I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5817 

To expand and codify a pilot program to provide notification of expiration 

of passports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself and Mr. LIEU) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To expand and codify a pilot program to provide notification 

of expiration of passports, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Passport Application, 

5 Staffing, and Service Process Optimization Reform and 

6 Transparency Act’’ or the ‘‘PASSPORT Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Providing passport services is a vital func10 tion of the United States Government that affects 


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1 the lives, plans, and finances of millions of Ameri2 cans. Congress has vested authority in the State De3 partment to grant, issue, and verify United States 

4 passports. 

5 (2) The number of passports the Department of 

6 State issues on an annual basis has increased sub7 stantially since the mid-1990s, with the Depart8 ment’s Bureau of Consular Affairs issuing a record 

9 21,900,000 passports in fiscal year 2022, nearly 

10 quadruple the 5,500,000 passports issued in fiscal 

11 year 1996. The Department of State expects to set 

12 a new record in fiscal year 2023 amid what Sec13 retary of State Antony Blinken said was ‘‘unprece14 dented demand’’, with the Department receiving 30 

15 percent to 40 percent more passport applications 

16 weekly than in 2022. 

17 (3) In 2023, a number of factors led to a surge 

18 in passport applications and delays in processing— 

19 including pent-up demand for passports among the 

20 American public following the relaxing of COVID– 

21 19-related international travel restriction, complica22 tions with the limited release of the online passport 

23 renewal process, attrition within the passport adju24 dication workforce following the onset of the 

25 COVID–19 pandemic and continued in-person work 


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1 required, and growth in the percentage of American 

2 citizens who possess a passport. 

3 (4) The Department of State’s published proc4 essing times for routine passport applications in5 creased from 6 to 9 weeks in January 2023 to 10 

6 to 13 weeks by March 2023, and for expedited pass7 port applications increased from 3 to 5 weeks to 7 

8 to 9 weeks in the same time frame. 

9 (5) In July 2023, the Department of State indi10 cated it was working to return processing times to 

11 pre-pandemic levels, which as of December 2019 

12 were 6 to 8 weeks for routine applications and 2 to 

13 3 weeks for expedited applications, by the end of the 

14 calendar year. However, the published processing 

15 times have not decreased as of September 2023. 

16 (6) The passports backlog and lengthier, unpre17 dictable processing times has significantly impacted 

18 United States citizens. The delays have caused 

19 United States citizens to miss international travel 

20 for important events such as weddings, funerals, 

21 family reunions, and long-awaited vacations, and op22 portunities to work and study abroad. The backlogs 

23 have also imposed undue stress and additional costs 

24 on constituents, with unpredictable timelines forcing 

25 United States citizens to cancel and reschedule travVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Oct 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5817.IH H5817

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1 el, pay for expedited services, or miss out on once2 in-a-lifetime events. A disproportionate percentage of 

3 constituent service caseloads now focus on passport 

4 issues. 

5 (7) Congressional action is needed to ensure 

6 continued improvements in passport processing 

7 times and communication with United States citi8 zens on these matters. 

9 SEC. 3. PLAN TO EXPAND AND CODIFY PILOT PROGRAM TO 

10 PROVIDE NOTIFICATION OF EXPIRATION OF 

11 PASSPORTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

14 shall submit to Congress a report that— 

15 (1) updates Congress on the progress in imple16 menting the pilot program described on the trav17 el.state.gov website to notify United States passport 

18 holders 6 months before their passports are set to 

19 expire; 

20 (2) contains a plan to expand the Department 

21 of State’s pilot program to provide notification to all 

22 holders of United States passports of the upcoming 

23 expiration of each such passport by not later than 

24 the date that is one year prior to the date of the ex25 piration of the passport; and 


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1 (3) contains a plan to codify the pilot program, 

2 including proposals for legislation if necessary. 

3 (b) FORM OF NOTIFICATION.—The notification 

4 under the pilot program described in subsection (a)— 

5 (1) shall be provided through electronic mail (e6 mail), Short Message/Messaging Service (SMS), or 

7 other electronic means as appropriate; and 

8 (2) may be provided through regular United 

9 States mail in cases in which the e-mail or phone 

10 number of holders of United States passports is not 

11 available. 

