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Today, U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06) and Jim McGovern (D-MA-02) introduced legislation to protect American citizens evacuating foreign countries during a crisis. The Leave No Americans Behind Act would end the practice of charging fees from Americans evacuating foreign countries in times of crisis.

“We have a responsibility to get Americans out of harm’s way, no questions asked, and no strings attached,” said Dingell. “These fees place a real financial burden on people during an already traumatic time, while providing only a marginal amount of revenue. The government shouldn’t be charging fees to Americans in distress during a crisis outside of their control.”

 “Our government’s top job ought to be ensuring the safety of the American people at home and abroad,”said McGovern. “It’s outrageous and unacceptable that the evacuation of Americans during a crisis comes with strings attached. I’m proud to partner with Representative Dingell to make sure that Americans in danger can focus on getting to safety—not on whether they can afford to pay for an unexpected and unplanned emergency evacuation.”

Current State Department policy requires American citizens who are being evacuated from a foreign country to sign a promissory note obligating them to repay to the US government the equivalent price of a commercial flight from the area from which they are being evacuated. These evacuation fees typically cost hundreds of dollars, and the federal government will put a hold on an evacuee’s passport until this amount is repaid.

Dingell and McGovern first introduced the Leave No Americans Behind Act in 2018. Concerns about this practice resurface every time there is a major evacuation of U.S. citizens from a foreign country, like we are currently seeing across the Middle East. These fees provide a minimal amount of revenue to the federal government in a typical year, with less than $1 million collected from FY2015 – FY2018.

View the full text of the bill here.