[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5620 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5620
To waive the passport fees for first responders proceeding abroad to
aid a foreign country suffering from a natural disaster.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 21, 2023
Mr. Issa (for himself, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Graves of
Louisiana, Mr. Beyer, Mr. LaMalfa, Ms. Norton, Mr. Wilson of South
Carolina, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Phillips, Ms. Salazar, Mr.
Waltz, Mr. Gimenez, and Mr. Guest) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to
the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To waive the passport fees for first responders proceeding abroad to
aid a foreign country suffering from a natural disaster.
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 ``First Responders Passport Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. PASSPORTS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.
(a) In General.--Section 1 of the Act of June 4, 1920 (22 U.S.C.
214; 41 Stat. 750; commonly referred to as the ``Passport Act of
1920''), is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (d); and
(2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--There shall be collected and paid into the
Treasury of the United States a fee, prescribed by the Secretary of
State by regulation, for the filing of each application for a passport
(including the cost of passport issuance and use) and a fee, prescribed
by the Secretary of State by regulation, for executing each such
application, except that the Secretary of State may by regulation
authorize State officials or the United States Postal Service to
collect and retain the execution fee for each application for a
passport accepted by such officials or by that Service. Such fees shall
not be refundable, except as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe.
``(b) Exception for Passport Fee.--Notwithstanding subsection (a),
no passport fee shall be collected from any of the following:
``(1) An officer or employee of the United States
proceeding abroad in the discharge of official duties, or from
members of his immediate family.
``(2) An American seaman who requires a passport in
connection with his duties aboard an American flag-vessel.
``(3) A widow, widower, child, parent, grandparent,
brother, or sister of a deceased member of the Armed Forces
proceeding abroad to visit the grave of such member or to
attend a funeral or memorial service for such member.
``(4) An individual or individuals abroad, returning to the
United States, when the Secretary determines that foregoing the
collection of such fee is justified for humanitarian reasons or
for law enforcement purposes.
``(5) At the discretion of the Secretary, an individual,
including a volunteer, who--
``(A) is operating under a contract, grant, or
cooperative agreement with the United States Government
to proceed abroad to a foreign country to participate
in search, rescue, and other related disaster relief
operations within such foreign country within the first
7 days after a natural disaster affecting such foreign
country; and
``(B) is required pursuant to such contract, grant,
or cooperative agreement to be available to so proceed
abroad immediately upon notice from the United States
Government.
``(c) Exception for Execution Fee.--No execution fee shall be
collected for an application made before a Federal official by a person
excused from payment of the passport fee under this section.''.
(b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the end of the first full
fiscal year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
a report on the number of waivers of fees for the execution and
issuance of passports to first responders under section 1 of the Act of
June 4, 1920, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, for such
fiscal year.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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