To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide for an exemption of reimbursement for certain travel to return to the United States, and for other purposes.

Bill: 118-hr-5965
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]
Introduced: 2023-10-17
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-10-25
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-10-17
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">This bill exempts private U.S. citizens and others who were evacuated from Israel following the October 2023 Hamas attacks from travel reimbursement requirements. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on any instances of airline price gouging relating to the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Israel following the October 2023 attacks.</p>

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5965 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 17, 2023 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Ms. Manning ) introduced the following bill October 25, 2023 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide for an exemption of reimbursement for certain travel to return to the United States, and for other purposes.

1. Exemption of reimbursement for certain travel to return to the United States Section 4 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 ( 22 U.S.C. 2671 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (e) In the case of loans made after October 6, 2023, for purposes of evacuations from Israel in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 2023, the reimbursement requirements under subsections (b)(2)(A)(ii) and (d) shall not apply. . 2. Comptroller General report (a) In general The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on any commercial airfare price manipulation and instances of price gouging by airlines relating to the evacuation of United States citizens from Israel after the Hamas attacks in October 2023. (b) Matters To be included The report required by subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) A comparison of airfare ticket prices before the attacks and after the attacks, disaggregated by— (A) air carriers; (B) flights originating in Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Greece; and (C) airports designated as primary evacuation destinations by the Department of State. (2) A proposal to provide for a voluntary survey opportunity for individuals described in subsection (a) to submit information regarding instances of such price manipulation. (3) An analysis of whether any actions regarding price manipulation or other changes violated United States law.