The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 13 voted unanimously to approve legislation that aims to speed up processing times for obtaining U.S. passports through a variety of actions including the application of commercially available technology.
The Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act, authored by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and responding to a stubborn passport application backlog during the coronavirus pandemic, now heads to the full House for further consideration.
The bill, Rep. Issa’s office said, would set a “service standard” for the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs to process passport applications within 30 days after receipt of necessary documents, and would mandate the creation of a “user-friendly experience.”
The measure also would provide the State Department with “surge hiring authorities” to deal with current and future application backlogs.
On the technology front, the bill would:
- Require text and email notification system for application status and passport applications;
- Accelerate the passport renewal process by increasing the use of software in passport adjudication;
- Accelerate the adoption of commercially available technology solutions by increasing the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ collaboration with the private sector; and
- Require a review of the passport issuance system by the Government Accountability Office.
“The collapse of the passport system represents a signature failure that upended and inconvenienced tens of millions of Americans who have the right to expect far more of their government,” said Rep. Issa in a statement.
“This transformative approach will not only address many of the problems that led to the backlog but also deliver modernizations that are overdue and will set the system right for decades to come,” the congressman said.
The committee’s approval of the bill comes as the State Department said this week that passport application processing times had returned to pre-pandemic levels – but not necessarily within the 30-day period that the legislation is targeting.
“As of December 18, 2023, passport applications will be processed within 6-8 weeks for routine service and 2-3 weeks for expedited service,” the State Department said, adding that the agency has “fulfilled our commitment to return to benchmarks from March 2020.”
“This past year, the Department experienced unprecedented demand for passports,” the State Department said. “Between October 2022 and September 2023 (the federal fiscal year), the Department of State issued over 24 million passport books and cards – the highest amount ever in our nation’s history.” The agency said it is continuing to aggressively recruit and hire across its passport agencies and centers.
