Expanding Vital American Citizen Services Overseas (EVACS) Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6595 To expedite and expand provision of American Citizen Services worldwide during the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 22, 2020 Mr. CASTRO of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To expedite and expand provision of American Citizen Serv- ices worldwide during the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Vital Amer- 4 ican Citizen Services Overseas (EVACS) Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) There is an unprecedented need for Amer- 8 ican Citizen Services from the Department of State 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6595 IH and its posts globally during the COVID–19 pan- 1 demic. 2 (2) Consistent intake of new Foreign Service 3 Officers and Foreign Service Specialists is integral 4 to protecting Americans worldwide. 5 (3) American Citizen Services include, among 6 other services, emergency passports, consular reports 7 of birth abroad, virtual or in-person welfare visits of 8 United States citizens who are imprisoned or hos- 9 pitalized, emergency financial assistance, and repa- 10 triation of United States citizens, as well as repatri- 11 ation of remains when deaths occur abroad. 12 (4) Consular systems worldwide, as well as pre- 13 viously established crisis management task force pro- 14 cedures, are unable to handle the remote workload 15 and requirements for social distancing simulta- 16 neously. 17 (5) The Department of State has increased 18 need for personal protective equipment for its staff 19 worldwide as they fulfill the mission to provide 20 American Citizen Services and perform other essen- 21 tial diplomatic duties. 22 (6) Current United States laws and regulations 23 are not adequate to meet worldwide needs such as 24 the sudden demand for evacuation of United States 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6595 IH citizens, combined with reduced or nonexistent pri- 1 vate airline capacity, and the reduced staffing capa- 2 bilities and remote processing of American Citizen 3 Services requests. 4 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 5 The Secretary of State should take steps to ensure 6 the expedited and expanded provision of American Citizen 7 Services from the Department of State during the 8 COVID–19 pandemic and future global emergencies. 9 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this Act: 11 (1) ACS; AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES.—The 12 terms ‘‘ACS’’ and ‘‘American Citizen Services’’ refer 13 to the range of services provided to United States 14 nationals by the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the 15 Department of State, and at the Department’s over- 16 seas posts. 17 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 18 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 19 mittees’’ means— 20 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 21 the Senate; and 22 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 23 the House of Representatives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6595 IH (3) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 1 individual’’ means a United States citizen, United 2 States national, lawful permanent resident, or the 3 immediate family members of a United States cit- 4 izen, a United States national, or a lawful perma- 5 nent resident. 6 (4) DECLARED COVID–19 PANDEMIC PERIOD.— 7 The term ‘‘declared COVID–19 pandemic period’’ 8 means the period of the national emergency declared 9 by the President under the National Emergencies 10 Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with respect to the 11 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 12 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR COVERED INDIVIDUALS OVER- 13 SEAS. 14 (a) PETITIONING FOR INTRACOUNTRY TRAVEL FOR 15 UNITED STATES PERSONS IN CERTAIN COUNTRIES.— 16 The Secretary of State shall petition the government of 17 any country that closes borders and airspace or places 18 travel restrictions due to COVID–19 to make provisions 19 with the United States embassy, consulate, or other diplo- 20 matic mission responsible for consular services in that 21 country to assure covered individuals can travel 22 intracountry to United States Government evacuation 23 points or to access commercial travel when possible. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6595 IH (b) WAIVER OR REIMBURSEMENT OF TRAVEL EX- 1 PENSES.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 3 waive any travel expenses paid by the Department of 4 State on or after December 31, 2019, for any cov- 5 ered individual who is evacuated from a foreign 6 country and repatriated to the United States due to 7 travel restrictions implemented in response to 8 COVID–19 or any future pandemic or international 9 crisis, as determined by the Secretary. 10 (2) PROMISSORY NOTES.—Any promissory note 11 signed by a covered individual to reimburse the De- 12 partment of State for travel expenses described in 13 paragraph (1) shall be null and void. 14 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4 of 15 the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 16 (22 U.S.C. 2671) is amended by adding at the end 17 the following new subsection: 18 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTION FROM REIMBURSEMENT REQUIRE- 19 MENT FOR CERTAIN COMMUNICABLE DISEASE-RELATED 20 EXPENSES.—In the case of a communicable disease for 21 which the Federal Government has issued a travel alert 22 or travel warning, the reimbursement requirements under 23 subsections (b)(2)(A)(ii) and (d) shall not apply.’’. 24 (4) REIMBURSEMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6595 IH (A) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of 1 State shall reimburse covered individuals who 2 were evacuated from a foreign country on or 3 after December 31, 2019, and repatriated to 4 the United States due to travel restrictions de- 5 scribed in paragraph (1) for travel expenses as- 6 sociated with such evacuation and repatriation, 7 including the costs of commercial or charter 8 flights and any ground transportation expenses 9 associated with travel to the foreign airport and 10 from the domestic airport to their homes in the 11 United States. 