North Miami-Dade News

Washington, D.C. - A bill aimed at reducing passport wait times and improving services for American travelers has cleared the House Foreign Affairs Committee markup process with unanimous support. Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar of Florida, along with Congressman Darrell Issa of California, introduced the bill known as H.R. 6610, the Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act.

Passport processing wait times have been a significant concern for many Americans, particularly during the past four years since the start of the pandemic. Congressman Salazar expressed her frustration, stating, "There is no excuse for forcing the American people to wait more than three months for a passport. Our legislation cleans up this mess at the State Department and puts this critical government service back on track."

The Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act addresses the problems that have led to passport backlogs and aims to streamline the application and processing experience for American travelers. Among its key provisions are setting a service standard of processing passport applications within 30 days, providing surge hiring authorities to address current and future backlogs, and mandating the expansion of the Online Passport Renewal system to accommodate first-time adult passport applications.

Additionally, the bill mandates the implementation of a text and email notification system to keep applicants informed of their application status and passport applications. It also accelerates the passport renewal process by increasing the use of software in passport adjudication. To ensure accountability, the bill requires a top-to-bottom review of the passport issuance system by the Government Accountability Office and increases congressional oversight over State Department modernization efforts.

According to Congressman Issa, the collapse of the passport system represents a significant failure that inconvenienced millions of Americans. He believes that the Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act will not only address the backlog but also deliver long-overdue modernizations that will set the system right for decades to come.

The bill's text can be found [here](insert link to bill text).

With the unanimous support it received in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act is now one step closer to becoming law. If enacted, it has the potential to revolutionize passport processing and improve services for Americans when they need to travel abroad.

For additional details, please follow this link: https://salazar.house.gov/media/press-releases/salazars-passport-wait-time-reduction-bill-clears-house-foreign-affairs