Washington—Representatives Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Michael T. McCaul, the Committee’s Ranking Member, today called on the Government Accountability Office and the State Department to provide information about the Department’s unprecedented efforts to repatriate Americans during COVID-19 to ensure best practices are adopted in future repatriation efforts.
In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the lawmakers requested information about the Department’s COVID-19 related repatriation efforts to date to better inform Congress about this critical Department capacity. In a concurrent letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the members detailed a list of criteria for GAO to research as part of its report on State’s repatriation efforts.
“The COVID-19 outbreak has created unprecedented challenges for the State Department as international border closures and other travel restrictions around the world have made it very difficult for tens of thousands of Americans around the world to return home. The State Department effort to help bring these individuals back to the United States has resulted in the repatriation of more than 80,000 Americans to date. State Department efforts to repatriate Americans continue and could spike again depending on virus-related developments around the globe,” the members wrote to Comptroller Dodaro.
“While large-scale repatriation efforts associated with COVID-19 are moving towards a conclusion, new challenges may emerge in the future either in connection with COVID-19 or other similar global crises. It is critical that the Department continue to prepare for such scenarios, using lessons it learned in the earliest days of this global repatriation effort...to ensure that future repatriations can be carried out swiftly and smoothly,” the lawmakers wrote to Secretary Pompeo.
Full text of the letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro can be found here.
Full text of the letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo can be found here.
Full text of both letters can also be found below.
Dear Comptroller Dodaro:
The COVID-19 outbreak has created unprecedented challenges for the State Department as international border closures and other travel restrictions around the world have made it very difficult for tens of thousands of Americans around the world to return home. The State Department effort to help bring these individuals back to the United States has resulted in the repatriation of more than 80,000 Americans to date. State Department efforts to repatriate Americans continue and could spike again depending on virus-related developments around the globe.
We are aware that the Government Accountability Office is reviewing the United States Government’s efforts, led by the Department of State, to repatriate American citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak. An audit of the strategic planning and implementation of these efforts is vital and will help Congress determine the effectiveness of the strategies utilized and possible ways to enhance the Department of State’s capabilities to repatriate Americans in crisis, including through additional legislation or resources. We look forward to receiving the results of this effort.
In order to further the Committee’s understanding of both the planning and effectiveness of efforts by the U.S. government to repatriate American citizens during the COVID-19 crisis, we request that GAO’s ongoing review include the evaluations of the following as feasible:
· The Department of State’s level and quality of preparedness and strategic planning in place at the outset of this crisis to repatriate Americans from around the globe.
· The effectiveness of Department of State communications with U.S. citizens regarding repatriation assistance, including when issuing passports or travel documents, at the outset of the crisis, and over the duration of the global repatriation effort.
· The establishment, mandate, and operations of the Repatriation Task Force as the key node in the Department for coordinating and executing global repatriations, and the communications and coordination between the Repatriation Task Force and U.S. embassies and consulates engaged in repatriations.
· The State Department’s diplomatic engagement and negotiations with foreign countries to retain or re-open commercial air space to enable the departure of U.S. persons from foreign countries in a timely fashion.
· The Department of State’s decision to prioritize use of commercial charter flights, in addition to directly operating “K-fund” charter flights and review whether the Department sufficiently considered other means to support repatriation efforts, including requesting Secretary of Defense activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet or using Department funds to subsidize or otherwise incentivize the standing up of commercial charter flights.
· The Department of State’s system for issuing promissory notes to citizens to cover the costs of their repatriation flights, including whether the Department has effective mechanisms to ensure repayment of these loans.
· A determination of whether prices for State chartered K-fund repatriation flights were consistent with pre-crisis prices as required by Department of State regulations, how the Department responded to any evidence it received of possible price gouging on commercial charter flights operated at the Department’s request, and steps the Department took to address price concerns with commercial carriers.
· The total cost of COVID-19 repatriation efforts for the Department of State and a determination whether existing Consular Affairs fee generation/cost-recovery mechanisms are adequate for supporting current and future repatriation needs.
· A determination of whether the Department of State provided adequate Personal Protective Equipment to employees physically involved in repatriation efforts where social distancing may have been difficult to observe, and if Bureau of Medical Services protocols for protecting against transmission risk on State-organized evacuation flights were sufficient.
We thank you for your assistance in this matter and your efforts to undertake this important audit. Please do not hesitate to contact our staff at (202) 225-5021 with any questions or concerns, or to discuss these issues in more detail.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel
Chairman
Michael T. McCaul
Ranking Member
Dear Secretary Pompeo:
The COVID-19 outbreak created unprecedented challenges for the State Department as international border closures and other travel restrictions around the world have made it very difficult for tens of thousands of Americans around the world to return home. We applaud the tireless efforts of the State Department workforce, including the many employees at our embassies and consulates around the world, who have been working to help bring these individuals back to the United States. We also thank the many Department employees who have volunteered to serve on the Department’s Repatriation Task Force, and we welcomed the regular updates that it and other senior officials have provided to Congress about these efforts. The success of your team in repatriating more than 80,000 Americans to date during the COVID-19 crisis is commendable, and we hope you will pass along our gratitude to the men and women of the Department.
While large-scale repatriation efforts associated with COVID-19 are moving towards a conclusion, new challenges may emerge in the future either in connection with COVID-19 or other similar global crises. It is critical that the Department continue to prepare for such scenarios, using lessons it learned in the earliest days of this global repatriation effort—particularly from countries like Peru and Morocco where there were a significant number of American travelers—to ensure that future repatriations can be carried out swiftly and smoothly.
Throughout the unprecedented global repatriation effort in response to COVID-19, your team focused on mobilizing available capacity among commercial airlines in parallel with State Department-organized charter flights. As such, we recently encouraged major U.S. air carriers to work in close partnership with the Department on this challenge. But the Department’s role in ensuring the safety—and safe return—of American citizens abroad is both critical and unique. To improve the Committee’s understanding of recent repatriation efforts, and to ensure the Department has the authorities and resources it needs to continue to successfully carry out future missions, we welcome information from you and your team on the following items:
· A list of all COVID-19 related repatriation flights carried out to-date with information as to whether each flight was a State Department-funded charter or a “commercial rescue” flight (e.g. direct-sale commercial charter), and the carriers who provided the air service.
· A list of instances in which other USG agencies air assets or contracting capacity were utilized or requested to meet COVID-19 related repatriation needs.
· An estimate of potential new hotspots around the world where urgent repatriation needs could spike, and the projected government and commercial capacities needed to meet such additional repatriation challenges.
· Steps the Department, private carriers, and/or Congress can take to help minimize financial risks that pose challenges to standing up commercial rescue flights.
· Future conditions under which the Department would initiate a request to the Department of Defense to mobilize the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to support global repatriation efforts and impediments to doing so.
· A detailed description of how the State Department utilized any funds provided in the CARES Act and other COVID response legislation for repatriation efforts as well as any statutory or regulatory barriers the Department identifies as hindering its global response.
We thank you for your assistance in this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact our staff at (202) 225-5021 with any questions or concerns, or to arrange a briefing to discuss these issues in more detail.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel
Chairman
Michael T. McCaul
Ranking Member
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