[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 113 (Monday, July 16, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H7805-H7807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1545
                 PASSPORT BACKLOG REDUCTION ACT OF 2007

  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 966) to enable the Department of State to respond to a 
critical shortage of passport processing personnel, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                 S. 966

       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 Backlog Reduction 
     Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. REEMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN SERVICE ANNUITANTS.

       Section 824(g) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 
     U.S.C. 4064(g)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; or'' and inserting 
     a semicolon;
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; or''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph--
       ``(C)(i) to provide assistance to consular posts with a 
     substantial backlog of visa applications; or
       ``(ii) to provide assistance to meet the demand resulting 
     from the passport and travel document requirements set forth 
     in section 7209(b) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 
     Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-458; 8 U.S.C. 1185 
     note), including assistance related to the investigation of 
     fraud in connection with an application for a passport.''; 
     and
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by striking ``The authority'' and inserting ``(a) The 
     authority''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
       ``(B) The authority of the Secretary to waive the 
     application of subsections (a) through (d) for an annuitant 
     pursuant to subparagraph (C)(i) of paragraph (1) shall 
     terminate on September 30, 2008.
       ``(C) The authority of the Secretary to waive the 
     application of subsections (a) through (d) for an annuitant 
     pursuant to subparagraph (C)(ii) of paragraph (1) shall 
     terminate on September 30, 2009.''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Watson) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill and 
yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, the U.S. passport system is broken and the average 
Americans are paying the price. We have heard their call for help and 
are here today to pass the Passport Backlog Reduction Act to help the 
State Department address this bureaucratic crisis.
  Every citizen of our Nation has the right to hold a passport and 
getting one should only take a few weeks at most, but millions of 
Americans have had to wait for months on end simply for the right to 
travel abroad. People are lining up at dawn every day at passport 
offices around the country trying to salvage trips at the last minute. 
They are desperate to get the one document that will let them see 
ailing relatives overseas, conduct important business, or begin 
studying abroad programs.
  A passport is much more than a travel document, and these delays are 
much more than an inconvenience. A passport is proof of American 
identity and, for many Americans with immigrant heritage, a passport is 
proof of their identity and commitment to America and the American 
idea. A passport must be available to any American citizen who requests 
one, and delays that are currently clogging our system are preventing 
American citizens from fully exercising their right of citizenship as 
well as freedom of travel.
  Three years ago, Congress passed the law requiring travelers to show 
passports if they were returning from anywhere in the Western 
hemisphere. Demand for passports in the last year has been at record 
highs, but poor planning by top officials meant that the State 
Department was unprepared to cope with the surge in applications.
  My colleagues and I on the Foreign Affairs Committee have been 
outraged by this poor planning and the resulting bottleneck. Last week 
the committee held a hearing on passport delays, and we heard testimony 
about the hard-working employees who are working through the night and 
giving up their weekends to clear the backlog of applications. At 
passport bureaus across the country the State Department has shipped in 
junior staff, government fellows, and rehired retirees to meet the 
crushing demand. Yet, phone calls to regional passport bureaus and to 
consular affairs offices have often gone unanswered on tens of 
thousands of occasions. Meanwhile, congressional offices

[[Page H7806]]

