Clinton Tops Trio at $1.16 Million

So which of the three living ex-presidents costs taxpayers the most money? The most recent to become a former president, Bill Clinton, according to the Congressional Research Service's latest figures.

The globe-trotting former president with the New York office and a worldwide charitable enterprise is seeking $1.16 million in taxpayer money for fiscal 2008. That is more than double the amount requested by fellow Democrat Jimmy Carter and substantially more than that by Republican George H.W. Bush.

Clinton's office makes no apologies, saying taxpayers are getting a bargain. "Given his tireless work on behalf of the U.S. government abroad with the tsunami and state funerals, including leading the U.S. delegation to Boris Yeltsin's recent funeral, his work at home with Hurricane Katrina recovery, and his vigorous charitable foundation work to fight AIDS, climate change and childhood obesity, I'd say the American people are getting more than their money's worth from President Clinton," spokesman Jay Carson said.

Clinton's office blames much of the cost on New York City's pricey rents, noting that his Harlem neighborhood office costs half a million dollars a year, far more than Bush's Houston office ($175,000) and Carter's Atlanta digs ($102,000). "Thanks in no small part to the Clinton economic boom of the '90s, rent in Manhattan isn't cheap in any neighborhood," Carson said.

Clinton, who has earned nearly $40 million in speaking fees since leaving office, also wants a lot more for telephone expenses than the other former presidents -- $79,000 compared with $17,000 for Bush and $10,000 for Carter.

And while all three former presidents are entitled to pensions of $191,000 next year, Clinton has requested $10,000 more for health insurance.

Clinton's office said it couldn't immediately figure out that last request, given that through his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), he is entitled to one of the country's best health plans through the Senate.

-- John Solomon