[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5817 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5817

    To expand and codify a pilot program to provide notification of 
            expiration of passports, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 2023

 Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Lieu) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To expand and codify a pilot program to provide notification of 
            expiration of passports, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Passport Application, Staffing, and 
Service Process Optimization Reform and Transparency Act'' or the 
``PASSPORT Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Providing passport services is a vital function of the 
        United States Government that affects the lives, plans, and 
        finances of millions of Americans. Congress has vested 
        authority in the State Department to grant, issue, and verify 
        United States passports.
            (2) The number of passports the Department of State issues 
        on an annual basis has increased substantially since the mid-
        1990s, with the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs issuing 
        a record 21,900,000 passports in fiscal year 2022, nearly 
        quadruple the 5,500,000 passports issued in fiscal year 1996. 
        The Department of State expects to set a new record in fiscal 
        year 2023 amid what Secretary of State Antony Blinken said was 
        ``unprecedented demand'', with the Department receiving 30 
        percent to 40 percent more passport applications weekly than in 
        2022.
            (3) In 2023, a number of factors led to a surge in passport 
        applications and delays in processing--including pent-up demand 
        for passports among the American public following the relaxing 
        of COVID-19-related international travel restriction, 
        complications with the limited release of the online passport 
        renewal process, attrition within the passport adjudication 
        workforce following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and 
        continued in-person work required, and growth in the percentage 
        of American citizens who possess a passport.
            (4) The Department of State's published processing times 
        for routine passport applications increased from 6 to 9 weeks 
        in January 2023 to 10 to 13 weeks by March 2023, and for 
        expedited passport applications increased from 3 to 5 weeks to 
        7 to 9 weeks in the same time frame.
            (5) In July 2023, the Department of State indicated it was 
        working to return processing times to pre-pandemic levels, 
        which as of December 2019 were 6 to 8 weeks for routine 
        applications and 2 to 3 weeks for expedited applications, by 
        the end of the calendar year. However, the published processing 
        times have not decreased as of September 2023.
            (6) The passports backlog and lengthier, unpredictable 
        processing times has significantly impacted United States 
        citizens. The delays have caused United States citizens to miss 
        international travel for important events such as weddings, 
        funerals, family reunions, and long-awaited vacations, and 
        opportunities to work and study abroad. The backlogs have also 
        imposed undue stress and additional costs on constituents, with 
        unpredictable timelines forcing United States citizens to 
        cancel and reschedule travel, pay for expedited services, or 
        miss out on once-in-a-lifetime events. A disproportionate 
        percentage of constituent service caseloads now focus on 
        passport issues.
            (7) Congressional action is needed to ensure continued 
        improvements in passport processing times and communication 
        with United States citizens on these matters.

SEC. 3. PLAN TO EXPAND AND CODIFY PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE NOTIFICATION 
              OF EXPIRATION OF PASSPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress 
a report that--
            (1) updates Congress on the progress in implementing the 
        pilot program described on the travel.state.gov website to 
        notify United States passport holders 6 months before their 
        passports are set to expire;
            (2) contains a plan to expand the Department of State's 
        pilot program to provide notification to all holders of United 
        States passports of the upcoming expiration of each such 
        passport by not later than the date that is one year prior to 
        the date of the expiration of the passport; and
            (3) contains a plan to codify the pilot program, including 
        proposals for legislation if necessary.
    (b) Form of Notification.--The notification under the pilot program 
described in subsection (a)--
            (1) shall be provided through electronic mail (e-mail), 
        Short Message/Messaging Service (SMS), or other electronic 
        means as appropriate; and
            (2) may be provided through regular United States mail in 
        cases in which the e-mail or phone number of holders of United 
        States passports is not available.
    (c) Opt Out.--The pilot program described in subsection (a) shall 
allow for passport holders to opt out of receiving notifications under 
the program.

SEC. 4. INFORMATION RELATING TO USE OF AND APPLICATION PROCESS FOR 
              PASSPORTS AT THE TIME OF BOOKING INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TO 
              OR FROM THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Secretary of Transportation, shall coordinate with airlines and airline 
ticket booking companies serving the United States and offering 
international flights to or from the United States to provide 
information relating to use of passports, including the minimum length 
of passport validity required to enter the destination country, and the 
application process for passports to customers at the time of booking 
an international flight to or from the United States.
    (b) Form of Information.--The information required by subsection 
(a) should be provided through electronic mail (e-mail), Pop-up ads or 
Pop-ups, directed links on the airline's website, or other electronic 
means as appropriate and include a mechanism for users to acknowledge 
they have read the information before the transaction can be completed.

SEC. 5. PLAN TO IMPROVE TRACKING OF PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP DOCUMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall develop a plan to 
provide greater transparency and improved tracking of documents to 
provide evidence of United States citizenship and proof of identity for 
purposes of the application process for United States passports.
    (b) Requirements.--The plan required by subsection (a)--
            (1) should ensure that documents described in such 
        subsection are returned to applicants using a trackable 
        delivery service, which could include providing applicants the 
        option to pay a fee for shipping via UPS, Priority Mail, or 
        another method that provides for tracking of the documents, and 
        ensuring that applicants are informed of the relevant tracking 
        number or numbers; and
            (2) shall include information on the travel.state.gov 
        website describing options that are available to applicants 
        whose documents described in such subsection are lost in the 
        application process.
    (c) Reimbursement.--The plan required by subsection (a) shall 
provide for reimbursement of the full cost of replacement to the 
applicant of any of the applicant's documents described in such 
subsection that are lost by the Department of State in the application 
process.

SEC. 6. GAO STUDY.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
prepare an update to its July 2008 study entitled ``State Department: 
Comprehensive Strategy Needed to Improve Passport Operations'' (GAO-08-
891).
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The study required by subsection (a) 
shall include a review of the operations of lockbox facilities operated 
by financial agents of the Department of the Treasury that are 
responsible for opening and sorting passport application packages, 
verifying the completeness of the packages, processing payments, and 
batching the applications, further including--
            (1) information on the volume and average times for 
        processing applications for United States passports at the 
        lockbox facilities;
            (2) an assessment of communication between the Department 
        of State and such facilities;
            (3) identification of any areas for improvements and 
        increased efficiencies; and
            (4) a description of how the Department of State and 
        lockbox facilities are planning to shift responsibilities for 
        processing of documents used in the application system for 
        United States passports under an online passport application 
        system.
    (c) Additional Matters To Be Included.--The study required by 
subsection (a) shall also include a review of the Department of State's 
efforts to estimate and adapt to periods of peak demand for passport 
services, as well as information on any additional topics that the 
Comptroller General determines are relevant to improving passport 
operations.

SEC. 7. PASSPORT OPERATIONS STAFFING AND PASSPORT EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT 
              AND RETENTION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State should brief Congress on 
the current staffing levels for employees supporting passport 
operations and make any recommendations regarding the provision of 
additional compensation to employees that have made outstanding 
contributions to decreasing backlogs in the processing applications for 
United States passports.
    (b) Consultation With Congress.--The Secretary of State should 
consult with Congress on any additional authorities that may be needed 
to--
            (1) provide appropriate incentives and recognition to 
        recruit and retain Department of State employees involved in 
        processing applications for United States passports; and
            (2) encourage more overtime of such employees until 
        backlogs in processing applications for such passports are 
        reduced.
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