12 (B) PROCESS.—The Secretary of State 13 shall develop an online process through which 14 United States citizens may submit claims for 15 reimbursement for travel expenses described in 16 subparagraph (A). 17 (c) FUNDING.—The Secretary of State may use 18 amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the 19 Department of State in any appropriations Act for paying 20 expenses related to overseas evacuations to pay for the 21 travel expenses described in subsection (b)(1). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6595 IH SEC. 6. CONSULAR AFFAIRS, TASK FORCES, AND REGULA- 1 TIONS. 2 The Secretary of State shall direct the Assistant Sec- 3 retary of State for Consular Affairs to immediately— 4 (1) provide United States embassies, consulates, 5 and other diplomatic missions worldwide with ex- 6 plicit guidance to protect covered individuals and use 7 innovative means to empower officers, specialists, 8 and Locally Employed Staff employees to protect 9 American lives during and immediately after the de- 10 clared COVID–19 pandemic period; 11 (2) increase the staffing of Consular Affairs 12 Task Force 2 in Washington, DC to ensure ade- 13 quate consular response and improved guidance 14 from Washington, DC to embassies, consulates, and 15 missions overseas, including— 16 (A) augmentation of the Overseas Con- 17 sular Services (OCS) call center and activation 18 of the National Passport Information Center 19 (NPIC) and the National Visa Center (NVC) to 20 immediately provide improved consular re- 21 sponses; and 22 (B) direct public access to Task Force 2 23 through the OCS call center; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6595 IH (3) notify Congress of any additional monetary 1 or technical resources needed to carry out the ac- 2 tions described in this subsection. 3 SEC. 7. PROTECTING RESPONDERS. 4 Not later than 15 days after the date of the enact- 5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 6 the appropriate congressional committees a report with a 7 comprehensive plan for COVID–19 infection risk mitiga- 8 tion procedures for all persons under chief of mission au- 9 thority at overseas posts, including an assessment of avail- 10 ability and adequacy of personal protective equipment at 11 United States embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic 12 missions. 13 SEC. 8. PROGRESS REPORTS; YEARLY REMOTE ACS DRILLS 14 WORLDWIDE. 15 (a) COMPREHENSIVE PROGRESS REPORT.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 17 the date of the enactment of this Act, and semiannu- 18 ally until the Global Health Advisory of Level 4: Do 19 Not Travel is rescinded by the Secretary of State, 20 the Secretary shall provide a comprehensive progress 21 report on the Bureau of Consular Affairs response 22 to the COVID–19 pandemic to the appropriate con- 23 gressional committees, including issues such as, but 24 not exclusively, assessment of consular system fail- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6595 IH ures due to lack of resources—personnel, technical, 1 system design, or capacity—and resources needed to 2 improve current and future performance of Amer- 3 ican Citizen Services during this and future global 4 health crises. 5 (2) FORM.—The report required under para- 6 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 7 but may include a classified annex. 8 (b) ANNUAL WORLDWIDE REMOTE ACS DRILLS.— 9 The Secretary of State shall direct the Assistant Secretary 10 of State for Consular Affairs to direct an annual world- 11 wide consular test of remote processing (including a min- 12 imum 80-percent remote consular telework worldwide) and 13 systems with reporting of outcomes to Congress within 90 14 days after each test. The first test shall be held not later 15 than 60 days after the Secretary of State rescinds the 16 Global Health Advisory of Level 4: Do Not Travel. 17 SEC. 9. FOREIGN SERVICE HIRING. 18 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 19 gress that— 20 (1) there are no legal constraints preventing the 21 Department of State and the United States Agency 22 for International Development from virtual 23 onboarding of new Foreign Service Officers and For- 24 eign Service Specialists; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6595 IH (2) hiring of Foreign Service Officers (FSO) 1 and Foreign Service Specialists (FSS) must con- 2 tinue, while taking all necessary steps to ensure per- 3 sonnel safety, at the same pace as determined prior 4 to the COVID–19 pandemic; and 5 (3) in-processing of classes of FSOs, FSSs, and 6 Department fellows must resume immediately, re- 7 motely as necessary, with the goal of achieving 2020 8 hiring targets and exceeding those targets as author- 9 ized under sections 7062 and 7063(d)(1) of the De- 10 partment of State, Foreign Operations, and Related 11 Programs Appropriations Act, 2020 (division G of 12 Public Law 116–94). 13 (b) DELAYED FOREIGN SERVICE CLASSES.—The 14 Secretary of State shall make immediate efforts to ensure 15 individuals scheduled to enter the Foreign Service who 16 have been affected by delays of the swearing-in and 17 onboarding process during the COVID–19 pandemic are 18 given the full opportunity to join the Foreign Service. 19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 21 report to Congress how the Department of State will, re- 22 motely as necessary, onboard FSO and FSS classes that 23 were postponed indefinitely during the COVID–19 pan- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6595 IH demic after many were already issued orders and inbound 1 to Washington, DC, or their training locations. 2 (d) EXTENSION OF HIRING REGISTRY TIME LIM- 3 ITS.—To ensure a robust Foreign Service Officer and For- 4 eign Service Specialist staffing pipeline during the pan- 5 demic and more generally, the Secretary of State shall im- 6 mediately extend hiring registry time limits by the entirety 7 of the declared COVID–19 pandemic period. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6595.IH H6595 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS