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1 1 (March 31, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcpzx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' -iE S .,. & , March 31, 2020 U.S. Repatriation Program for Citizens Returned from Abroad Section 1113 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §1313) permanently authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide temporary aid to certain repatriated U.S. citizens and their dependents. Eligible citizens must (1) be without available resources and (2) be identified by the Department of State (DOS) as having returned (or been brought) from a foreign country because the citizen was destitute, because the citizen (or dependent) was ill, or because of war, threat of war, invasion, or a similar crisis. Temporary aid is generally provided as a loan. The Social Security Amendments of 1961 (P.L. 87- 64) established the program, following the repatriation of a substantial number of American citizens from Cuba (S.Rept. 87-425). Jurisdiction has traditionally been exercised by the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. Fe dsr st,'l d n istr& :,,-':o Since August 2018, the program has been operated by the Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR) within the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Previously, the program had been operated by the ACF Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). (Annual ORR Reports to Congress include some historical information on the program, though Section 1113 does not contain explicit reporting requirements.) ACF coordinates with DOS in operating the program. Under its own set of statutory authorities, DOS assists U.S. citizens while abroad by providing for their evacuation or return when their lives are endangered (22 U.S.C. §4802) or when they are destitute (22 U.S.C. §2671). This is generally done via loans or on a reimbursable basis. Once individuals arrive in the United States, ACF assumes responsibility for providing temporary aid under Section 1113 to eligible repatriates referred by DOS. Some operational responsibilities for the reception, temporary care, or transportation of eligible repatriates may be carried out by states through repatriation agreements with ACF or by a non-governmental organization under a cooperative agreement with ACF. The program provides temporary assistance to repatriates and may also cover administrative costs incurred by states or other entities. Temporary assistance is defined as money payments, medical care, temporary billeting, transportation, and other services (e.g., counseling) needed for the health or welfare of an individual. The resource test for eligibility looks at whether resources are immediately accessible to meet an individual's needs. In general, assistance may not be provided for more than 90 days. Regulations make an exception if an individual is handicapped in attaining self- support or self-care for reasons such as age, disability, or lack of vocational preparation. In such cases, aid may be extended by nine months, with prior approval from ACF. Section 1113 generally requires recipients of temporary assistance to repay the federal government (i.e., the assistance is treated as a loan). However, the law also gives HHS the authority to effectively waive repayment. Federal regulations establish factors allowing for such waivers. For instance, repayment may be waived as a result of financial hardship or if recovering funds would be against equity and good conscience. ACF data suggest that relatively few waivers are granted each year (typically fewer than a dozen). Data also suggest that less than 20% of new loan costs are recovered each year. If costs are not recovered within 30 days, loans begin accruing interest. Costs recovered via loan repayments do not directly offset expenditures in the repatriation program. a,ss Erne,,rge,,cy pztri&t2o) Beyond routine repatriations, the program occasionally responds to mass emergency repatriation events. Such events are typically the result of war or natural disasters. For example, the program supported mass repatriations from Lebanon amidst the Hezbollah-Jsrael War in 2006, and from Haiti due to an earthquake in 2010. During a mass emergency repatriation, ACF or participating states/entities typically set up a processing reception center at applicable ports of entry. This is done in coordination with DOS, as well as states selected to receive repatriates. At these centers, repatriates who do not have immediate access to resources complete an intake form and loan repayment agreement. Repatriates are interviewed to determine what assistance they need (e.g., travel costs, cash assistance). After a mass repatriation has ended, states or other entities submit claims for the administrative costs incurred and for temporary assistance provided directly to repatriates. ,F r u n d , .... The repatriation program is a capped mandatory spending program. The current cap of $1 million per fiscal year was put in place in FY1990 (P.L. 101-382). The $1 million cap has been temporarily waived or raised several times since then (including for FY1990), usually in response to a mass emergency repatriation event (see Table 1). In most cases, laws adjusted the funding cap by amending Section 1113 to temporarily waive or raise the cap in its entirety, not for a particular purpose (i.e., spending in excess of $1 million was not limited to a particular purpose or activity, regardless of what prompted the cap adjustment). In two cases, however, the cap was effectively waived due to provisions in supplemental appropriations acts. These provisions allowed for additional spending notwithstanding the cap, but effectively constrained such spending by K~:> mppm qq\ p\w gn'a', ggmm a 'S I 11LIANJILiN,

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