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Week Ending July 28, 2006

H.R.5865 to amend section 1113 of the Social Security Act to temporarily increase funding for the program of temporary assistance for United States citizens returned from foreign countries, and for other purposes.

<< Click flag for map and country data, Lebanon 

If an American citizen arrives back in the US without resources and is identified by the State Department as having returned or having been brought from a foreign country due to war, the threat of war, invasion or other crisis or because of the individual’s destitution, a dependent’s illness, they become eligible for taxpayer funds.

The bill relates to Lebanon evacuations and the funds can be for domestic travel and short-term lodging.

The funds will come through an existing Repatriation program that is extended in this bill through September 30, 2007. That program caps such spending at $1 million per year but this bill would authorize temporarily increasing that amount, gives no caps and no indication of how much would ultimately be spent.

Sponsor: Rep. William M. Thomas (R-CA-22^nd)

Vote: Passed House by voice vote July 26, 2006.

Cost to the taxpayers: Over $1 million yearly is the current funding. The bill would spend up to $6 million. The bill was later displaced by the House when it amended the Senate bill, S 3741 by increasing the available funds to $19 million.

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