Inside Politics: Obama signs protection bill for former presidents

President Obama has signed into law a bill granting lifetime Secret Service protection to former presidents and their wives.

The measure Mr. Obama signed Thursday applies to presidents elected after Jan. 1, 1997, specifically Mr. Obama and former President George W. Bush. 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.

A sponsor of the bill, Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, says increased terrorist threats and the greater mobility and youth of former presidents made the change necessary.

The new law also authorizes Secret Service protection for the children of former presidents until they turn 16.

The bill is H.R. 6620.

TEXAS

Perry calls out Cuomo for having state envy

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry concedes he can’t get the nation’s 49 other governors “to admit they’d want to be Texans.”

But he says many would love to create as many jobs as his state does — including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Addressing an annual policy orientation in Austin on Thursday, Mr. Perry referenced Mr. Cuomo’s support for gun control and said his New York counterpart probably wouldn’t want to move to Texas.

Mr. Perry added, though, that in a candid moment, Mr. Cuomo likely envies Texas’ growing economy. Mr. Perry said: “He’d dearly love to be able to stand up and say, ‘We did this in New York,’ but he can’t.”

Mr. Perry also said that some on the East Coast believe “people in the west are different than them and they’re right. And that’s OK.”

NEVADA

Federal judge lets roundup of wild horses go ahead

RENO — The Bureau of Land Management can resume its roundup of dozens of wild mustangs in northern Nevada, but wranglers must limit their use of electric cattle prods and take other steps to ensure the animals are treated humanely, a federal judge said Thursday.

Story Continues →