[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5233 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5233

To amend the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, to make certain improvements 
   with respect to expenditure and other authorities, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 18, 2023

  Mr. Carter of Georgia (for himself, Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer, Ms. Lee of 
 Nevada, Mr. Miller of Ohio, Mr. Mills, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, 
    Ms. Salazar, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Titus, and Mr. Webster of Florida) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, to make certain improvements 
   with respect to expenditure and other authorities, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 
        Affairs of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of State.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of State.

SEC. 2. PASSPORT FEE EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY EXTENSION.

    (a) Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Fee.--To make permanent 
the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative fee, section 1(b) of the 
Passport Act of June 4, 1920, (22 U.S.C. 214(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``(1)''; and
            (2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).
    (b) Passport Fees.--Section 1(b) of the Passport Act of June 4, 
1920, as amended by subsection (a), shall be applied through fiscal 
year 2028 by striking ``such costs'' and inserting ``the costs of 
providing consular services''.
    (c) Modernization of Passport Processing.--A portion of the 
expanded expenditure authorities provided in subsections (a) and (b) 
shall be used--
            (1) to modernize consular systems, with an emphasis on 
        passport and citizenship services; and
            (2) towards a feasibility study on how the Department could 
        provide urgent, in-person passport services to significant 
        populations with the longest travel times to existing passport 
        agencies, including the possibility of building new passport 
        agencies.

SEC. 3. SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITY FOR PASSPORT SERVICES.

    During the 3-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of State, without regard to the provisions 
under sections 3309 through 3318 of title 5, United States Code, may 
directly appoint candidates to positions in the competitive service (as 
defined in section 2102 of such title) at the Department in the 
Passport and Visa Examining Series 0967.

SEC. 4. QUARTERLY REPORT ON PASSPORT WAIT TIMES.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and quarterly thereafter for the following 3 years, the Secretary shall 
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that 
describes--
            (1) the current estimated wait times for passport 
        processing;
            (2) the steps that have been taken by the Department to 
        reduce wait times to a reasonable time;
            (3) efforts to improve the rollout of the online passport 
        renewal processing program, including how much of passport 
        revenues the Department is spending on consular systems 
        modernization;
            (4) the demand for urgent passport services by major 
        metropolitan area;
            (5) the steps that have been taken by the Department to 
        reduce and meet the demand for urgent passport services, 
        particularly in areas that are greater than 5 hours driving 
        time from the nearest passport agency; and
            (6) how the Department details its staff and resources to 
        passport services programs.

SEC. 5. PASSPORT TRAVEL ADVISORIES.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Department shall make prominently available in United States 
regular passports, on the first 3 pages of the passport, the following 
information:
            (1) A prominent, clear advisory for all travelers to check 
        travel.state.gov for updated travel warnings and advisories.
            (2) A prominent, clear notice urging all travelers to 
        register with the Department prior to overseas travel.
            (3) A prominent, clear advisory--
                    (A) noting that many countries deny entry to 
                travelers during the last 6 months of their passport 
                validity period; and
                    (B) urging all travelers to renew their passport 
                not later than 1 year prior to its expiration.

SEC. 6. STRATEGY TO ENSURE ACCESS TO PASSPORT SERVICES FOR ALL 
              AMERICANS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall submit a strategy to the appropriate 
congressional committees, the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives for ensuring reasonable access to passport services for 
all Americans, which shall include--
            (1) a detailed strategy describing how the Department 
        could--
                    (A) by not later than 1 year after submission of 
                the strategy, reduce passport processing times to an 
                acceptable average for renewals and for expedited 
                service; and
                    (B) by not later than 2 years after the submission 
                of the strategy, provide United States residents living 
                in a significant population center more than a 5-hour 
                drive from a passport agency with urgent, in-person 
                passport services, including the possibility of 
                building new passport agencies; and
            (2) a description of the specific resources required to 
        implement the strategy.

SEC. 7. STRENGTHENING THE NATIONAL PASSPORT INFORMATION CENTER.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that passport 
wait times since 2021 have been unacceptably long and have created 
frustration among those seeking to obtain or renew passports.
    (b) Online Chat Feature.--The Department should develop an online 
tool with the capability for customers to correspond with customer 
service representatives regarding questions and updates pertaining to 
their application for a passport or for the renewal of a passport.
    (c) Gao Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall initiate a review of NPIC operations, which shall include an 
analysis of the extent to which NPIC--
            (1) responds to constituent inquiries by telephone, 
        including how long constituents are kept on hold and their 
        ability to be placed in a queue;
            (2) provides personalized customer service;
            (3) maintains its telecommunications infrastructure to 
        ensure it effectively handles call volumes; and
            (4) other relevant issues the Comptroller General deems 
        appropriate.

SEC. 8. STRENGTHENING PASSPORT CUSTOMER VISIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.

    (a) Online Status Tool.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Department should modernize the online 
passport application status tool to include, to the greatest extent 
possible, step by step updates on the status of their application, 
including with respect to the following stages:
            (1) Submitted for processing.
            (2) In process at a lockbox facility.
            (3) Awaiting adjudication.
            (4) In process of adjudication.
            (5) Adjudicated with a result of approval or denial.
            (6) Materials shipped.
    (b) Additional Information.--The tool pursuant to subsection (a) 
should include a display that informs each passport applicant of--
            (1) the date on which his or her passport application was 
        received; and
            (2) the estimated wait time remaining in the passport 
        application process.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs 
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that 
outlines a plan for coordinated comprehensive public outreach to 
increase public awareness and understanding of--
            (1) the online status tool required under subsection (a);
            (2) passport travel advisories required under section 4; 
        and
            (3) passport wait times.
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