Washington – Today, the Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act (H.R.6610) authored by Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48), passed unanimously through the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
H.R. 6610 is the most comprehensive legislation in history to modernize the passport issuance process. The bill deploys numerous tools to address the problems that create passport backlogs while bolstering the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs’ processing capabilities to streamline the application and processing experience for American travelers. The bill was recently highlighted in an exclusive report by Fox News.
“The collapse of the passport system represents a signature failure that upended and inconvenienced tens of millions of Americans who have the right to expect far more of their government,” said Rep. Issa. “This transformative approach will not only address many of the problems that led to the backlog but also deliver modernizations that are overdue and will set the system right for decades to come.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Maria Salazar (FL-27) and also received the support of Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY-05), the committee’s top Democrat.
The Passport Issuance and Backlog Elimination Act will:
- Set a service standard of processing passport applications in 30 days after receipt of documents and creating a user-friendly experience
- Provide surge hiring authorities to solve current and future backlogs
- Mandate the expansion of the Online Passport Renewal system to accommodate first-time adult passport applications
- Mandate a text and email notification system for application status and passport applications
- Accelerate the passport renewal process by increasing use of software in passport adjudication
- Require a top-to-bottom review of the passport issuance system by the Government Accountability Office
- Accelerate the adoption of commercially available technology solutions by increasing the Bureau’s collaboration with the private sector
- Increase congressional oversight over State Department modernization efforts
The bill text can be found here.
Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 48th Congressional District. The District encompasses the central and eastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Fallbrook, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, Poway, Temecula, Murrieta, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.
