.
“Co-sponsors included Republican Rep. Lamar Smith, and Democrats Rep. John Conyers and Bobby Scott. The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent on December 28th, and sent over to the White House on New Year’s Day,” he adds.
President Obama signed the bill Thursday afternoon.
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Comments (150)
WalterProutPhoenix56317
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:21pmGives a whole new meaning to that saying ” A mind is a terrible thing to waste”, now doesn’t it ?
Does anyone truly believe that this POS has all the answers to fix everything ? He’s actually sucking whatever Intelligence his administration has and taking credit for it and now were seeing many of them Jumping Ship !
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BadDog-NoBiscuit
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:16pmDepending on who you are, I guess that’s a good thing: He’s going to need it…
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End Times Pilgrim
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:09pmHe will be just fine until he reaches Revelation 21:8
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MCLOVINIT
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:01pmHe’ll need it!
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zombieocracy
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:59pmLet’s amend this law to require that Obama be protected for life by Pelosi. Perfect solution to two problems.
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Chancellor
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:50pmMay it be a short one!
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Rayblue
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:44pmIt’s all a matter of consequence.
One thing leads to another as a matter of correspondences.
Escaping his unlawful actions isn’t an option. Try as he might, his end will be disgraceful.
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MCLOVINIT
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:42pmIf he didn’t, he’d be assasinated pronto!
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Dougral Supports Israel
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:25pmIf I were the next president I’d issue an executive order specifying that Obama’s detail only be allowed to use the types of weapons that he proposes that we should be allowed to own. He’s big on fairness so he shouldn’t object at all.
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neverending
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:02pmGive him some bebe guns.
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truthnstuff
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:22pmDang Gowdy! I just lost the respect I had for you. How about you freakin pay to protect that POS.
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drs1969
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:45pmNow I’m happy that Haley didn’t appoint him to the Senate. He seemed pretty disappointed he didn’t get it. I kind of felt sorry for him, but no more!
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neverending
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:19pmOh of course this pansyarsed brick sob – gotta make sure he rear is covered but screw the rest of the American people. Just send him a one way ticket back to Kenya and he will be ever so safe right there. Just loves to add more bills for the hard working taxpayer to pay.
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Parenthetical Comments
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:54pmTime for the man to put his money where his mouth is. Repeat after me – I barack obama refuse to accept any armed protection nor will I allow my daughters and wife to surround themselves with guns, I am setting the standard and asking others to follow suit.
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barber2
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:07pmPARENT: Thank you for pointing out what is , once again, another example of the famous ” 99%” hypocrisy of our radical Democrats . This is so typical of them .
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Coyote1953
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:53pmFor the rest of his life?
I hope that doesn’t last long.
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ALL4FREEDOM
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:52pmYa think he might be starting to look over his shoulder? Read about Nicolae Ceausescu and Romania’s best Christmas ever in 1989. Wikipedia will do just fine. I wish us every success that the Romanians had.
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sckimbershot
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:44pmso do you really think a ss guy would take a bullet for barry?
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barber2
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:44pmHey, what the heck ?! This just adds to the deficit ! Our Chicago radicals love to pile on the suffocating, destroying debt ! And , with their War on Capitalism planning to create economic havoc and chaos, am sure that Obama wants protection when the ” revolution” our anti-capitalists are working so hard to create , breaks out ! Yes. Just like the French and Russian Revolutions which have inspired our Chicago radicals ! Haven’t you noticed all of the ” hate the rich ” and the racial divide ( Zimmerman / black youth / hoodies / etc.) rhetoric the Chicago radicals are using to enflame and divide the country ?? And now they are targeting gun ownership ?! Shades of Oklahoma…..our radicals are just dying to have a revolution . This gun control issue / especially coupled with the congressional branch power play via executive order is just a Red flag to entice a violent reaction . Martial Law anyone ? Wake up, congress. Oh, excuse me, you all have a ” conflict of interest : ” your cushy tax payer paid benefits and your power as a congressman….
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pahrumper
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:39pmNow that he has managed piss off half of the country, he will probably need them
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dbrockjohnson
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:36pmThat sucks. Can you imagine what the secret service really think about protecting that idiot? I wish they would all refuse cause he hates our beloved country that put his mixed ass in there!!!
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barber2
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:56pmYes. The Cincinnatus model of the civilian-servant has been long forgotten. We have political office benefit inflation for sure .
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lylejk
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:33pmI thought all former potus’ had this already. Personally, like them or hate them, I have no issue with this. Do have and issue with the gun control agenda though. We all have the right to protection, either by body guard, or, by self volition. :)
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Cymry
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:29pmwhat if barry goes to jail? does he get secret service protection as an ex-con?
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DoOrDie
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:28pmI don’t give a rats azz what party you belong to, no president deserves a lifetime pension, lifetime health care, and lifetime protection on my dime. They sit up there and write themselves some nice little goodies don’t they? Go into office broke, come out multi millionaires. I really hate the government.
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truthnstuff
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:25pmAbsolutely right on!!
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BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:28pmKing Obama will never need the security detail for former presidents because he will NEVER be a former president. Once he successfully gets his gun-free utopia, the people will have no power to forcibly remove him from office when he announces, through executive order, that presidents can run for more than 2 terms.
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zombieocracy
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:18pmHow about legislation stating that no executive order can be enforceable unless affirmed by Congress within 90 days?
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spirited
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:26pmHow will they all fit in that Volt?
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progressiveslayer
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:23pmBig surprise the Marxist POS gives himself SS protection for life,the law the Marxist signed expired in 97 so why does he think he needs SS protection for life? Because he thinks he’s a king and he does whatever he wants.That vile man has enough dirt on him to be impeached and thrown into prison where he belongs for life. No president should have SS protection for life because they aren’t kings they work for us,at least that’s how it’s supposed to be.
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drs1969
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:57pmRepublicans Trey Gowdy and Lamar Smith were co-sponsors. Disgusting.
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right-wing-waco
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:22pmThis means that Obama does not feel he will ever be safe. He knows that there are plenty of people he urinated on that do not like him. Perhaps someday someone that took the oath to protect US will do so. I think that the cost of the protection should be based on a “income based” basis. If you can afford the protection…. you pay for it yourself.
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Coyote1953
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:58pmIt’s not he federal governments job to “protect us”, that’s what the Second Amendment is for, we are responsible for protecting ourselves and our family. The feds job is to protect our borders and ensure domestic tranquility.
Domestic Tranquility means – to help settle disputes between states. It’s the bond that keeps our federation of states together.
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