H.R. 6610 · 118th Congress
Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act
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Passed the House without a recorded vote, then expired. It passed by voice vote or unanimous consent, which don't record how each member voted, but didn't become law before the 118th Congress ended.
R
IssaSponsor34 cosponsors · 18 D, 16 R
R
Salazar
JC
D
Costa
WD
R
Davidson
ML
R
Lawler
NW
D
Williams
AA
D
Adams
MC
R
Collins
JG
R
González-Colón
KP
D
Porter
JS
D
Schakowsky
BS
D
Schneider
DT
D
Titus
DV
R
Van Orden
BW
R
Williams
CG
D
García
RH
R
Hudson
PJ
D
Jayapal
GM
D
Meng
HS
D
Scholten
RW
R
Williams
CH
R
Higgins
LS
R
Smucker
JC
R
Ciscomani
LC
R
Chavez-DeRemer
JG
D
Gottheimer
CA
D
Allred
SK
D
Kamlager-Dove
TK
R
Kean
MT
R
Turner
JC
D
Castro
CH
D
Houlahan
LB
D
Blunt Rochester
NL
R
LaLota
EN
D
Norton1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
- House Introduced Dec 6, 2023
- House Passed Mar 19, 2024
This bill addresses issues related to the passport issuance process, including by providing the Department of State with emergency hiring authorities.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Dec 6, 2023
Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act
This bill addresses issues related to the passport issuance process, including by providing the Department of State with emergency hiring authorities.
Under this bill, the State Department may hire additional personal services contractors to meet the exigent needs of the Bureau of Consular Affairs from FY2024 through FY2026. The State Department may have up to 100 such positions at any given time, and such positions may not be for longer than two years.
Furthermore, the bureau must award or expand contracts to implement certain information technology (IT) programs. Specifically, these contracts shall be to (1) provide a digital dashboard to congressional offices to track individual passport applications; (2) establish a program to provide automated messages and notifications to passport applicants, such as notifications of application errors; (3) establish a mobile application to allow passport applicants to communicate with the State Department and submit documents; (4) expand the online passport renewal system to also accommodate routine first-time adult passport applications; and (5) provide rules-based tools to screen online passport renewal applications with no changed biographical information against commercial databases.
The bureau must also solicit the private sector for proposals about commercially available technologies that may improve the passport issuance process.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must report to Congress a comprehensive review of the passport issuance process, including opportunities to enhance the process. The bureau must periodically report to Congress on its progress in implementing the GAO's recommendations.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act
Latest action (Mar 20, 2024): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Policy area: International Affairs · Origin: House · Introduced: Dec 6, 2023
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
- House Introduced Dec 6, 2023
- House Passed Mar 19, 2024
No recorded floor vote found.