I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5848 
To increase the number of types of documents able to satisfy the requirements 
of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, and to ensure such docu-
ments are widely available and affordable. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 20, 2006 
Mr. REYNOLDS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Inter-
national Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To increase the number of types of documents able to satisfy 
the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Ini-
tiative, and to ensure such documents are widely avail-
able and affordable. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Western Hemisphere 
Traveler Improvement Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL INITIATIVE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) United States citizens make approximately 
130,000,000 land border crossings each year be-
tween the United States and Canada and the United 
States and Mexico, with approximately 23,000,000 
individual United States citizens crossing the border 
annually. 
(2) Approximately 27 percent of United States 
citizens possess United States passports. 
(3) In fiscal year 2005, the Secretary of State 
issued an estimated 10,100,000 passports, rep-
resenting an increase of 15 percent from fiscal year 
2004. 
(4) The Secretary of State estimates that 
13,000,000 passports will be issued in fiscal year 
2006, 16,000,000 passports will be issued in fiscal 
year 2007, and 17,000,000 passports will be issued 
in fiscal year 2008. 
(b) EXTENSION OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL 
INITIATIVE
IMPLEMENTATION
DEADLINE.—Section 
7209(b)(1) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Pre-
vention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458; 8 U.S.C. 1185 
note) is amended by striking ‘‘January 1, 2008’’ and in-
serting ‘‘the later of June 1, 2009, or three months after 
the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity make the certification required under subsection (i) 
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of the Western Hemisphere Traveler Improvement Act of 
2006’’. 
(c) PASSPORT CARDS.— 
(1) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE.—In order to facili-
tate travel of United States citizens to Canada, Mex-
ico, the countries located in the Caribbean, and Ber-
muda, the Secretary of State, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, is authorized to 
develop a travel document known as a Passport 
Card. 
(2) ISSUANCE.—In accordance with the West-
ern Hemisphere Travel Initiative carried out pursu-
ant to section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform and 
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108– 
458; 8 U.S.C. 1185 note), the Secretary of State, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity, shall be authorized to issue to a citizen of the 
United States who submits an application in accord-
ance with paragraph (6) a travel document that will 
serve as a Passport Card. 
(3) APPLICABILITY.—A Passport Card shall be 
deemed to be a United States passport for the pur-
pose of United States laws and regulations relating 
to United States passports. 
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(4) VALIDITY.—A Passport Card shall be valid 
for the same period as a United States passport. 
(5) LIMITATION
ON
USE.—A Passport Card 
may only be used for the purpose of international 
travel by United States citizens through land and 
sea ports of entry between— 
(A) the United States and Canada; 
(B) the United States and Mexico; and 
(C) the United States and a country lo-
cated in the Caribbean or Bermuda. 
(6) APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE.—To be issued 
a Passport Card, a United States citizen shall sub-
mit an application to the Secretary of State. The 
Secretary of State shall require that such application 
shall contain the same information as is required to 
determine citizenship, identity, and eligibility for 
issuance of a United States passport. 
(7) TECHNOLOGY.— 
(A) EXPEDITED TRAVELER PROGRAMS.— 
To the maximum extent practicable, a Passport 
Card shall be designed and produced to provide 
a platform on which the expedited traveler pro-
grams carried out by the Secretary, such as 
NEXUS, NEXUS AIR, SENTRI, FAST, and 
Register Traveler may be added. The Secretary 
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of State and the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity shall notify Congress not later than July 1, 
2008, if the technology to add expedited trav-
eler programs to the Passport Card is not de-
veloped by that date. 
(B) 
TECHNOLOGY.—The 
Secretary 
of 
State and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall establish a technology implementation 
plan that accommodates desired technology re-
quirements of the Department of State and the 
Department of Homeland Security, allows for 
future technological innovations, and ensures 
maximum facilitation at the northern and 
southern borders. 
(8) SPECIFICATIONS
FOR
CARD.—A Passport 
Card shall be easily portable and durable. The Sec-
retary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity shall consult regarding the other technical speci-
fications of the Passport Card, including whether 
the security features of the Passport Card can be 
combined with other existing identity documentation. 
(9) FEE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—An applicant for a 
Passport Card shall submit an application 
under paragraph (6) together with a nonrefund-
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able fee in an amount to be determined by the 
Secretary of State. Fees for a Passport Card 
shall be deposited as an offsetting collection to 
the appropriate Department of State appropria-
tion, to remain available until expended. 
(B) LIMITATION ON FEES.—The Secretary 
of State shall seek to make such fees as low as 
possible. Such fee shall not exceed— 
(i) $24; or 
(ii) $34, if the Secretary of State, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 
Postmaster General jointly certify to Con-
gress that such fees represent the lowest 
possible cost of issuing Passport Cards and 
provide a detailed cost analysis for any 
such fee that is more than $24. 
