42 U.S.C. § 1313 — Assistance for United States citizens returned from foreign countries

(a) Authorization; reimbursement; use of public or private facilities. (1) The Secretary may provide temporary assistance to United States citizens and their dependents if (A) the State Department identifies them as having returned or been brought to the United States from a foreign country because the citizen was destitute or ill, a dependent was ill, or there was war, a threat of war, invasion, or a similar crisis, and (B) they lack available resources. (2) Unless the Secretary’s regulations identify a case or class of cases otherwise, recipients must reimburse the United States for the cost of the temporary assistance. (3) The Secretary may provide the assistance directly or through suitable public or private agencies and organizations. Agreements may require payment in advance or reimbursement, as the Secretary decides. The agreement may determine the cost by statistics, sampling, or another stated method. (b) Plans and arrangements; consultations. The Secretary may develop plans and make arrangements to provide temporary assistance in the United States to the people described in subsection (a)(1). The Secretary must develop the plans and make the arrangements after consulting the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Defense. To the extent feasible, assistance under subsection (a) must follow those plans, as the Secretary changes them from time to time. (c) “Temporary assistance” defined. For this section, “temporary assistance” means money payments, medical care, temporary lodging, transportation, and other goods and services needed for people’s health or welfare, including guidance, counseling, and other welfare services. They are provided in the United States when the people arrive and for a period after arrival set by the Secretary’s regulations, not longer than 90 days. The Secretary may provide assistance beyond 90 days for a citizen or dependent if the Secretary finds that the particular circumstances require or justify it. (d) Maximum total amount. For each fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2009, total assistance under this section may not exceed $1,000,000. For fiscal years 2021 and 2022, the total in each year may not exceed $10,000,000. (e) Gifts. (1) The Secretary may accept cash or noncash gifts for the United States to use in carrying out this program. Cash gifts must be credited to the appropriation account funding the program, in addition to other appropriations, and remain available until spent. (2) The United States may obligate or otherwise use gifts accepted under paragraph (1) only to the extent and in the amounts provided by appropriation Acts.