H.R. 6831 — Stop Padding Presidential Pockets Act

This section requires persons protected by the U.S. Secret Service under 18 U.S.C. §3056(a)(1) or (2)—i.e., the President, Vice President, major presidential or vice presidential candidates, their immediate family members, former presidents and their spouses, and certain other individuals—to reimburse the Treasury for all Secret Service protection costs and other federal expenses related to any domestic or international travel undertaken to further the business interests of an entity owned or controlled by the President or from which the President receives any financial benefit.

This section adds a new exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) in 28 U.S.C. §2680(o) barring any claim—regardless of when the underlying act or omission occurred—brought by (1) the President, (2) the Vice President, or (3) an individual who subsequently becomes President or Vice President while the claim is pending. (As background, the FTCA waives sovereign immunity for certain tort claims against the United States arising from negligent or wrongful acts by federal employees acting within the scope of employment, but §2680 lists exceptions to this waiver.) The new exception applies to claims pending on or brought on or after the date of enactment.

This section prohibits the President and Vice President from soliciting donations for a presidential library or museum while in office and requires them to submit an annual report to the Archivist of the United States on each interaction pertaining to such a facility. It further requires private entities that administer or lobby for a presidential library or museum to submit an annual report to the Archivist on related financial activities and imposes a $1,000 fine for each day a required report is not submitted.

This section prohibits the President from creating a business, operating a business, serving on a board of directors of any business, or participating in any day-to-day operations of a business while in office. It further requires any immediate family member of the President who engages in such prohibited conduct to submit quarterly reports to Congress and publish a certification that the conduct does not enrich or benefit the sitting President. Finally, it subjects any income the President earns from such prohibited activities to a 100% tax.