Hickenlooper, Bennet, Neguse, Curtis Urge Armed Services Committees to Include REPLACE Act in Final NDAA
Press Release
U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet and U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse and John Curtis urged the leaders of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee to include their Replacing Essential Passports and Licenses After Certain Emergencies (REPLACE) Act in the final 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The REPLACE Act would automatically waive replacement fees for critical documents lost in certain major disasters. The bicameral, bipartisan bill was introduced by Hickenlooper, Bennet, Neguse, and Curtis in April.
"As major disasters continue to grow in frequency and scale, we should seek ways to ease the burdens our communities face as they recover. Securing new passports and critical documents are important first steps that allow survivors to begin the process of rebuilding their lives. We urge you to include the REPLACE Act in the final FY 23 NDAA and thank you for your consideration of this request," wrote Hickenlooper, Bennet, Neguse, and Curtis.
Under current law, federal agencies may waive the fees for the replacement of passports, visas, proof of citizenship, and other documents. However, the waiver process is not automatic and the current process can cause confusion for survivors who may not know to wait for a fee waiver to be issued or who need documentation replaced immediately. Additionally, waivers are not guaranteed and are not always issued.
The REPLACE Act would amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to require certain critical document fees be automatically waived for individuals and households that are affected by major disasters and eligible to receive funding under the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) assistance.
Specifically, fees would be automatically waived for the following:
Passports
Passport and/or Visa forms
Permanent Resident Card replacement forms
Declaration of Intention forms
Naturalization/Citizenship Document forms
Employment Authorization forms
Biometric service fees
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