[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).
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