Skip to main content
Open this photo in gallery:

U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Elizabeth Warren walk through the basement of the U.S. Capitol Building on Aug. 10, 2021 in Washington.Samuel Corum/Getty Images

The U.S. 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 U.S. House of Representatives.

Ottawa says 1,250 Canadians and family members still stranded in Afghanistan

Canada to resettle 5,000 Afghan refugees housed at U.S. bases

It is over: Afghan mission ends as U.S. sends last flight out of Kabul

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.

U.S. officials announced on Monday that the last American troops had left Kabul, ending the 20-year war in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, the Taliban took control of the airport in the Afghan capital, marking the end of a conflict that left the Islamist group stronger than it was in 2001.

More than 123,000 people, including thousands of U.S. citizens who were in Afghanistan as the Taliban took control, were evacuated from Kabul in a massive but chaotic airlift by the United States and its allies over the past two weeks.

Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe