Panel moves to help State handle influx of passport requests

The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee acted Wednesday to give the State Department some help in tackling the massive backlog in passport requests triggered by homeland security legislation that requires U.S. citizens to have passport to return from visits to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.

The committee approved on a voice vote a bill (S. 966) by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that would allow the State Department to hire new civil service employees or retired Foreign Service officers to help process the passport applications.

The measure waives an earlier congressional mandate that all new hires be used to fill State Department vacancies in Iraq and Afghanistan. And the retired Foreign Service officers can take the temporary jobs without losing their pensions. Currently, the retired officers can only work for the government six months without affecting their retirement benefits.

Similar legislation by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., is pending in the House.

The passport requirement was imposed in 2004 anti-terrorism legislation and went into effect Jan.23. Before that, any government-issued identification was acceptable for adult U.S. citizens returning from the neighboring nations.

But the government was unable to handle the enormous request for passports, resulting in a protest from citizens prevented from making trips and the travel industry. As a result, the State Department temporarily rescinded the passport requirement June 8.

Returning adult citizens now will be able to re-enter the country with a government-issued identification and proof that they have applied for a passport. Children under 16 traveling with their parents must have the passport application evidence. The requirement for a passport will be reactivated Sept. 30.