(C) REDUCTION OF FEE.—The Secretary 
of State shall reduce the fee for a Passport 
Card for an individual who submits an applica-
tion for a Passport Card together with an appli-
cation for a United States passport. 
(D) WAIVER
OF
FEE
FOR
CHILDREN.— 
The Secretary of State shall waive the fee for 
a Passport Card for a child under 18 years of 
age. 
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(E) AUDIT.—In the event that the fee for 
a Passport Card exceeds $24, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall conduct an 
audit to determine whether Passport Cards are 
issued at the lowest possible cost. 
(10) ACCESSIBILITY.—In order to make the 
Passport Card easily obtainable, an application for a 
Passport Card shall be accepted in the same manner 
and at the same locations as an application for a 
United States passport. 
(11) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this section shall be construed as limiting, altering, 
modifying, or otherwise affecting the validity of a 
United States passport. A United States citizen may 
possess a United States passport and a Passport 
Card. 
(d) STATE ENROLLMENT DEMONSTRATION PRO-
GRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provisions of law, the Secretary of State and the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall enter into a 
memorandum of understanding with one or more ap-
propriate States to carry out at least one demonstra-
tion program as follows: 
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(A) The inclusion of an individual’s United 
States citizenship status on a State driver’s li-
cense which meets the requirements of section 
202 of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (division B 
of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note). 
(B) The development, in consultation with 
the Secretary of State, of a mechanism to com-
municate with a participating State to verify 
the United States citizenship status of an appli-
cant who voluntarily seeks to have the appli-
cant’s United States citizenship status included 
on a driver’s license. 
(2) BORDER CROSSING.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, a driver’s license which meets 
the requirements of either subparagraph (A) or (B) 
of paragraph (1) under a demonstration program 
shall be deemed to be sufficient documentation to 
permit the bearer to enter the United States from 
Canada through not less than at least one des-
ignated international border crossing in each State 
participating in the demonstration program. 
(3) MANAGEMENT
OF
INFORMATION
COL-
LECTED.—All information collected about an indi-
vidual under the demonstration program shall be 
managed exclusively in the same manner as informa-
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tion collected through a passport application and no 
further distribution of such information shall be per-
mitted. 
(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall have the effect of creating a na-
tional identity card. 
(5) AUTHORITY TO EXPAND.—The Secretary of 
State and the Secretary of Homeland Security may 
expand the demonstration program under this sub-
section so that such program is carried out in addi-
tional States, through additional ports of entry, for 
additional foreign countries, and in a manner that 
permits the use of additional types of identification 
documents to prove identity under such program. 
(6) STUDY.—Not later than six months after 
the date that the demonstration program under this 
subsection is carried out, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall conduct a study of— 
(A) the cost of the production and issuance 
of documents that meet the requirements of the 
program compared with other travel documents; 
(B) the impact of the program on the flow 
of cross-border traffic and the economic impact 
of the program; and 
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(C) the security of travel documents that 
meet the requirements of the program com-
pared with other travel documents. 
(7) RECIPROCITY
WITH
CANADA.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Secretary of 
State and Secretary of Homeland Security are au-
thorized to work with appropriate authorities of 
Canada to certify identification issued by the Gov-
ernment of Canada, including a driver’s license, as 
meeting security requirements similar to the require-
ments under the REAL ID Act of 2005 (division B 
of Public Law 109–13) and including a citizenship 
verification mechanism. To the maximum extent pos-
sible, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall work 
to ensure that Canadian identification documents 
used as described in this paragraph contain the 
same technology as United States documents and 
may be accepted using the same document scanners. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 
event that such certified identity document includes 
information that shows an individual to be a citizen 
of Canada, such individual shall be permitted to 
enter the United States from Canada. The Secretary 
shall ensure that, at all times, more States are par-
ticipants in this program than Canadian provinces. 
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(e) REGISTERED TRAVELER PROCESSING FOR RE-
PEAT TRAVELERS.— 
(1) LAND CROSSINGS.—To the maximum extent 
practicable, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall expand registered traveler programs carried 
out by the Secretary to all ports of entry and should 
encourage citizens of the United States to partici-
pate in the preenrollment programs, as such pro-
grams assist border control officers of the United 
States in the fight against terrorism by increasing 
the number of known travelers crossing the border. 
The identities of such expedited travelers shall be 
entered into a database of known travelers who have 
been subjected to in-depth background and watch- 
list checks to permit border control officers to focus 
more attention on unknown travelers, potential 
criminals, and terrorists. The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the appropriate officials of the Government 
of Canada, shall equip at least six additional north-
ern border crossings with NEXUS technology. 
(2) SEA
CROSSINGS.—The Commissioner of 
Customs and Border Patrol shall conduct and ex-
pand registered traveler programs and pilot pro-
grams to facilitate expedited processing of United 
States citizens returning from pleasure craft trips in 
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