[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7874-H7875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FIRST RESPONDERS PASSPORT ACT OF 2019
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 2229) 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. 2229
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 2019''.
SEC. 2. PASSPORTS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 1 of the Act of
June 4, 1920 (22 U.S.C. 214; 41 Stat. 750; commonly referred
to as the ``Passport Act of 1920''), is amended, in the third
sentence, by inserting after ``to attend a funeral or
memorial service for such member;'' the following: ``at the
discretion of the Secretary, from an individual, including a
volunteer, who is operating under a contract, grant, or
cooperative agreement with the United States Government to
proceed abroad within the first seven days after a natural
disaster to aid a foreign country suffering from such natural
disaster;''.
(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.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Levin) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include in the Record extraneous material on H.R. 2229.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Chabot) for his hard work on this legislation. This is a good bill that
passed the House in the 114th Congress, and I am glad we are
considering an updated version of it now.
USAID-supported search and rescue teams have played an essential role
in the aftermath of many overseas natural disasters, including
earthquakes in Nepal, Haiti, Japan, and New Zealand. Just this past
month, search and rescue units from Virginia were deployed to the
Bahamas to assist the victims of Hurricane Dorian.
These first responders provide specialized capabilities and
demonstrate our commitment to international partners during their times
of need. They put their lives on the line to help people around the
world who are in need, and by doing so, they demonstrate the compassion
of the American people.
This bill would authorize the Secretary of State, at their
discretion, to waive passport fees for the brave Americans who mobilize
quickly as part of a U.S. Government-supported team to help other
countries when a natural disaster strikes.
This is a commonsense fix to help ensure the rapid deployment of
Americans who risk life and limb to help other countries in their times
of need. It is a good bill that I am proud to support.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in doing so, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the First Responders Passport
Act, and I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for introducing
this bill.
Americans who answer the call to service in response to disasters
abroad are some of the best that America has to offer. Often first on
the scene when calamity strikes, our fire and rescue teams are the
embodiment of the generosity of the American people. Their commitment
and sacrifice earn immense goodwill toward our Nation.
This bill will help our first responders obtain the overseas travel
documentation that they need in a quick and cost-effective way.
For these reasons, it deserves our unanimous support, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Chabot), a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the
author of the First Responders Passport Act.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
McCaul) for yielding, and I rise today in support of H.R. 2229, the
First Responders Passport Act, legislation I introduced along with
Congressman Boyle to exempt first responders operating on behalf of the
U.S. Government from passport fees. This legislation is especially
timely as we just witnessed Hurricane Dorian's destruction in the
Bahamas.
Currently, USAID contracts with first responders to deploy them
abroad for natural disasters, like Hurricane Dorian. For example, every
5 years, USAID awards contracts to local fire departments that have
highly trained, internationally certified urban search and rescue
teams, allowing USAID to have these specialists on call. A team of
these first responders deployed to the Bahamas as part of our recent
relief efforts there.
To arrive at disaster zones in time, these teams are required to be
able to deploy the day a disaster strikes. Consequently, they must
maintain an active passport while they are under contract.
Unfortunately, volunteers or other members of these teams that are
not deployed by a local or State government have to do so at their own
expense, even though they could potentially be traveling on government
business. My legislation allows the Secretary of State to waive
passport fees for them and other similarly situated individuals.
Brave first responders sacrifice time away from their families to go
to disaster zones on behalf of the U.S. Government and represent our
Nation to people who have lost everything. As part of an official U.S.
response, the Federal Government ought to cover the first responders'
costs.
That is why I am pleased that we have been able to work in a
bipartisan manner, Democrats and Republicans working together to bring
this legislation to the House floor, and I urge my colleagues to
support it.
Mr. Speaker, I now turn to the BURMA Act, legislation that Chairman
Engel and I introduced to sanction the Burmese military for its gross
human rights violations against the Rohingya.
This legislation has already passed the House twice as part of this
year's and last year's NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act. I
am pleased that we can consider it by itself today.
Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, the Burmese military drove over 700,000
Rohingya, many of them children, out of Rakhine State and into
Bangladesh. This brutal, systematic, premeditated campaign inflicted
unspeakable horrors on the Rohingya, including barbaric killings, gang
rapes, and the burning of hundreds and hundreds of villages.
As a clearer picture emerged over time, the mounting evidence led the
[[Page H7875]]
House to pass legislation that I authored to call these atrocities what
they were--genocide.
It is extremely frustrating that, after 2 years, the Burmese military
has faced very few consequences for these crimes.
That is why we must pass the BURMA Act today. It would provide needed
tools to ensure greater accountability on the Burmese military for
these atrocities.
Lastly, I would like to address any concern that if we, the United
States, stand up for human rights in Asia, dictators will go scurrying,
go running to China. This entirely misses the point.
Our competition with China is over whose values will shape the world.
If we have to look the other way on genocide, China has already won.
It is well past time that the BURMA Act became law, either this
version or the version that this House passed under the NDAA. Either
version is very good.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support them, and we hope that
it is done in a very timely manner. I support passage of this
legislation.
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, America's first responders represent to the world the
humanity at the heart of our Nation.
I, again, thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for his
expression of support for their overseas activities, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume for purposes of closing.
Mr. Speaker, the First Responders Passport Act is a good measure that
passed the House in the 114th Congress. I am glad we are considering it
again today.
This is a straightforward and commonsense measure to make sure we can
rapidly deploy American search and rescue teams to other countries when
disaster strikes.
I urge all Members to join me in supporting this measure, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2229, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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