applicable, in addition to adult renewal applications 
in sufficient volume to be able to accommodate most 
applications by the date that is four years from the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(B) Planning carried out to implement subpara-
graph (A) shall prepare the Bureau to verify appli-
cations without recourse to the information gained 
through appearance in person described in section 1 
of the Act of June 15, 1917 (22 U.S.C. 213), sub-
ject to any additional authorities required. 
(C) To meet the objectives described in sub-
paragraphs (A) and (B), the Assistant Secretary, in 
consultation with the Chief Information Officer, 
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, make use 
of commercially-available technology solutions, in-
cluding by seeking to enter into a contract or con-
tracts for the expansion and maintenance of the on-
line passport renewal system to accommodate the 
functionality described in such subparagraphs. 
(D) In expanding the online passport renewal 
system pursuant to subparagraph (C), the following 
services should be included or otherwise accounted 
for:
(i) A customer-friendly, user-friendly inter-
net website or portal to facilitate internet-based 
submission of passport applications by adults. 
(ii) To the extent possible, remote docu-
ment verification tools and infrastructure, to 
allow for a passport transaction to be completed 
entirely remotely. 
(iii) To the extent possible, information 
technology infrastructure not already main-
tained by the Department. 
(5)(A) The Assistant Secretary, in consultation 
with the Chief Information Officer, shall take all 
reasonable steps and to the maximum extent prac-
ticable make use of commercially-available tech-
nology solutions to implement additional rules-based 
tools, including by seeking to enter into a contract 
or contracts for such tools and their maintenance, to 
adjudicate online passport renewal applications in 
which no biographical information was changed for 
citizenship, identity, and entitlement against internal 
and commercial databases. 
(B) The tools described in subparagraph (A) 
shall be fully operational within 4 years of the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
(C) The Chief Information Officer shall ensure 
that the use of the tools do not make passport adju-
dication more vulnerable to cyberattack. 
(D) The Assistant Secretary, in consultation 
with the Chief Information Officer, shall ensure that 
the tools described in subparagraph (A) are imple-
mented consistent with the maintenance of stand-
ards appropriate to ensuring the integrity of the 
United States passport. 
(E) For purposes of using the tools described in 
subparagraph (A), the requirement that a passport 
be issued by the personnel described in the first sec-
tion of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to regulate the issue 
and validity of passports, and for other purposes’’, 
approved July 3, 1926 (22 U.S.C. 211a), shall be 
satisfied provided that such personnel oversee the 
tools described in such subparagraph consistent with 
the requirements in subparagraph (D). 
(c) CERTIFICATION.—In addition to other require-
ments in this section, not later than 30 days before the 
Assistant Secretary begins work to procure internally any 
of the information technology solutions described in sub-
section (b), the Assistant Secretary, in coordination with 
the Chief Information Officer, shall certify to the appro-
priate congressional committees that—
(1) the reasons for procuring such service inter-
nally; 
(2) the Bureau has sufficient capacity to imple-
ment and maintain such services; and 
(3) the Bureau cannot procure such services for 
significantly reduced cost externally. 
(d) PREFERENCE.—In procuring and implementing 
the information technology solutions described in sub-
section (b), preference should be given to entities with the 
technical expertise necessary for the project and capacity 
to deliver timely solutions. 
(e) ROLE OF CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Information Offi-
cer’s concurrence shall be required before the Assist-
ant Secretary awards a contract pursuant to this 
section. 
(2) RELATING TO SYSTEMS.—With respect to 
the contracting and implementation of the systems 
described in subsection (b), the Chief Information 
Officer shall have— 
(A) final decision making authority on the 
technical feasibility and specifications, cyberse-
curity requirements, compatibility with existing 
Department information technology infrastruc-
ture, and the feasibility of timelines from a 
technical standpoint; and 
(B) final approval of all technical matters 
before full implementation. 
(3) EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS.—In selecting 
the services described in subsection (b), the Assist-
ant Secretary and the Chief Information Officer 
shall include in the criteria for selection— 
(A) the ability of the proposal to maintain 
security, including the cybersecurity, standards 
appropriate to the United States passport and 
to protect personally identifiable information; 
(B) scalability to accommodate current and 
future passport demand; and 
(C) long-term viability and upgradability. 
(f) INTERIM ACTION PLAN.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the As-
sistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief In-
formation Officer, shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees an action plan on how the 
Bureau plans to complete the modernization de-
scribed in this section in conjunction with other re-
lated, ongoing steps to modernize the passport 
issuance process.
(2) ELEMENTS.—The action plan required by 
paragraph (1) shall include the following elements: 
(A) Progress made on implementing the 
information technology solutions described in 
subsection (b) within specific timelines, and ad-
ditional steps planned. 
(B) The expected cost and timeline for im-
plementation of the information technology so-
lutions described in subsection (b). 
(C) An evaluation of the information tech-
nology solutions described in subsection (b) to 
determine whether the full implementation of 
such solutions will require additional funding or 
authorities, including budget estimates and a 
description of such authorities, as appropriate. 
(D) Efforts to ensure world-class cyberse-
curity standards for protection of passport ap-
plicant data and the passport issuance process 
infrastructure, particularly such infrastructure 
involved in adjudication of passport applica-
tions. 
(E) Other specific planned steps that the 
Bureau will take to achieve the criteria de-
scribed in section 4.