S. 3786: A bill to reimburse United States citizens for costs incurred for commercial flights arranged by the Department of State to evacuate them from foreign countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to waive promissory notes and the obligation to repay emergency repatriation loans related to such travel.
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S. 3786: A bill to reimburse United States citizens for costs incurred for commercial flights arranged by the Department of State to evacuate them from foreign countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to waive promissory notes and the obligation to repay emergency repatriation loans related to such travel.
116th Congress · introduced 2020-05-20 · International Affairs · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-05-20 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
A bill to reimburse United States citizens for costs incurred for commercial flights arranged by the Department of State to evacuate them from foreign countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to waive promissory notes and the obligation to repay emergency repatriation loans related to such travel.
Plain summary
This bill makes the Department of State responsible, directly or through reimbursement, for evacuation and repatriation expenses incurred by a U.S. citizen during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. Under current law, U.S. citizens must reimburse the State Department for evacuation and repatriation expenses incurred on their behalf. The bill requires the State Department to waive the repayment expectation for travel expenses incurred by the State Department to evacuate and repatriate a U.S. citizen in response to COVID-19. Further, it makes null and void any obligation to repay an emergency repatriation loan for such expenses. The State Department must develop an online reimbursement claim process, and the Department of the Treasury must reimburse a U.S. citizen for any travel expenses directly associated with evacuation and repatriation on flights chartered or arranged by the State Department in response to COVID-19.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
A bill to reimburse United States citizens for costs incurred for commercial flights arranged by the Department of State to evacuate them from foreign countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to waive promissory notes and the obligation to repay emergency repatriation loans related to such travel.
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · 1 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] reported raising $5.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
Agencies named in this bill
- Department of State: its federal spending and other bills that name it
Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (2)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Obligation
- A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s3786.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s3786 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116