Presidential Protection Assistance Act of 1976
Public Law 94-524 · H.R. 1244 · 94th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Oct 17, 1976 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Rep. Jack Brooks (D-TX-9)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Presidential Protection Assistance Act - Defines the term "protectee" to mean the following persons: the President of the United States; members of the President's immediate family; the Vice President and members of his immediate family; other officers next in the order of succession to the Office of the President; the President-elect and Vice President-elect; a visiting head of a foreign state or government and, at the direction of the President, other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States and official representatives of the United States who are performing special missions abroad; major Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates; a former President and his wife during his lifetime; the widow of a former President until her death or remarriage; and minor children of a former President until they reach 16 years of age.
Authorizes each protectee to designate one non-governmental property to be fully secured by the Secret Service on a permanent basis. Provides that such designation may be transferred to another non-governmental property by the protectee.
Limits expenditures by the Secret Service at non-governmental properties other than the one property designated to a cumulative total of $10,000 at each such property.
Requires Executive departments and agencies to assist the Secret Service in the performance of its protective duties by providing services, equipment and facilities on a temporary and reimbursable basis at the request of the Director of the Secret Service.
Requires the Secret Service, the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard to report semi-annually, on March 31 and September 31, on expenditures made pursuant to this Act to the Committees on Appropriations, the Committees on the Judiciary and the Committees on Government Operations of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Directs that expenditures made pursuant to this Act be subject to auditing by the General Accounting Office.
Repeals section 2 of Public Law 90-331, relating to furnishing protection to major Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 18 actions.
- Oct 17, 1976Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 94-524.
- Oct 6, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- Oct 5, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Sep 29, 1976Resolving differencesResolving differences · House agreed to Senate amendment.
- Sep 28, 1976FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in Senate.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
- May 6, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
- May 5, 1975FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended, roll call #176 (352-0).House roll call 176
- FloorFloor · Measure called up under motion to suspend rules and pass in House.
- Apr 22, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
- Mar 20, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
- Jan 14, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.