are being flooded with phone calls from outraged citizens. They wonder 
if their passports have simply disappeared.
  The Passport Backlog Reduction Act will assist the State Department's 
efforts to get all of the filed passports back to waiting travelers, 
and keep up with the demand in the coming months. This bill lifts legal 
impediments so that the agency can hire retired foreign service 
officers to process passport applications. Some of these officers will 
also be permitted to assist the officials who investigate passport 
fraud to ensure that passports only go to those citizens who are 
eligible for them and who do not pose a security risk.
  Endless delays in exercising every citizen's right to a passport are 
outrageous and absolutely unacceptable. So, I urge my colleagues to 
support this bill so the House can take one additional step to ensure 
that our citizens' demands for their passports are met expeditiously.
  Madam Speaker, I strongly support this legislation, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of Senate bill 966, the Passport Backlog Reduction 
Act. All of us have heard from our constituents. Millions of Americans 
are facing unprecedented delays in the processing of their passport 
applications. As weeks become months, these painful holdups have 
wrecked long-planned travel, job opportunities, and family obligations 
for thousands of our fellow citizens. This situation is 
incomprehensible and inexcusable. Officials should have anticipated and 
planned for this increased demand when the new travel security 
requirements were legislated 3 years ago.
  Furthermore, the State Department has been collecting additional 
surcharges under authority granted by Congress 1\1/2\ years ago for the 
express purpose of meeting the increased demand for passports. But as 
we learned at last week's hearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee, 
officials did not adequately prepare for the increased demand that 
everyone knew would be coming, and there is no good explanation why.
  At the same time that the planning was botched by their superiors, I 
want to praise the dedicated and hardworking individuals who have been 
working on an extended and overtime schedule to address this backlog. 
Madam Speaker, I am particularly impressed by the men and women of the 
Miami passport processing center who have maintained their 
professionalism and their courtesy even in this high pressure 
situation.
  The bill before us will help in a limited but an important way to 
restore the timely passport processing that the American public has 
every right to expect. By easing certain reemployment restrictions, it 
will enable retired Foreign Service officers to come back to work on 
passport and visa processing on more than a part-time basis. It will 
also allow them to assist with passport fraud investigations which have 
not kept pace with the dramatic increase in passport applications.
  Of course, this bill is only a temporary measure that will ease but 
will not fix the larger problem. Senate bill 966 is no substitute for 
the budgeting, hiring, and training that must be part of the 
Department's annual and long-range planning. We appreciate the solemn 
assurances at last week's hearing that the Departments of State and 
Homeland Security are now treating these problems with the seriousness 
that they deserve. I have no doubt that the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs under Chairman Lantos' leadership will follow up to ensure that 
the current problems are remedied promptly and avoided in the future.
  The bill before us, Madam Speaker, is a small part of that remedy and 
deserves our unanimous support.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas, Representative Ruben Hinojosa.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Passport 
Backlog Reduction Act of 2007, or S. 966.
  As I represent a district in south Texas, ensuring a safe and secure 
border which remains conducive to trade and travel is among my most 
urgent priorities in Congress. For that reason, I greatly appreciate 
the work of Senators Schumer and Biden, as well as my colleagues 
Congressman Capuano and Congresswoman McCarthy, in bringing this 
legislation forward.
  Several months ago, my constituents began reporting to me that they 
were not receiving the passports they needed for spring and summer 
travel from the State Department within the Department's own posted 
timelines. As spring has turned to summer, many Americans have been 
unable to travel abroad and have missed many business, educational, and 
vacation opportunities as a result of the State Department's failure to 
provide them with required travel documents.
  This bill will help to ease the backlog of passport applications 
caused by the State Department's mismanagement by allowing retired 
workers to voluntarily return to work without jeopardizing their 
pension eligibility. These volunteers will provide immediate assistance 
to the thousands of American travelers who have requested their travel 
documentation in a timely manner and expect the State Department to 
facilitate their travel plans.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me in providing relief to 
American travelers.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 966, which gives 
the Department of State the authority to re-hire Foreign Service 
retirees without harming their pensions through October 1, 2010 to 
temporarily increase more personnel to reduce the backlog on passport 
applications. S. 966 has already passed the Senate and it is time to 
send this bill on its way to the President's desk for his signature. I 
appreciate the expeditious consideration of this legislation to give 
the State Department another tool to help them deal with the massive 
increase in the number of passport applications.
  I hate to say ``I told you so'' but in 2005 I predicted this train 
wreck. When I chaired the Small Business Committee, I held a hearing on 
the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) in 2005 primarily to 
examine the effect of WHTI on small business. At the time, I said that 
because of the amount of commerce within the Western Hemisphere it 
``may make it next to impossible to fulfill the statutory mandate to 
require this enhanced documentation.''
  I recognize that Congress gave the Departments of State and Homeland 
Security a difficult mission to implement within a short time period. I 
was one of the 75 Members to vote against the Intelligence Reform and 
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that contained the WHTI mandate.
  However, since WHTI was implemented on January 23, my office has been 
inundated with frantic calls from constituents seeking passports to 
travel overseas. So far this year, my office has assisted 491 
individuals with problems in obtaining their passports for travel. For 
all of 2006, my office helped just 51 constituents with passport 
problems. These calls are dominating the time of the caseworkers in my 
district offices.
  Although we have been 99 percent successful in getting people the 
passports they need to travel, it has not been easy. Our caseworkers 
spend countless hours on the phone each day with panicked constituents 
who face the prospect of losing thousands of dollars and missing out on 
dream vacations if we cannot help them. And it seems we are always in 
crisis mode. Many passports do not get issued until two to three days 
before departure, and that is done with a continual push from my staff.
  Despite constant monitoring and advocacy by my staff, some 
constituents do not receive their passports within 48 hours of 
departure. The last resort for these constituents is to take a day off 
work and travel to downtown Chicago--about two hours away--to get their 
passports on an emergency basis. I am told that although these 
constituents arrive before the required 7:00 a.m. opening time, it 
generally takes all day to get their passports.
  Madam Speaker, you might not feel as bad if these were people who did 
not follow the rules and who waited until the last minute to get their 
passports. But a vast majority of the people who seek our assistance 
have done everything our Government asked of them. They applied for 
their passports well within the allotted time to receive their 
passports on time for their departures. And yet, their vacations and 
thousands of dollars of investments are in jeopardy.
  I applaud the State Department and DHS for trying to ease the 
situation last month when they agreed to allow people traveling to 
Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean to depart as long as they had receipts 
in hand showing they had applied for their U.S. passports. But problems 
still occur. Some have applied, but

