[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 183 (Wednesday, December 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H9346-H9348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FIRST RESPONDERS PASSPORT ACT OF 2015
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3750) to waive the passport fees for first responders proceeding
abroad to aid a foreign country suffering from a natural disaster, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3750
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 ``First Responders Passport
Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. PASSPORTS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 1 of the
Passport Act of June 4, 1920 (22
[[Page H9347]]
U.S.C. 214), is amended, in the third sentence, by inserting
after ``to attend a funeral or memorial service for such
member;'' the following: ``from an individual who is
operating under a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement
with the United States Government, including a volunteer, who
is proceeding abroad to aid a foreign country suffering from
a natural disaster as determined by the Secretary;''.
(b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the end of the
first full fiscal year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report
on the number of waivers of fees for the execution and
issuance of passports to first responders under section 1 of
the Act of June 4, 1920, as amended by subsection (a) of this
section, for such fiscal year.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan
F. Boyle) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include
any extraneous material for the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I begin by thanking Representative Darrell Issa, a senior member of
the Foreign Affairs Committee and the former chairman of the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform, for authoring this very
straightforward piece of legislation.
When catastrophe strikes overseas, America's first responders deploy
all over the world. They assist in some of the most difficult and
damaged environments that we could only imagine: the 2010 earthquake in
Haiti, the 2014 flooding in Paraguay, earlier this year following the
earthquake in Nepal. Rushing to the front lines of human need, leaving
their own families, they represent the true face of American
compassion.
The gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) is at the cutting edge of
this issue, and his trips to visit these spots speak on an issue that
he knows of very well when he says that these brave men and women have
saved countless lives on this planet over the years. This bill that he
has written, the First Responders Passport Act, is an important
amendment to the Passport Act of 1920, allowing the Secretary of State
to waive passport fees for those first responders who have volunteered
to serve our country and volunteered to travel abroad to aid others in
their time of greatest need.
Currently, the passport fee waiver can only be exercised for a very
limited group, largely comprised of officers or employees of the U.S.
traveling abroad on official duty. What this bill would do is to extend
that waiver to include first responders that are working under a
contract with the United States Government.
The U.S. Agency for International Development contracts with
approximately 450 first responders every year. These first responders
are required to maintain a valid passport in case of immediate
deployment, which can cost as much as $165 per passport for a first-
time applicant. These fees are not covered by the USAID contract or the
country but, rather, are paid out of pocket by the individual.
These first responders are serving in support of our national
interests. They are putting their own lives at risk to provide
immediate medical response following a natural disaster like the '04
Indian Ocean earthquake, which unleashed devastating tsunamis on
Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
Many of the first responders that deploy abroad come from the search
and rescue teams based in Los Angeles County, California, and Fairfax
County, Virginia. Waiving the passport fee for those brave and selfless
enough to help those in the greatest need is the least we can do. I
commend Congressman Issa for doing this.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself
such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Royce, Ranking Member
Engel, my colleague and friend from California (Mr. Issa), and my
fellow Foreign Affairs Committee colleagues for their unanimous support
in helping our first responders answer the call to service when a
natural disaster strikes abroad.
Every year, Americans bravely go abroad to help victims of natural
disasters in foreign lands, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the
2008 cyclone in Yemen, and 2015 Hurricane Patricia in Mexico, just to
name a few.
Earlier this year, the world was shocked by the images of Nepal's 7.8
magnitude earthquake that killed over 8,600 and injured over 16,800.
The United States was one of the largest donors to the relief and
rebuilding effort in the wake of this catastrophe through charitable
donations, DOD donations, and search and rescue operations and efforts.
The United States' search and rescue teams searched for survivors
trapped in debris.
These first responders continuously put their lives on the line at
home and abroad. Mr. Speaker, this is an example of American
leadership. Their bravery and efforts do not go unnoticed. We should
all do what we can to make their endeavors easier.
Unfortunately, American contractors and volunteers, despite being
coordinated by USAID, are subject to passport fees at their own expense
when attempting to travel abroad in response to these disasters. To
alleviate this obstacle, H.R. 3750, the First Responders Passport Act,
would allow the Secretary of State to grant their passports free of
charge.
I am proud to have introduced this commonsense bill with the
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) because contractors and volunteers
deserve the same treatment as government employees when they are being
sent abroad to offer their service on behalf of our Nation.
Cultural diplomacy, like the services these brave men and women
provide in the face of international disasters, is critical to our
international image and international relations. I ask that my
colleagues support this bipartisan, commonsense legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Issa), a senior member of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs and the author of this bill.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member
Engel for bringing this, in a timely fashion, to the floor. I want to
thank my partner in this legislation, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania.
Now, Congress often does things and makes a lot of to-do about it. I
don't want to overstate this simple technical correction, but I don't
want to understate it either. The fact is America is proud of people
who volunteer or choose, in the worst possible conditions, to go in
harm's way, to go in devastation's way.
It is a small thing, but very meaningful, to say that, one, they
won't have to pay for their passport out of their own pocket, and, two,
although normally the contracts for these first responders come out of
Los Angeles and Fairfax County, should there be a major disaster again
that is beyond these first responders' capability, the law will allow
for anyone authorized by the United States Government to go and help in
these areas to be granted, as necessary, a passport, including
expediting fees, in order to get to the devastation quickly and with a
minimum of bureaucracy involved.
America knows about Haiti, Nepal, Japan, and so many other devastated
areas over the last few years. Until today, America never took the time
to simply say in this small way thank you to our first responders:
Thank you for what you do. We certainly appreciate it enough for it to
come out of the taxpayers' pocket to make sure it doesn't have to come
out of your own pocket when you are going, on behalf of the American
people, to help those in need around the world.
Again, I thank the chairman for his leadership in bringing this in a
timely fashion. I urge support.
Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself
such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.
I would just say, briefly, that we are reminded each and every day
that
[[Page H9348]]
American leadership abroad is needed now more than ever. Yes, this has
a military component, it has an international relations and diplomacy
component, and it also has this soft power component.
Mr. Speaker, this is a part of the soft power of the United States,
harnessing the idealism and volunteerism of our people to do good for
others around the world when they are most in need. This is a rather
simple step that we can take to help those who are helping others. I am
proud to support it, and I ask that all Members support our
legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would like to recognize the work of Representative Issa and also
Representative Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania. I think that this
bill, this First Responders Passport Act, is going to be an important
change in the law in terms of encouraging people to be first
responders.
{time} 1145
By extending a courtesy that we currently grant to employees of the
government, we here have an opportunity to get first responders who
have that expertise, those volunteers who travel the greatest distances
to work in the harshest of conditions and to help those in greatest
need. This, to me, I think is a great concept.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill so that we can take care of
those who take care of others, our first responders.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3750, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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