12 (c) OPT OUT.—The pilot program described in sub13 section (a) shall allow for passport holders to opt out of 

14 receiving notifications under the program. 

15 SEC. 4. INFORMATION RELATING TO USE OF AND APPLICA16 TION PROCESS FOR PASSPORTS AT THE TIME 

17 OF BOOKING INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TO 

18 OR FROM THE UNITED STATES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi20 nation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall coordi21 nate with airlines and airline ticket booking companies 

22 serving the United States and offering international 

23 flights to or from the United States to provide information 

24 relating to use of passports, including the minimum length 

25 of passport validity required to enter the destination counVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Oct 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5817.IH H5817

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1 try, and the application process for passports to customers 

2 at the time of booking an international flight to or from 

3 the United States. 

4 (b) FORM OF INFORMATION.—The information re5 quired by subsection (a) should be provided through elec6 tronic mail (e-mail), Pop-up ads or Pop-ups, directed links 

7 on the airline’s website, or other electronic means as ap8 propriate and include a mechanism for users to acknowl9 edge they have read the information before the transaction 

10 can be completed. 

11 SEC. 5. PLAN TO IMPROVE TRACKING OF PROOF OF CITI12 ZENSHIP DOCUMENTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall de14 velop a plan to provide greater transparency and improved 

15 tracking of documents to provide evidence of United 

16 States citizenship and proof of identity for purposes of the 

17 application process for United States passports. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan required by sub19 section (a)— 

20 (1) should ensure that documents described in 

21 such subsection are returned to applicants using a 

22 trackable delivery service, which could include pro23 viding applicants the option to pay a fee for shipping 

24 via UPS, Priority Mail, or another method that pro25 vides for tracking of the documents, and ensuring 


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1 that applicants are informed of the relevant tracking 

2 number or numbers; and 

3 (2) shall include information on the trav4 el.state.gov website describing options that are avail5 able to applicants whose documents described in 

6 such subsection are lost in the application process. 

7 (c) REIMBURSEMENT.—The plan required by sub8 section (a) shall provide for reimbursement of the full cost 

9 of replacement to the applicant of any of the applicant’s 

10 documents described in such subsection that are lost by 

11 the Department of State in the application process. 

12 SEC. 6. GAO STUDY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

14 United States shall prepare an update to its July 2008 

15 study entitled ‘‘State Department: Comprehensive Strat16 egy Needed to Improve Passport Operations’’ (GAO–08– 

17 891). 

18 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The study re19 quired by subsection (a) shall include a review of the oper20 ations of lockbox facilities operated by financial agents of 

21 the Department of the Treasury that are responsible for 

22 opening and sorting passport application packages, 

23 verifying the completeness of the packages, processing 

24 payments, and batching the applications, further includ25 ing— 


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1 (1) information on the volume and average 

2 times for processing applications for United States 

3 passports at the lockbox facilities; 

4 (2) an assessment of communication between 

5 the Department of State and such facilities; 

6 (3) identification of any areas for improvements 

7 and increased efficiencies; and 

8 (4) a description of how the Department of 

9 State and lockbox facilities are planning to shift re10 sponsibilities for processing of documents used in 

11 the application system for United States passports 

12 under an online passport application system. 

13 (c) ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The 

14 study required by subsection (a) shall also include a review 

15 of the Department of State’s efforts to estimate and adapt 

16 to periods of peak demand for passport services, as well 

17 as information on any additional topics that the Comp18 troller General determines are relevant to improving pass19 port operations. 

20 SEC. 7. PASSPORT OPERATIONS STAFFING AND PASSPORT 

21 EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State should 

23 brief Congress on the current staffing levels for employees 

24 supporting passport operations and make any rec25 ommendations regarding the provision of additional comVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Oct 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5817.IH H5817

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1 pensation to employees that have made outstanding con2 tributions to decreasing backlogs in the processing appli3 cations for United States passports. 

4 (b) CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS.—The Sec5 retary of State should consult with Congress on any addi6 tional authorities that may be needed to— 

7 (1) provide appropriate incentives and recogni8 tion to recruit and retain Department of State em9 ployees involved in processing applications for 

10 United States passports; and 

11 (2) encourage more overtime of such employees 

12 until backlogs in processing applications for such 

13 passports are reduced. 

Æ 


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