[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4995 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4995
To modify the responsibilities of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation
Efforts, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 19, 2025
Ms. Kamlager-Dove (for herself, Mr. Lawler, Ms. Titus, Mr. McCaul, Mr.
Peters, Mr. Bera, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Meeks, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Stanton, Ms. Norton, Ms. McBride, Mr. Sherman,
Mr. Keating, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Castro of Texas, and Ms.
Johnson of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on
the Judiciary, 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 modify the responsibilities of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation
Efforts, 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 ``Enduring Welcome Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Enduring Welcome program is the safest, most secure
legal immigration pathway to the United States.
(2) The resettlement of Afghan allies in the Special
Immigrant Visa (SIV) and the United States Refugee Admissions
Program (USRAP) P1/P2 pipelines is critical to upholding United
States credibility and incentivizing future support for United
States servicemembers.
(3) Failing to reunite active-duty United States military
personnel and veterans with their Afghan family members in the
Afghan relocation pipeline is harmful to the United States
servicemember community.
(4) A review conducted by Department of Justice's Office of
Inspector General released on June 10, 2025, concluded that the
process for vetting applicants for Afghan SIVs is rigorous and
effective in protecting United States national security.
(5) The permanent authorization of the Coordinator for
Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) under section 7810 of the
Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Public Law 118-159)
reflects a bipartisan commitment to fulfilling wartime promises
and ensuring accountability in United States relocation policy.
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR FOR AFGHAN RELOCATION EFFORTS.
Section 7810 of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Public Law
118-159) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``of
Coordinator''; and
(B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(i) by inserting before ``The Secretary''
the following: ``The Secretary shall establish
an Office of the Coordinator for Afghan
Relocation Efforts in the Department of
State.''; and
(ii) by inserting before ``who shall be
responsible for'' the following: ``who shall be
the head of the Office of the Coordinator for
Afghan Relocation Efforts, and'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as
subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Additional Responsibilities.--The Coordinator shall be
responsible for--
``(1) supporting the voluntary departure of covered persons
who request assistance departing Afghanistan;
``(2) leading coordination of interagency efforts relating
to vetting, security screening, and case processing of eligible
Afghan allies in the Department of State, in coordination with
the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of
Defense;
``(3) facilitating relocation and resettlement logistics in
coordination with resettlement support centers and United
States-based resettlement agencies;
``(4) addressing family reunification barriers, including
cases involving United States active-duty servicemembers and
veterans;
``(5) coordinating integration support, including trauma
recovery and medical care, with other Federal agencies;
``(6) maintaining and analyzing a centralized, secure
database of Afghan applicants, beneficiaries, and relocated
individuals to inform operations and ensure transparency; and
``(7) providing timely information to Congress on the
status of Afghan relocation efforts and progress made under
this mandate.''.
SEC. 4. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION AND DATABASE.
(a) Collection of Information.--The Coordinator shall collect
information on Afghan applicants, beneficiaries, and relocated
individuals to inform operations and ensure transparency, including--
(1) the number of Afghan nationals pursuing admission to
the United States as a special immigrant under section 602 of
the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note),
as a refugee under section 207 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1157)
(whether as priority one or priority 2), or as a parolee under
section 212(d)(5)(A) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A)),
disaggregated by whether they are in Afghanistan, the United
States, or a third country;
(2) the number of family reunification cases pending,
approved, and completed;
(3) the average time between application, vetting,
relocation, and resettlement;
(4) the number of individuals who have been denied or
administratively closed out, and the reason for such actions;
(5) the number of active-duty United States military and
veteran-linked cases involving family separation; and
(6) such other information as the Secretary of State or
Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts may prescribe.
(b) Database.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall establish and
maintain a secure, centralized database to maintain the
information collected pursuant to subsection (a).
(2) Form.--The information in the database established
pursuant to this subsection may be in classified form to the
extent necessary but such information shall be usable for
operational reporting, oversight, coordination across relevant
Federal departments and agencies, and regular reporting to
Congress.
(3) Report.--Beginning on the date that is 30 days after
the date on which the database required by this subsection is
established, and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees
a report on the status of each metric with respect to
information that is being collected pursuant to subsection (a).
(c) Notification.--Beginning on and after the date specified in
section 7(a), the Secretary of State shall continue to maintain this
database required by this section unless the Secretary, with prior
consultation with the appropriate congressional committees, provides
notification to the appropriate congressional committees that shall
include--
(1) the number of covered persons with pending relocation
cases or appeals before the United States Government; and
(2) the estimated population of eligible covered persons
which remains to be resettled.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate.
(2) Coordinator.--The term ``Coordinator'' means the
Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts appointed pursuant to
section 3(a).
(3) Covered person.--The term ``covered person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen;
(B) an immediate relative (as such term is
described in section 201(b) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151)) with respect to whom a
petition has been approved and all required documents
have been received;
(C) an alien who has been admitted to the United
States as a lawful permanent resident;
(D) a spouse or unmarried child under the age of 21
of an alien described in subparagraph (C) with respect
to whom a petition has been approved, all required
documents have been received, and who has a current
priority date as of the date on which the individual
seeks assistance from the Coordinator;
(E) a principal applicant for special immigrant
status under section 602 of the Afghan Allies
Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note);
(F) a spouse or unmarried child under the age of 21
of an alien described in subparagraph (E) who has been
issued a visa or with respect to whom the Chief of
Mission has approved their application, and with
respect to whom all documents have been received;
(G) an alien who has been approved to be admitted
to the United States as a refugee or spouse or
unmarried child under the age of 21 (as of August 14,
2021) of such an alien;
(H) a spouse or an unmarried child under the age of
21 of an alien admitted to the United States pursuant
to the Operations Allies Welcome program (or any
successor program); or
(I) the primary caregiver of a surviving child
described in section 602(b)(2)(C) of the Afghan Allies
Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note), or a
spouse or an unmarried child under the age of 21 of
such a primary caregiver.
SEC. 6. SUNSET.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in section 4(c), this Act and
the authorities provided by this Act shall terminate on the date that
is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (f) of section 7810 of the
Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Public Law 118-159), as
redesignated by section 3, is amended by striking ``3'' and inserting
``5''.
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