,i  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #biac  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #bf1 #bjbc,ms4
 ,tlaib 7for herself and ,mrs4 ,dingell7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was referred to the ,committee on the   
,judiciary1 and in addition to the      
,committee on the ,budget1 for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the    
,speaker1 in each case for consideration
 of such provisions as fall within the  
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to designate ,lebanon under 
section #bdd of the ,immigration and    
,nationality ,act to permit nationals of
 ,lebanon to be eligible for temporary  
protected status under such section1 and
 for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title  
,this ,act may be cited as the ,lebanon 
,,tps ,act of #bjbc4  #b4 ,findings     
,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,on 
,august #d1 #bjbj1 one of the most      
powerful explosions ever to impact an   
urban population ripped through the     
,lebanese capital of ,beirut4 ,the      

blast--linked to #b1gej metric tons of  
ammonium nitrate stored in a            
warehouse--killed at least #bbj people1 
wounded approximately #g1jjj1 left an   
estimated #cjj1jjj people homeless1 and 
caused approximately #ae1jjj1jjj1jjj in 
property damage4  7#b7 ,the ,,covid-#ai 
pandemic has taken a heavy toll on      
,lebanon1 which has recorded over       
#a1bce1jjj cases and #aj1hjj deaths     
since the pandemic began4 ,lebanon's    
public health system1 already weakened  
by the ,beirut disaster and political   
upheaval1 has struggled to cope in the  
face of the pandemic4  7#c7 ,lebanon    
lacked a fully formed government for    
much of the ,,covid-#ai pandemic and the
 political establishment remains highly 
polarized and divided4 ,the political   
crisis has become so severe that on     
,april #ah1 #bjbc ,lebanon's parliament 
voted to extend the terms of municipal  
councils and other local officials to   
avoid further paralysis4 ,the current   
government is acting in a caretaker     

capacity and the presidency has been    
empty since ,president ,aoun's term     
expired in ,october #bjbb4  7#d7        
,lebanon has been experiencing one of   
the worst economic crises in its history
 at the same time as the ,,covid-#ai    
pandemic1 ,beirut ,port explosion1 and  
political crisis4  7#e7 ,according to   
the ,united ,nations1 over #c1ejj1jjj   
,lebanese people are estimated to live  
in poverty and around three-quarters are
 now income vulnerable4 ,before the     
value of the ,lebanese pound started    
spiraling in late #bjai1 the country's  
monthly minimum wage was #fge1jjj       
pounds--about #dej--;but today it is    
worth less than #g4  7#f7 ,per the      
,united ,nations1 #cf percent of the    
,lebanese population 7#a1chj1jjj people7
 is experiencing extreme poverty4  7#g7 
,since ,october #bjai1 the ,lebanese    
pound has lost more than #ie percent of 
its value1 placing ,lebanon amongst the 
top #e economic crises globally         
according to the ,world ,bank4  7#h7    

,food prices have skyrocketed throughout
 the crisis1 increasing #djj percent in 
#bjbj alone4  7#i7 ,in ,july #bjba1 the 
,united ,nations ,children's ,fund      
7,,unicef7 warned that ,lebanon's water 
system is on the verge of collapse1 with
 more than #gj percent of the country   
facing critical water shortages4 ,in    
,january #bjai1 #a1jjj ,lebanese pounds 
bought #d liters of water4 ,by ,august  
#bjba1 it only bought half a liter4     
7#aj7 ,in ,october #bjbb1 ,lebanon      
reported its first cholera cases in #cj 
years1 with #e1hai suspected and        
confirmed cases and #bc deaths reported 
by ,december #ca1 #bjbb4  7#aa7 ,dire   
fuel shortages plague ,lebanon1 leading 
the ,american ,university of ,beirut    
,medical ,center1 ,beirut's top hospital
 and one of the leading medical centers 
in the region1 to issue a warning in    
,august #bjba that hundreds of patients 
would die if they failed to secure      
enough fuel to keep their generators    
running4  7#ab7 ,the ,united ,nations   

has reported that1 as of ,december      
#bjbb1 the mass exodus of public health 
workers from ,lebanon has continued with
 devastating effect1 with approximately 
#dj percent of doctors1 #ae percent of  
specialized neonatal intensive care unit
 nurses1 and #cj percent of midwives    
leaving the country over the course of  
the crisis4 ,this has resulted in       
critical gaps in the quality1           
availability1 and accessibility of      
health care for the population4  7#ac7  
,the combined crises have strained many 
of ,lebanon's public institutions to the
 breaking point1 including the ,lebanese
 ,army1 whose budget and soldiers'      
salaries have been devastated by the    
devaluation of the ,lebanese pound4     
7#ad7 ,on ,october #ad1 #bjba1 gunmen   
fired on a crowd of protestors gathered 
near the ,beirut ,justice ,palace       
sparking heavy armed clashes in nearby  
neighborhoods4 ,the ensuing fighting    
killed at least #g individuals and      
wounded more than #cj others4  7#ae7    

