Obama signs bill, gets Secret Service protection for life
Source: CNN
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.
Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/10/obama-signs-bill-gets-secret-service-protection-for-life/comment-page-1/
Obama signs law giving himself, Bush lifetime Secret Service guard
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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.”
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http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-signs-law-giving-himself-bush-lifetime-secret-184305122--politics.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
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.”
I have NO IDEA what to make of this? Anyone else find it strang?
After Clinton there was no more lifetime SS protection - only 10 years for Bush and future presidents.
Now it reverts back to lifetime protection for ALL presidents.
I think the only reason the bill passed was because Bush's SS protection was limited to only ten years and the GOPers wanted to fix that problem.
If Bush wasn't affected and it was only Obama then the bill probably would have been harder to pass.
Edited to add...
I believe the 2nd paragraph in your comment is in regards to the 1990s bill - and the 3rd paragraph is in regards to the 'new' bill.
They should have written the article a bit more clearly.
Hoping for a Senate Seat, the Friendliest of Rivals
Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
Representatives Trey Gowdy, left, and Tim Scott, Republican freshmen, each say the other is the better choice for appointment to replace Senator Jim DeMint.
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
WASHINGTON — Representatives Trey Gowdy and Tim Scott, first-term Republicans from South Carolina, are both in the running to replace Senator Jim DeMint when the conservative leaves office next month. But they say they know the best man for the job: the other guy.
“If you were to select the best senator to represent a state with a history as rich but provocative as ours,” Mr. Gowdy said, “you would construct Tim Scott.”
Mr. Scott begs to differ. “I honestly feel that Trey would be an amazing senator,” he said. When you are being considered for such a seat, “most people who call you want you to get the job so they can have yours,” he said. “The two exceptions were my mom and Trey.”
Mr. DeMint’s surprise retirement announcement last week — he will become the head of the conservative Heritage Foundation in January — has left Gov. Nikki Haley in the delicious spot of choosing a replacement who would fill out the next two years of his term and then presumably run to defend the seat in 2014.
Mr. Gowdy and Mr. Scott are on the short list of contenders, which also includes Jenny Sanford, the ex-wife of former Gov. Mark Sanford, who infamously disappeared for almost a week in 2009 to visit his mistress in Argentina; Catherine Templeton, a lawyer who runs the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control; and Henry McMaster, a former state attorney general.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/14/us/politics/trey-gowdy-and-tim-scott-senate-aspirants-and-friendliest-of-rivals.html?_r=0
You're welcome, headline writer 
