Stop Padding Presidential Pockets Act
Sponsored By: Representative Watson Coleman
Introduced
Summary
Prevent presidential enrichment from official activities. This bill would require repayment of Secret Service and related travel costs when presidential travel benefits a private business, bar presidents from running or directing businesses while in office, and tighten reporting and penalty rules for libraries and family members.
Show full summary
- Presidents and immediate family: The bill would bar a sitting President from creating, operating, or serving on a company's board or handling day-to-day business. Immediate family members who engage in that conduct would file quarterly reports to Congress and publish certifications, and any income the President earns from those roles would be taxed at 100%.
- Security and travel costs: Protected individuals would have to reimburse the Treasury for the full amount the U.S. Secret Service and other government travel spending incur when travel is for business of an entity the President owns or controls or from which the President receives a financial benefit.
- Legal claims: The bill would add an exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act so claims by the President, the Vice President, or someone who later becomes President or Vice President are not covered in the described situations. The change would apply to claims pending on or after enactment.
- Presidential libraries and museums: A person protected by the Secret Service would be barred from soliciting donations for a presidential library or museum while the President is in office. That person and private entities administering or lobbying for a library or museum would submit annual reports to the Archivist of the United States, and failing to file would trigger a $1,000 per day penalty.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 4 costs, 0 mixed.
Repay Secret Service travel costs
This bill would require people the Secret Service protects to repay the Treasury for Secret Service protection and any other government travel costs when they travel for a business owned by or benefiting the President. The rule would apply to domestic and international travel that furthers those presidential business interests. It would take effect on enactment.
Bar FTCA claims by President or VP
This bill would add an exclusion to the Federal Tort Claims Act so that claims brought by the President or Vice President would not be covered. It would also bar claims by anyone who becomes President or Vice President while their claim is pending. The change would apply to claims pending on or filed on or after the date of enactment.
New rules for presidential libraries
This bill would bar Secret Service–protected people from soliciting donations for a presidential library or museum while the president is in office. Private groups that run or lobby for a presidential library would have to file one financial report to the Archivist each year. People protected by the Secret Service would also file one annual report about any interactions about a library or museum. If a required report is late, the bill would charge $1,000 for each day it is not submitted.
Limits on President business income
This bill would bar the President, while in office, from creating or operating a business, serving on any corporate board, or running day-to-day business operations. If an immediate family member does business the President would be barred from doing, that family member would have to file quarterly reports to Congress and publish a statement that their activity does not enrich the President. Any income the President earns from creating, running, or serving on a board would be taxed at 100 percent.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Watson Coleman
NJ • D
Cosponsors
McIver
NJ • D
Sponsored 12/17/2025
Tlaib
MI • D
Sponsored 12/17/2025
Bell
MO • D
Sponsored 12/19/2025
Landsman
OH • D
Sponsored 3/19/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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