,numerous residents of ,beirut living in
 the vicinity of the clashes have been  
quoted by domestic and international    
media comparing the ,october #adth      
clashes and ongoing tensions to the     
devastating #aige-aiij ,lebanese civil  
war1 reflecting well-founded fears of   
the potential for a return to           
significant sectarian violence4  7#af7  
,the ,united ,states has long stood with
 the ,lebanese people in times of need  
and standing with them now is both      
morally right and in line with our      
national interests4  7#ag7 ,in the      
aftermath of the ,beirut ,port          
explosion1 ,president ,biden's pledge of
 an additional #ih1jjj1jjj in aid to    
,lebanon on the first anniversary of the
 disaster was a good first step in      
supporting the ,lebanese people4        
,designating ,lebanon for ,temporary    
,protected ,status 7,,tps7 is the       
logical next step given the             
circumstances4  7#ah7 ,lebanon needs    
significant continued international     

support to prevent the worsening of its 
economic1 social1 political1 and public 
health crises and to rebuild from this  
period of extraordinary difficulty for  
the ,lebanese people4  7#ai7 ,a report  
from ,,fwd4us published in ,february    
#bjbc estimated that #ab1jjj individuals
 in the ,united ,states would be        
eligible for ,,tps if ,lebanon was      
designated1 of which #fd percent are    
members of the workforce with an annual 
economic contribution of approximately  
#dbj1jjj1jjj4  7#bj7 ,a country is      
designated for ,,tps when it is         
determined by the ,united ,states       
,government that it is unsafe for its   
citizens to return to due to ongoing    
armed conflict1 environmental disaster1 
or extraordinary and temporary          
conditions in the foreign state that    
prevent aliens who are nationals of the 
state from returning to the state in    
safety4  7#ba7 ,as of ,april #bjbc1 the 
,department of ,state's ,lebanon ,travel
 ,advisory specifically directs         

individuals to ,reconsider travel to    
,lebanon due to crime1 terrorism1 armed 
conflict1 civil unrest1 kidnapping1 and 
goes on to specifically advise that     
individuals do not travel to the border 
with ,syria due to terrorism and armed  
conflict1 the border with ,israel due to
 the potential for armed conflict1 and  
refugee settlements due to the potential
 for armed clashes4  7#bb7 ,the         
beginning of ,april #bjbc witnessed the 
heaviest and most significant cross     
border confrontation on the             
,israeli_/,lebanese border since the    
#bjjf war1 raising fears of a broader   
armed confrontation4  7#bc7 ,the        
combined crises facing ,lebanon amount  
to extraordinary and temporary          
conditions that prevent ,lebanese       
nationals from safely returning to      
,lebanon4 ,any returned individual would
 have to contend without access to clean
 water1 adequate health care1 and       
affordable basic necessities--all in the
 face of the very real threat of        

significant political violence and armed
 conflict4 ,after years of uncertainty1 
these individuals deserve stability and 
temporary relief in the ,united ,states4
  #c4 ,designation for purposes of      
granting temporary protected status  7a7
 ,designation  7#a7 ,in general ,for    
purposes of section #bdd of the         
,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  
,u4,s4,c4 #abed;a71 ,lebanon shall be   
treated as if it had been designated    
under subsection 7b77#a77;,a7 of that   
section1 subject to the provisions of   
this section4  7#b7 ,period of          
designation ,the initial period of the  
designation referred to in paragraph    
7#a7 shall be for the #ah-month period  
beginning on the date of the enactment  
of this ,act4  7b7 ,aliens eligible ,as 
a result of the designation made under  
subsection 7a71 an alien who is a       
national of ,lebanon is deemed to       
satisfy the requirements under paragraph
 7#a7 of section #bdd7;c7 of the        
,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  

,u4,s4,c4 #abed;a7c771 subject to       
paragraph 7#c7 of such section1 if the  
alien-- 7#a7 has been continuously      
physically present in the ,united       
,states since the date of the enactment 
of this ,act2  7#b7 is admissible as an 
immigrant1 except as otherwise provided 
in paragraph 7#b77;,a7 of such section1 
and is not ineligible for temporary     
protected status under paragraph        
7#b77;,b7 of such section2 and  7#c7    
registers for temporary protected status
 in a manner established by the         
,secretary of ,homeland ,security4  7c7 
,consent ,to travel abroad  7#a7 ,in    
general ,the ,secretary of ,homeland    
,security shall give prior consent to   
travel abroad1 in accordance with       
section #bdd7;f77#c7 of the ,immigration
 and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4    
#abed;a7f77#c771 to an alien who is     
granted temporary protected status      
pursuant to the designation made under  
subsection 7a7 if the alien establishes 
to the satisfaction of the ,secretary of

 ,homeland ,security that emergency and 
extenuating circumstances beyond the    
control of the alien require the alien  
to depart for a brief1 temporary trip   
abroad4  7#b7 ,treatment upon return ,an
 alien returning to the ,united ,states 
in accordance with an authorization     
described in paragraph 7#a7 shall be    
treated as any other returning alien    
provided temporary protected status     
under section #bdd of the ,immigration  
and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4     
#abed;a74  #d4 ,determination of        
budgetary effects ,the budgetary effects
 of this ,act1 for the purpose of       
complying with the ,statutory           
,pay-,as-,you-,go ,act of #bjaj1 shall  
be determined by reference to the latest
 statement titled ,budgetary ,effects of
 ,,paygo ,legislation for this ,act1    
submitted for printing in the           
,congressional ,record by the ,chairman 
of the ,house ,budget ,committee1       
provided that such statement has been   
submitted prior to the vote on passage4