Emergency Repatriation Assistance for Returning Americans Act
Public Law 117-39 · H.R. 5085 · 117th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Joe Biden (D) on Aug 31, 2021 · Social Welfare
Sponsor: Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA-1)
Cosponsors (1): Rep. Danny Davis
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- 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.
Emergency Repatriation Assistance for Returning Americans Act
This bill increases the maximum amount of funding available in FY2021 and FY2022 for temporary assistance for U.S. citizens and their dependents who are returning from foreign countries due to a crisis and are without available resources. Under current law, the Department of Health and Human Services may provide assistance such as money payments and medical care to these individuals on a temporary basis. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending that is exempt from pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules and other budget enforcement procedures.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
- Ways and Means Committee · House · discharged from, referred toSubcommittee: Social Security Subcommittee
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. 14 actions.
- Aug 31, 2021Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 117-39.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- FloorFloor · Received in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Aug 24, 2021FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
- FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Davis, Danny K. asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on the Budget discharged.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Ways and Means discharged.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
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.