H.R. 4995

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4995 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4995

To modify the responsibilities of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation 
Efforts, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 19, 2025

Ms. Kamlager-Dove (for herself, Mr. Lawler, Ms. Titus, Mr. McCaul, Mr. 
Peters, Mr. Bera, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Meeks, Mr. 
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Stanton, Ms. Norton, Ms. McBride, Mr. Sherman, 
Mr. Keating, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Castro of Texas, and Ms. 
Johnson of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To modify the responsibilities of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation 
Efforts, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Enduring Welcome Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) The Enduring Welcome program is the safest, most secure 
legal immigration pathway to the United States.
(2) The resettlement of Afghan allies in the Special 
Immigrant Visa (SIV) and the United States Refugee Admissions 
Program (USRAP) P1/P2 pipelines is critical to upholding United 
States credibility and incentivizing future support for United 
States servicemembers.
(3) Failing to reunite active-duty United States military 
personnel and veterans with their Afghan family members in the 
Afghan relocation pipeline is harmful to the United States 
servicemember community.
(4) A review conducted by Department of Justice's Office of 
Inspector General released on June 10, 2025, concluded that the 
process for vetting applicants for Afghan SIVs is rigorous and 
effective in protecting United States national security.
(5) The permanent authorization of the Coordinator for 
Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) under section 7810 of the 
Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Public Law 118-159) 
reflects a bipartisan commitment to fulfilling wartime promises 
and ensuring accountability in United States relocation policy.

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR FOR AFGHAN RELOCATION EFFORTS.

Section 7810 of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Public Law 
118-159) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``of 
Coordinator''; and
(B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(i) by inserting before ``The Secretary'' 
the following: ``The Secretary shall establish 
an Office of the Coordinator for Afghan 
Relocation Efforts in the Department of 
State.''; and
(ii) by inserting before ``who shall be 
responsible for'' the following: ``who shall be 
the head of the Office of the Coordinator for 
Afghan Relocation Efforts, and'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as 
subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Additional Responsibilities.--The Coordinator shall be 
responsible for--
``(1) supporting the voluntary departure of covered persons 
who request assistance departing Afghanistan;
``(2) leading coordination of interagency efforts relating 
to vetting, security screening, and case processing of eligible 
Afghan allies in the Department of State, in coordination with 
the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of 
Defense;
``(3) facilitating relocation and resettlement logistics in 
coordination with resettlement support centers and United 
States-based resettlement agencies;
``(4) addressing family reunification barriers, including 
cases involving United States active-duty servicemembers and 
veterans;
``(5) coordinating integration support, including trauma 
recovery and medical care, with other Federal agencies;
``(6) maintaining and analyzing a centralized, secure 
database of Afghan applicants, beneficiaries, and relocated 
individuals to inform operations and ensure transparency; and
``(7) providing timely information to Congress on the 
status of Afghan relocation efforts and progress made under 
this mandate.''.

SEC. 4. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION AND DATABASE.

(a) Collection of Information.--The Coordinator shall collect 
information on Afghan applicants, beneficiaries, and relocated 
individuals to inform operations and ensure transparency, including--
(1) the number of Afghan nationals pursuing admission to 
the United States as a special immigrant under section 602 of 
the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note), 
as a refugee under section 207 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) 
(whether as priority one or priority 2), or as a parolee under 
section 212(d)(5)(A) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A)), 
disaggregated by whether they are in Afghanistan, the United 
States, or a third country;
(2) the number of family reunification cases pending, 
approved, and completed;
(3) the average time between application, vetting, 
relocation, and resettlement;
(4) the number of individuals who have been denied or 
administratively closed out, and the reason for such actions;
(5) the number of active-duty United States military and 
veteran-linked cases involving family separation; and
(6) such other information as the Secretary of State or 
Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts may prescribe.
(b) Database.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall establish and 
maintain a secure, centralized database to maintain the 
information collected pursuant to subsection (a).
(2) Form.--The information in the database established 
pursuant to this subsection may be in classified form to the 
extent necessary but such information shall be usable for 
operational reporting, oversight, coordination across relevant 
Federal departments and agencies, and regular reporting to 
Congress.
(3) Report.--Beginning on the date that is 30 days after 
the date on which the database required by this subsection is 
established, and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report on the status of each metric with respect to 
information that is being collected pursuant to subsection (a).
(c) Notification.--Beginning on and after the date specified in 
section 7(a), the Secretary of State shall continue to maintain this 
database required by this section unless the Secretary, with prior 
consultation with the appropriate congressional committees, provides 
notification to the appropriate congressional committees that shall 
include--
(1) the number of covered persons with pending relocation 
cases or appeals before the United States Government; and
(2) the estimated population of eligible covered persons 
which remains to be resettled.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate.
(2) Coordinator.--The term ``Coordinator'' means the 
Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts appointed pursuant to 
section 3(a).
(3) Covered person.--The term ``covered person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen;
(B) an immediate relative (as such term is 
described in section 201(b) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151)) with respect to whom a 
petition has been approved and all required documents 
have been received;
(C) an alien who has been admitted to the United 
States as a lawful permanent resident;
(D) a spouse or unmarried child under the age of 21 
of an alien described in subparagraph (C) with respect 
to whom a petition has been approved, all required 
documents have been received, and who has a current 
priority date as of the date on which the individual 
seeks assistance from the Coordinator;
(E) a principal applicant for special immigrant 
status under section 602 of the Afghan Allies 
Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note);
(F) a spouse or unmarried child under the age of 21 
of an alien described in subparagraph (E) who has been 
issued a visa or with respect to whom the Chief of 
Mission has approved their application, and with 
respect to whom all documents have been received;
(G) an alien who has been approved to be admitted 
to the United States as a refugee or spouse or 
unmarried child under the age of 21 (as of August 14, 
2021) of such an alien;
(H) a spouse or an unmarried child under the age of 
21 of an alien admitted to the United States pursuant 
to the Operations Allies Welcome program (or any 
successor program); or
(I) the primary caregiver of a surviving child 
described in section 602(b)(2)(C) of the Afghan Allies 
Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note), or a 
spouse or an unmarried child under the age of 21 of 
such a primary caregiver.

SEC. 6. SUNSET.

(a) In General.--Except as provided in section 4(c), this Act and 
the authorities provided by this Act shall terminate on the date that 
is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (f) of section 7810 of the 
Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Public Law 118-159), as 
redesignated by section 3, is amended by striking ``3'' and inserting 
``5''.
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