[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4615 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4615

 To require the Secretary of State to establish an expedited procedure 
to renew or extend the period of validity of certain passports, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 22, 2021

  Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Sires) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of State to establish an expedited procedure 
to renew or extend the period of validity of certain 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 Emergency Extension Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. EXPEDITED PROCEDURE TO RENEW OR EXTEND PERIOD OF VALIDITY OF 
              CERTAIN PASSPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the limitation described in 
section 2 of the Act of July 3, 1926 (22 U.S.C. 217a), the Secretary of 
State shall, not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, establish an expedited procedure to permit individuals who 
wish to use their United States passport that expired at any time 
during the COVID-19 emergency or are scheduled to expire by March 31, 
2022, to receive a notation or other marker to be affixed to such 
passport to indicate a renewal or extension, as the case may be, of 
such validity through July 31, 2022.
    (b) International Cooperation.--The Secretary of State shall make 
every effort to inform appropriate foreign counterparts of the renewal 
or extension, as the case may be, of the period of validity of an 
otherwise expired or expiring passport under subsection (a).
    (c) Treatment.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall treat a 
passport with a renewed or extended period of validity under subsection 
(a) as if such passport is valid through July 31, 2022, for purposes of 
immigration and border controls.
    (d) Termination.--The authority provided to the Secretary of State 
by subsection (a) shall expire on January 31, 2022.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (a) may be 
construed as affecting in any manner the procedure through which an 
individual submits an application to renew a passport as in existence 
on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act.
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