No Payments Required of American Citizens Departing Lebanon

Technorati Tags: Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Lebanon or State Department and Secretary of State, or President Bush and Cyprus, or U.S. Embassy, and Beirut, or Lebanese, and Syria, or EMERGENCY EVACUATION, and No Payments Required, or Foreign Relations Authorization Act,

No Payments Required of American Citizens Departing Lebanon

In this extraordinary case, Secretary Rice has directed the State Department to waive the requirement for American citizens departing Lebanon to reimburse the United States Government for their travel costs. We want to do everything we can to facilitate the departure of American citizens from Lebanon. Today’s step removes one potential worry for our citizens at this difficult time.

2006/695, Press Statement, Sean McCormack, Spokesman, Washington, DC, July 18, 2006, Released on July 18, 2006

Press Briefing Tony Snow 07/18/06 (VIDEO) Q Then let me follow about the evacuations of Americans. Are you comfortable with the pace at which they've proceeded? And we're starting to hear from some Americans in Lebanon that they have not been getting adequate help, and this idea of their paying for their evacuation, all that is -- they have some problems with. What's your sense of it?

A As for the complaint -- and I understand it -- about having to pay actually the same rate you get charged, which is commercial rate plus a dollar -- that is a result of congressional law. It is actually part of the 2003 Foreign Relations Authorization Act. Interestingly, the Department of State had actually asked for some fairly lax guidelines in terms of trying to do this. This is a provision that provides for the evacuation while lives are endanger by war, civil unrest, or natural disaster, and this includes American citizens, employees, dependents and so on. The State Department wanted something like -- they wanted, on a reimbursable basis to the extent feasible. Congress said, no, no, no, we want to get our money out of them -- I'm paraphrasing -- and they strengthened the language to the maximum extent practicable. It's the law. I daresay it's something that is causing heartburn for a number of people, but it is the law, and the State Department has to abide by it. Press Briefing Tony Snow 07/18/06 (VIDEO) FULL TEXT

The Pertinent Laws relating to Mr. Snows statement.

Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 H.R.1646

SEC. 201. EMERGENCY EVACUATION SERVICES.

Section 4(b)(2)(A) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2671(b)(2)(A)) is amended to read as follows:

`(A) the evacuation when their lives are endangered by war, civil unrest, or natural disaster of--

`(i) United States Government employees and their dependents; and

`(ii) private United States citizens or third-country nationals, on a reimbursable basis to the maximum extent practicable, with such reimbursements to be credited to the applicable Department of State appropriation and to remain available until expended, except that no reimbursement under this clause shall be paid that is greater than the amount the person evacuated would have been charged for a reasonable commercial air fare immediately prior to the events giving rise to the evacuation;'.

H.R.1646 Title: To authorize appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal years 2002 and 2003, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Hyde, Henry J. [IL-6] (introduced 4/27/2001) Cosponsors (1) Related Bills: H.CON.RES.483, H.RES.138, H.RES.545, S.1401, S.1803 Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 107-228 [GPO: Text, PDF] House Reports: 107-57; Latest Conference Report: 107-671 (in Congressional Record H6422-6470)

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 121,

Republican 180 36 3, Democratic 172 35 3, PELOSI, AYE

and more background plus the latest actions:

"State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956" "travel costs"

H.R.5828 Title: To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to remove the reimbursement requirement for evacuation as a result of war, civil unrest, or natural disaster. Sponsor: Rep Dingell, John D. [MI-15] (introduced 7/18/2006) Cosponsors (None) Latest Major Action: 7/18/2006 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.

Related: Keywords H.R. Monday, July 03, 2006 H.R. 5403 Foster Children Act, Friday, June 16, 2006 VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 288 on H.R. 861, Thursday, May 18, 2006 President Signs Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005, Friday, March 24, 2006 President Signs Bill to Strengthen Trade with Ukraine (VIDEO), Friday, February 10, 2006 President Signs S.1932, Deficit Reduction Act (VIDEO), Tuesday, January 03, 2006 President Signs 14 House and Senate Resolutions, Tuesday, October 19, 2004 Provisional Ballots, Early Voting, and 10,000 Lawyers, Monday, December 06, 2004 Bill # H.R.10 intelligence community, Sunday, December 12, 2004 House and Senate Resolutions, Thursday, December 23, 2004 Statement on House and Senate Resolutions, Saturday, January 08, 2005 H.R.241 tax charitable contributions relief tsunami, Tuesday, January 11, 2005 bush H.R. 241 tax deduction tsunami relief, Friday, February 11, 2005 H.R.418 REAL ID Act of 2005, Monday, February 21, 2005 .256 Bankruptcy Reform Bill, Wednesday, March 09, 2005 S.148 United States Boxing Commission, Sunday, March 13, 2005 H.R. 1220 Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-living Adjustment Act of 2005, Wednesday, March 16, 2005 H.R.1268 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, Friday, March 18, 2005 Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005 H. R. 1332 Friday, March 25, 2005 H.R. 1160, S. 384, Friday, April 01, 2005 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, Friday, April 01, 2005 H.R. 1270, Friday, April 15, 2005 H.R.1134 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Thursday, April 21, 2005 H. R. 6 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Tuesday, April 26, 2005 House Floor Report 04/26/05, Thursday, April 28, 2005 H.R.748 Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, Friday, April 29, 2005 H.R. 787

Secretary Rice With Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit VIDEO, PODCAST, TEXT

Technorati Tags: President Bush and White House or Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Egyptian or Egypt and Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Lebanon or State Department and Secretary of State,

Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Washington, DC, July 18, 2006 (1:45 p.m. EDT), Watch, file is windows media format, running time is 05:43. Listen, file is mp3 in m3u format for streaming play back, running time is 05:43. Download, file is mp3 format for PODCAST, running time is 05:43.

