A bill to reimburse United States citizens for costs incurred for commercial flights arranged by the Department of State to evacuate them from foreign countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to waive promissory notes and the obligation to repay emergency repatriation loans related to such travel. 2020-05-20 Introduced in Senate This bill makes the Department of State responsible, directly or through reimbursement, for evacuation and repatriation expenses incurred by a U.S. citizen during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

Under current law, U.S. citizens must reimburse the State Department for evacuation and repatriation expenses incurred on their behalf. The bill requires the State Department to waive the repayment expectation for travel expenses incurred by the State Department to evacuate and repatriate a U.S. citizen in response to COVID-19. Further, it makes null and void any obligation to repay an emergency repatriation loan for such expenses.

The State Department must develop an online reimbursement claim process, and the Department of the Treasury must reimburse a U.S. citizen for any travel expenses directly associated with evacuation and repatriation on flights chartered or arranged by the State Department in response to COVID-19.

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