A bill to waive the passport fees for a relative of a deceased member of the Armed Forces proceeding abroad to visit the grave of such member or to attend a funeral or memorial service for such member.
Public Law 109-210 · S. 1184 · 109th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Mar 24, 2006 · International Affairs
Sponsor: Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Cosponsors (2): Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. George Allen
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Waives passport fees for the widow, widower, child, parent, grandparent, brother, or sister of a deceased member of the armed forces traveling abroad to visit such member's grave or to attend such member's funeral or memorial service. (Current law does not provide such benefit for a widower or grandparent, and limits such benefit to visits to the grave.)
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
The record lists no related bills.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 19 actions.
- Mar 24, 2006Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 109-210.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Mar 16, 2006FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Mar 14, 2006FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 1184.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Smith (NJ) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- OtherOther · Cleared for White House.
- Dec 22, 2005FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
- Nov 4, 2005CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 279.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Lugar without amendment. Without written report.
- Nov 1, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Jun 7, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- CommitteeCommittee · Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6166)
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.