Title: Flights for Freedom Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Flights for Freedom Act
This bill prohibits the U.S. government from charging U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents for their evacuation during the withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from Afghanistan.
Specifically, the Department of State must waive repayment for travel expenses incurred on behalf of such an individual as part of the evacuation from Afghanistan. Similarly, no federal employee may solicit or accept funds from such an individual as a condition of using government-provided transportation to repatriate the individual to the United States.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5102 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5102

 To prohibit the United States from soliciting or accepting funds from 
American citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States as 
a condition of their repatriation from Afghanistan during the period of 
     evacuation related to the withdrawal of the Armed Forces from 
                  Afghanistan, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 24, 2021

  Ms. Tenney (for herself, Mr. Mast, and Mr. Tiffany) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit the United States from soliciting or accepting funds from 
American citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States as 
a condition of their repatriation from Afghanistan during the period of 
     evacuation related to the withdrawal of the Armed Forces 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 ``Flights for Freedom Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON SOLICITATION OF REIMBURSEMENT.

    Notwithstanding subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii) of section 4 of the State 
Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2671), during the 
period of evacuation related to the withdrawal of the Armed Forces from 
Afghanistan--
            (1) the Secretary of State shall waive any expectation of 
        repayment of any travel expenses incurred by the Department of 
        State on behalf of any United States citizen or lawful 
        permanent resident evacuated from Afghanistan and repatriated 
        to the United States;
            (2) any promissory note or other obligation to repay an 
        emergency repatriation loan signed by a United States citizen 
        or a lawful permanent resident of the United States to 
        reimburse the Department of State for travel expenses described 
        in paragraph (1) shall be null and void; and
            (3) no Federal official or employee may solicit or accept 
        any amount from any individual who is a citizen of the United 
        States or a lawful permanent resident of the United States, 
        whether in the form of a reimbursement or as any other 
        condition of using transportation provided by the United 
        States, to repatriate such individual to the United States.
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