II
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3299
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 14 (legislative day, November 13), 2023
Mrs. Blackburn (for herself and Ms. Rosen) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To provide that United States citizens evacuating Israel shall not be required to reimburse the United States Government, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Saving Americans in Foreign Evacuations (SAFE) Act
.
Requirement to provide free travel to United States citizens evacuating Israel
Notwithstanding section 4(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2671(b)(2)(A)(ii)), private United States citizens and permanent resident aliens evacuating Israel in response to the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and the resulting war and civil unrest shall not be required to reimburse the United States Government for travel organized by the Department of State during fiscal year 2024 pursuant to such section.
Report
In general
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a report examining the feasibility of expanding the reimbursement requirement under section (2) to future evacuations worldwide.
Elements
The report required under subsection (a) shall include the following elements:
The estimated annual costs of providing cost-free flights and other forms of transportation.
A description of the additional responsibilities the Department would bear under such a requirement.
A description of additional authorities the Department would need to under such a requirement.
A description of moral hazard issues that may arise from such a requirement.
Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 for the Department of State to carry out activities under this Act.