[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4517 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4517
To require the Secretary of State to submit a plan for the
reimbursement of personal funds expended to evacuate American citizens,
American lawful permanent residents, and Afghan allies from
Afghanistan, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2023
Mr. Davidson (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Meuser, Mr. Waltz, Mr.
Bergman, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Carey, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Barr, Mrs. Lesko, Ms.
Tenney, and Mr. LaMalfa) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of State to submit a plan for the
reimbursement of personal funds expended to evacuate American citizens,
American lawful permanent residents, and Afghan allies from
Afghanistan, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Voluntary Actions are
Compensated Act of 2023'' or the ``EVAC Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. PLAN FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN EXPENSES OF UNITED STATES
PERSONS EVACUATED FROM AFGHANISTAN.
(a) Plan.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a plan to reimburse any covered United States
person who expended personal funds to evacuate American citizens,
lawful permanent residents of the United States, or Afghan allies from
Afghanistan during the period beginning on August 1, 2021, and ending
on November 1, 2021.
(b) Consultation.--In developing the plan required by subsection
(a), the Secretary shall consult with the following:
(1) The Secretary of Defense.
(2) Nongovernmental organizations and veterans service
organizations with expertise in supporting the evacuation of
American citizens and Afghan allies from Afghanistan.
(c) Elements.--The plan required by subsection (a) shall also
include the following elements:
(1) Eligibility requirements for covered United States
persons to file a reimbursement claim under the plan.
(2) The criteria for reimbursement, including the types of
reimbursable claims and maximum reimbursement limit.
(3) The process for filing a reimbursement claim.
(4) An estimate of the time that would be associated with
processing a reimbursement claim.
(5) The supporting documentation required to file a
reimbursement claim.
(6) The process for disbursing funds to United States
persons once a reimbursement claim is verified and approved,
(7) An estimate of the costs that would be associated with
implementing the Plan.
(8) A list of each nongovernmental organization and each
veteran service organization consulted in accordance with
subsection (b)(2) during the development of the plan.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate.
(2) The term ``Afghan ally'' means an individual who was
eligible, upon evacuation during the period described in
subsection (a), for--
(A) special immigrant status under section
101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)), pursuant to section 602(b) of the
Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-8;
8 U.S.C. 1101 note); or
(B) Priority 1 or Priority 2 processing under the
refugee resettlement priority system.
(3) The term ``covered United States person'' means--
(A) an individual who is a citizen or national of
the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence in the United States; or
(B) an entity that is a nongovernmental
organization and organized under the laws of the United
States or of any jurisdiction within the United States.
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