[[Page H7807]]

the State Department website indicates their applications cannot be 
found and thus a receipt cannot be secured. In addition, some of the 
cruise lines in the Caribbean do not accept these receipts. This 
situation causes even more anxiety for my constituents.
  I understand the goal of the WHTI, but its implementation has been 
difficult. It has caused unnecessary anxiety and enormous amounts of 
work for my constituents and my staff. We must come up with an 
alternative way to enhance our security or make severe adjustments in 
the way we manage WHTI so we don't leave high and dry the people who 
followed the rules to get their passports.
  That is why I applaud the prompt scheduling of S. 966 so shortly 
after the Senate passed the bill at the end of last month. I urge my 
colleagues to pass S. 966 so that the bill can be signed into law by 
the President as soon as possible.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, our Nation is facing a 
serious backlog in the processing of passports. Since the new travel 
rules have been enacted, the number of Americans applying for a 
passport has increased dramatically. Unfortunately, the number of 
Foreign Service officers responsible for the processing of passport 
requests remains far below the necessary capacity. This discrepancy has 
led to long lines at passport offices nationwide and extended 
processing times.
  During the summer months, travel typically increases to and from the 
United States. To assist U.S. residents with the passport backlogs, I 
have introduced H.R. 2845, a bill that allows for an increase in 
Foreign Service officers trained to handle passport requests. My good 
friend from New York, Senator Schumer, successfully moved similar 
legislation through the Senate, which we will be voting on today.
  I am encouraged to see the House act on this important and time 
sensitive issue and am hopeful the President will quickly sign S. 699 
to help alleviate the tremendous passport backlogs facing our 
constituents.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of S. 966, the Passport Backlog Reduction Act of 2007. We are 
all very concerned by the extreme backlog in the passport system, and 
even more so by the apparent lack of adequate preparation that has led 
to the severe delays that our constituents are now experiencing. I 
would like to thank Senator Schumer for introducing this important 
legislation.
  Madam Speaker, we all recognize the need to protect our Nation and to 
secure our borders. As a senior member of the Committee on Homeland 
Security, this has long been a priority for me, and I appreciate the 
need to continually review and update the policies we use to permit 
entry into the United States. However, I believe that the current 
delays are far in excess of what is excusable.
  I have witnessed the suffering of those waiting to receive passports 
first I hand in Houston, where my office shares a building with the 
passport agency. I have spoken with many of the countless Americans who 
have carefully planned and saved money for family vacations, only to 
lose the money spent on plane tickets and hotel rooms when they are 
unable to procure passports. Families in which only one of many 
children receives a passport in time for travel. U.S. citizens 
desperate to travel overseas to see ailing relatives. Businessmen and 
women who are unable to complete necessary overseas travel while 
waiting to receive their documents. These individuals and families 
lined up on the streets of Houston are indicative of the huge numbers 
of Americans who are suffering as a result of the U.S. Government's 
failure to adequately prepare for the swell in passport demands.

  I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the men and women 
in the Houston field office, who have worked tirelessly to ensure that 
as many Americans as possible receive the necessary travel documents. 
Washington has let them down by failing to provide them with the 
adequate resources and personnel to successfully do their job, and it 
has failed the American people. This is a situation that demands 
leadership from the top.
  The Department of State Crisis Response Act of 2007 is an important 
first step toward alleviating the massive passport backlog that has 
developed since the recent implementation of the Western Hemisphere 
Travel Initiative, or WHTI. It allows the State Department to employ 
retired Foreign Service officers to process passport applications. Many 
Foreign Service retirees already possess the necessary training and 
security clearance for these functions, and could therefore be rapidly 
deployed to meet the ongoing crisis.
  Under the provisions of this act, Foreign Service retirees can work 
without forgoing pension payments, provided that they either provide 
assistance to consular posts with a substantial backlog of visa 
applications, or they provide assistance in meeting the passport 
backlog resulting from the WHTI.
  I firmly believe we must do all in our power to keep the American 
people, and our Nation itself, safe. This includes constantly reviewing 
and, as need be, revising our entrance policies. However, I also 
believe that we owe it to the American taxpayers to do everything that 
we can to allow free travel. We must work to ensure that such a serious 
problem does not occur in the future, while also working to immediately 
address the ongoing passport backlog. I strongly support this 
legislation, which is an important first step toward alleviating the 
existing passport delays, and I would like to encourage my colleagues 
to do the same.
  Mr. LOEBSACK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support 
for the Passport Backlog Reduction Act.
  Our country's passport system is broken. The backlog in processing 
passport applications has been a severe burden on businesses and 
families. My constituents have been forced to cancel or delay travel 
plans; pay thousands of dollars for international flights they were 
unable to board; and lose deposits on accommodations they were unable 
to use. The current situation is unacceptable.
  The administration had 3 years to plan for the new passport 
requirements, yet the Department of State was caught flat-footed by the 
surge in applications. Eliminating the backlog as swiftly as possible 
should be a matter of priority for the State and Homeland Security 
Departments, and new passport requirements for land and sea travel 
should not be enacted until the staffing infrastructure is in place to 
do so.
  This bill allows the State Department to re-hire retired Foreign 
Service employees to staff passport processing centers. By providing 
access to highly qualified staff, this bill will assist the State 
Department in reducing the backlog in passport applications.
  The administration's lack of foresight and planning has created 
significant problems for families in Iowa and across the Nation. I 
strongly urge the passage of this bill as a crucial step towards fixing 
our country's passport system.
  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 966, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the Senate bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________