SECRETARY RICE: Good afternoon. I am very pleased to welcome my colleague, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, to the State Department, to Washington. The Foreign Minister of Egypt and I are launching today the inaugural meeting of our U.S.-Egyptian Strategic Dialogue. It is a dialogue that is devoted to the wide range of issues that arise in our relationship. It is devoted to a strengthening of our relationship.

We obviously have a very strong and longstanding strategic relationship, but it is of course a time of great change in the Middle East, it is a time of great change in Egypt itself, and it makes therefore even more important our constant discussion and consultation. We talk about matters of economic development. We talk about internal political developments in Egypt and in the region.

And it will not surprise you that given the circumstances evolving in the Middle East today that we have spent already a good deal of time talking about the challenging situation in the region. We both have talked about our concerns for the safety of civilians, that all should be concerned about protecting innocent civilian life, about protecting civilian infrastructure. We are of course both devoted to the evolution of a stable and sovereign Lebanon on the basis of Resolution 1559 and we have talked about how to improve the circumstances in which that can be carried out.

Egypt is of course a good partner as we work for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, and we have talked also about trying to get that situation back on the road to -- back on the roadmap.

And so it has been a very fruitful discussion thus far. I've promised to buy Ahmed lunch so that we can continue our discussions and broaden those discussions. But thank you very much for being here, Minister, and I look forward to further discussions with you today and in the future.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Thank you very much, Secretary. Yes, I am pleased to initiate the Strategic Dialogue between the United States and Egypt. The relationship between both is a strategic relationship and it is a lasting, long-lasting relationship.

We of course today had the opportunity to engage in discussions on the situation in the Middle East and the wider Middle East, meaning the situation in Lebanon, the Palestinian problem, the situation in Gaza. We discussed ways and means how to bring a cessation of hostilities to an end, to establish a ceasefire, how to create the conducive environment for that ceasefire, the implementation of 1559, the deployment of the Lebanese army to the borders, the introduction of a strong peacekeeping operation or at least the widening of the presence of UNIFIL in that region.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: We will continue discussions during and over lunch to cover also other areas of concern.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary --

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, will you take a question, please?

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, is it time for the United States to, instead of relying on the UN envoys and their report, to become more immediately involved, to become more engaged? And how long do you think Israel should have before it should consider a ceasefire?

SECRETARY RICE: Andrea, first of all, I think that the G-8 was very eloquent in speaking about the need to deal with creating conducive circumstances. We all want a cessation of violence. We all want a protection -- the protection of civilians. We have to make certain that anything that we do is going to be of lasting value. The Middle East has been through too many spasms of violence and we have to deal with underlying conditions so that we can create a sustainable conditions for -- so that we can create sustainable conditions for political progress there.

As to my own involvement, I am very deeply involved with my colleagues, with the regional states like Egypt which is a leader, with my G-8 and P-5 colleagues. I talked today to Mr. Solana. And as I have said, when it is appropriate and when it is necessary and will be helpful to the situation, I am more than pleased to go to the region.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Andrea --

QUESTION: Is the U.S. going to --

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Andrea, a ceasefire is imperative and we have to keep working to reach that objective. It is imperative. We have to bring it to an end as soon as possible. Thank you.

QUESTION: Should there be a ceasefire now?

SECRETARY RICE: We all agree that it should happen as soon as possible when conditions are conducive to do so.

2006/693, Released on July 18, 2006

Related: Keyword Egypt, Friday, May 19, 2006 Statement on Denial of the Appeal of Egyptian Politician Ayman Nour, Tuesday, December 27, 2005 , Sunday, March 06, 2005 Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa, Monday, March 14, 2005 Karen P. Hughes, Dina Habib Powell, of Texas, Thursday, May 12, 2005 President Bush will welcome Prime Minister Nazif of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Friday, May 27, 2005 Egyptian Referendum Vote, Wednesday, July 06, 2005 Zoellick To Travel to the Sudan, Jordan and Egypt, Friday, July 08, 2005 Killing of Egyptian Envoy to Iraq, Ihab al-Sherif, Monday, July 25, 2005 President Signs Egyptian Condolence Book, Sunday, September 11, 2005 Egyptian Presidential Election, Tuesday, September 27, 2005 Karen Hughes, Remarks with Dr. Ali El Samman, Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, November 15, 2005 Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Gaza Agreement,