The US Senate passed legislation on Tuesday to provide aid to Americans returning from Afghanistan, sending the bill to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law.
The "Emergency Repatriation Assistance for Returning Americans Act" provides $10 million in emergency funds, although it was not immediately clear how the money would be used. The measure had already passed the US House of Representatives.
Unusually, Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the Senate session - a "pro forma" event held while lawmakers are out of Washington during their late-summer recess - as Democratic Senator Ben Cardin announced the bill. The measure passed by unanimous consent, with no objections in the nearly empty Senate chamber.