Schmidt column on passport crisis

Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, released her weekly column today. Here's what it says:



For many of us, the start of summer means finally getting to take that long-awaited vacation with family and friends. Unfortunately, for the many people whose travel plans include destinations outside U.S. borders, feelings of excitement and anticipation about summer plans have been replaced with frustration and anger as thousands wait weeks – in some cases up to 20 weeks – for their passports. Others helplessly watch their travel departure dates come and go with no passport in hand or explanation – not to mention thousands of dollars down the drain.

Prior to January, citizens flying to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean were not required to have a passport. This year, however, the State Department implemented the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, to further secure our borders in a post 9-11 environment. This initiative requires passports for anyone traveling to foreign destinations. This new requirement, coupled with a busy summer travel season, has created an unprecedented demand for passports which has overwhelmed passport agencies and created a staggering backlog of passport applications at the State Department. To give you an idea of the volume, in just the first six months of this year, the State Department has processed more than 1.5 million passport applications a month.

My office, and every Congressional office across the country, has been inundated with calls from frantic travelers looking for assistance with their passport applications. These individuals have tried to call or email the passport agencies on their own to find the status. But passport offices are so overwhelmed the lines are jammed or they simply can’t respond. That is when they turn to me for help.

The demand in my office alone has increased nearly tenfold. My office is trying to answer over 200 passport-related inquiries every single week. We’ve heard from individuals who are worried their passports won’t arrive in time for their school trips, family vacations, honeymoons and even weddings. Some individuals and families have been forced to cancel their travel plans altogether. The State Department web site states that it takes up to ten to twelve weeks from the application date to actually receive a passport, but many of my constituents have waited almost twice as long. I have been able to help some, but unfortunately not everyone.

This situation is simply unacceptable. This week, I sent a letter and got 92 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to sign with me, to the U.S. Secretary of State, Condolleezza Rice, asking that she do everything possible to resolve this situation as quickly as possible. In the letter we also state our willingness to help the State Department fix this problem over the long term, whether it be additional resources or changes to law. We need to make sure we are prepared for the time when North American flight requirements are reinstated, and next year when additional requirements are added.

The State Department has taken action to relieve some of the immediate demands on the passport agency. On Friday, the State Department announced that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for, but not yet received their passports, can temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government-issued photo ID and State Department official proof of application for a passport. U.S. citizens with pending passports can obtain this proof of application at http://travel.state.gov/. This temporary accommodation will be in place only through September 30, 2007. Though this is welcome news, it doesn’t do anything to alleviate the problems for travelers headed to places like Europe, Asia, South America, and other spots around the globe.

For those of you planning a trip abroad that need a passport, please leave extra time beyond the anticipated wait periods for both standard and expedited passport processing times. To find out how to apply for a passport, visit http://travel.state.gov/. If you have applied for passports and want to monitor the status of your application online, visit http://travel.state.gov/passport. And, as always, we are happy to assist you as best as we can.

I will continue to seek out ways to address this issue in Congress so that all Americans have the opportunity to travel with less stress and frustration.