[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2249 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2249

  To improve the timeliness, resiliency, and transparency of passport 
             processing operations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 11, 2023

 Mr. Lankford (for himself and Mr. Ricketts) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To improve the timeliness, resiliency, and transparency of passport 
             processing operations, 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 Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Department of State's handling of passport 
        processing during and since the COVID-19 pandemic--
                    (A) fell short of performance benchmarks;
                    (B) did not meet the needs of their constituents; 
                and
                    (C) led to a loss of confidence in the Department 
                of State;
            (2) the Department of State's failure to perform its duty 
        to produce passports in a timely manner led to unacceptable 
        personal hardship and complications to the travel plans for 
        millions of Americans; and
            (3) the COVID-19 pandemic exposed shortcomings in the 
        information technology infrastructure of the Department of 
        State's passport processing functions, which must be corrected.

SEC. 3. ENSURING TIMELY ADJUDICATION OF PASSPORT APPLICATIONS.

    (a) Passport Processing Deadlines.--The Assistant Secretary of 
State for Consular Affairs (referred to in this section as the 
``Assistant Secretary''), in coordination with the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary of State for Passport Services, shall ensure that all routine 
applications for a passport or for the renewal of a passport are 
processed, on average, within 12 weeks of the receipt of such 
application.
    (b) Average Passport Processing Time.--Not less frequently than 
weekly, the Assistant Secretary shall make publicly available on a 
website of the Department of State information related to the average 
expected processing time for applications for a passport and for the 
renewal of a passport.
    (c) Notification of Failure To Meet Deadline.--If the average 
processing times referred to in subsection (b) fail to meet the 12-week 
requirement for 4 consecutive weeks--
            (1) the Assistant Secretary, not later than 7 days after 
        such failure, shall notify the appropriate congressional 
        committees of the circumstances related to such failure;
            (2) the Assistant Secretary, not later than 7 days 
        following the initial notification under paragraph (1), shall 
        submit a second notification to the appropriate congressional 
        committees that--
                    (A) assesses the factors contributing to the 
                passport processing delays; and
                    (B) includes a plan for returning to compliance 
                with the 12-week requirement referred to in subsection 
                (a); and
            (3) the Assistant Secretary shall continue to submit weekly 
        compliance plans to the appropriate congressional committees 
        and no personnel from the Passport Services Division of the 
        Bureau of Consular Affairs may be approved for telework or 
        remote work until the Assistant Secretary certifies that the 
        average passport processing time is in compliance with the 12-
        week requirement for 3 consecutive weeks.

SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING PASSPORT PROCESSING OPERATIONS DURING SEASONS OF 
              HIGH DEMAND.

    (a) Reassignment of Personnel.--If the average passport processing 
time exceeds the 12-week requirement required under section 3(a), the 
Secretary of State is authorized to reassign Department of State 
personnel who do not work for the Bureau of Consular Affairs to assist 
with the processing and adjudication of passport applications until the 
Bureau is in compliance with such requirement.
    (b) Training Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        consultation with the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular 
        Affairs, shall establish a plan for training Department of 
        State personnel who do not work for the Bureau of Consular 
        Affairs to process and adjudicate passport applications.
            (2) Capacity.--The plan established pursuant to paragraph 
        (1) shall ensure that there are always a sufficient number of 
        Department of State personnel outside of the Bureau of Consular 
        Affairs who are capable of processing and adjudicating passport 
        applications to prevent a significant backlog of unprocessed 
        passport applications during anticipated periods of high 
        demand.

SEC. 5. SUSTAINING PASSPORT PROCESSING OPERATIONS DURING NATIONAL 
              EMERGENCIES.

    (a) Preliminary Plan.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, shall submit a 
preliminary plan to the appropriate congressional committees that 
outlines how the Bureau of Consular Affairs will sustain passport 
processing operations and functions in the event of a national 
emergency that warrants the suspension of normal operations.
    (b) Contents.--The plan submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) strategies and plans for adjudicating passport 
        applications in a secure manner;
            (2) an analysis of the feasibility of performing any steps 
        of the passport adjudication process remotely;
            (3) plans for sustaining staffing and infrastructure on a 
        limited and ongoing basis; and
            (4) plans for resuming normal operations and reducing any 
        backlog of applications that prevent compliance with the 12-
        week average passport processing time requirement under section 
        3(a).
    (c) Notification of Suspension of Normal Passport Processing 
Operations.--
            (1) In general.--If the President declares a national 
        emergency under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 
        seq.), section 203 of the International Emergency Economic 
        Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702), or section 501 of the Robert T. 
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (50 
        U.S.C. 5191), or if the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        declares a public health emergency under section 319 of the 
        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), the Secretary of 
        State, not later than 15 days after such declaration, shall 
        submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees 
        regarding whether such emergency necessitates a suspension of 
        normal operations for passport processing functions in the 
        Bureau of Consular Affairs.
            (2) Continuation of passport processing operations during 
        emergency.--If the Secretary of State determines that an 
        emergency referred to in paragraph (1) necessitates a 
        suspension of normal passport processing operations, the 
        Secretary, not later than 30 days after such determination, 
        shall submit a report to Congress that describes how the Bureau 
        of Consular Affairs plans to sustain passport processing 
        operations during such emergency at the most productive level 
        practicable.

SEC. 6. 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 Assistant Secretary of State for 
Consular Affairs shall develop a secure, online tool that provides 
information to passport applicants of the status of their application 
in 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 developed pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall include a display that informs each passport 
applicant of--
            (1) the date on which his or her passport application was 
        received;
            (2) the estimated number of days until his or her passport 
        will be issued; and
            (3) actions required from the passport applicant to remedy 
        any deficiencies in the application.

SEC. 7. STRENGTHENING THE NATIONAL PASSPORT INFORMATION CENTER.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
National Passport Information Center (referred to in this section as 
``NPIC'') has failed to adequately assist its customers.
    (b) Online Chat Feature.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall direct NPIC to 
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 30 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 quality with 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; and
            (3) maintains its telecommunications infrastructure.

SEC. 8. EXPANDING ACCESS TO PASSPORT ADJUDICATION APPOINTMENTS.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that since the suspension of normal 
operations in March 2020, the Department of State--
            (1) has adopted a policy of not providing adjudication 
        services to individuals who arrive at a passport agency or 
        center without an appointment; and
            (2) is offering fewer total adjudication appointments.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Department of State should--
            (1) increase the number of appointments at each passport 
        agency and center to a level that is consistent with 
        appointment offerings before the suspension of normal 
        operations in March 2020; and
            (2) resume the practice of providing adjudication services 
        to individuals who arrive at a passport agency or center 
        without an appointment in a manner that is consistent with the 
        Department of State's approach before the suspension of normal 
        operations in March 2020.

SEC. 9. ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO ONBOARDING NEW EMPLOYEES.

    Notwithstanding sections 3327 and 3330 of title 5, United States 
Code, the Secretary of State may make noncompetitive temporary 
appointments or noncompetitive term appointments to positions in the 
competitive service for the critical hiring needs of the Passport 
Services Directorate of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA/PPT).
                                 <all>