Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard voted in favor of legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 16 to ease the backlog that has made it difficult for Americans to receive passports. The legislation was unanimously approved by the House and awaits further action by the U.S. Senate.

“The State Department failed to anticipate and prepare for an increase in passport applications following the January implementation of a 2004 law requiring U.S. citizens flying to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean to carry passports,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said.  “The resulting delay in processing the increased influx of passport applications is causing unacceptable stress and hardship for many travelers.  Passage of the Passport Backlog Reduction Act will make it easier for the State Department to do its job and process passport applications in a timely and reasonable manner.”

The Passport Backlog Reduction Act gives the State Department the authority to hire retired former staffers who are trained and authorized to process passport applications. Current law denies retirement benefits to these retirees if they exceed strict wages earned and hours worked caps. The legislation approved by the House waives these requirements and makes it possible for the retired workers to return to work and help ease the passport shortage. Currently, applicants are having to wait 10 to 12 weeks or more – nearly double the usual time – to receive their passports.

In response to the backlog, the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security made the following June 8 announcement to temporarily ease the rules to better accommodate travelers: “U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.”

In addition, the statement continues: “Children under the age of 16 traveling with their parents or legal guardian will be permitted to travel with the child's proof of application. Travelers who have not applied for a passport should not expect to be accommodated. U.S. citizens with pending passport applications can obtain proof of application at: http://travel.state.gov.”
 

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