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Adds a fee-waiver rule so people who lost covered critical documents in a Presidentially declared major disaster that qualifies for individual assistance can get required federal document fees waived. The Department of State and USCIS must post public notice of the waivers and report to Congress annually on number of waivers and associated costs; the President must consult the State governor before waiving fees for eligible individuals or households.
Amend paragraph (2) of Section 1238(a) by changing the text so it specifies that the requirement for the President to waive fees under new paragraph (4) applies regardless (modifies wording to reference the waiver requirement).
Redesignate existing paragraph (4) of Section 1238(a) as paragraph (8).
Create a new paragraph (4) that requires the President, in consultation with the Governor of a State, to provide the fee waiver described in paragraph (1) to any individual or household adversely affected by a major disaster declared under section 401 of the Stafford Act when (A) the President provides assistance to individuals and households under section 408 of the Stafford Act and (B) the disaster destroyed a critical document of that individual or household.
Require the Secretary of State and the Director of USCIS to make publicly available on their respective agency websites a notice that fee waivers described in new paragraph (4) are available.
Require the Director of USCIS to submit to Congress, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this paragraph and every year thereafter, a report that includes (A) the number of fee waivers granted under this subsection and (B) the cost to USCIS of granting those fee waivers.
Primary beneficiaries are disaster survivors and households who lost important documents (identity, immigration, travel, or other federally issued records) in a major disaster and qualify for individual assistance; they can avoid out-of-pocket fees to replace those documents. Federal agencies (Department of State and USCIS) will need to implement notice, intake, verification, waiver-processing, and annual reporting systems; this creates modest administrative and fiscal impacts for those agencies. States and governors have a consultative role before waivers are granted, which requires coordination but does not create a funding mandate for states. Because the bill directs agencies to track and report costs, Congress and appropriators will have better data to consider future budget adjustments. The change reduces short-term financial barriers for survivors to restore identity and immigration records, which can speed recovery and access to services.
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REPLACE Act
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Joseph Neguse · Last progress February 13, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House