,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bbdi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #aa1     
#bjbc,mr4 ,lankford 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,ricketts7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was read twice and referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,a ,,bill  ,to improve the  
timeliness1 resiliency1 and transparency
 of passport processing operations1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,passport
 ,act of #bjbc4  #b4 ,sense of ,congress
 ,it is the sense of ,congress that--   
7#a7 the ,department of ,state's        
handling of passport processing during  
and since the ,,covid-#ai pandemic--    
7,a7 fell short of performance          
benchmarks2  7,b7 did not meet the needs
 of their constituents2 and  7,c7 led to
 a loss of confidence in the ,department
 of ,state2  7#b7 the ,department of    
,state's failure to perform its duty to 
produce passports in a timely manner led
 to unacceptable personal hardship and  

complications to the travel plans for   
millions of ,americans2 and  7#c7 the   
,,covid-#ai pandemic exposed            
shortcomings in the information         
technology infrastructure of the        
,department of ,state's passport        
processing functions1 which must be     
corrected4  #c4 ,ensuring timely        
adjudication of passport applications   
7a7 ,passport processing deadlines ,the 
,assistant ,secretary of ,state for     
,consular ,affairs 7referred to in this 
section as the ,assistant ,secretary71  
in coordination with the ,deputy        
,assistant ,secretary of ,state for     
,passport ,services1 shall ensure that  
all routine applications for a passport 
or for the renewal of a passport are    
processed1 on average1 within #ab weeks 
of the receipt of such application4  7b7
 ,average passport processing time ,not 
less frequently than weekly1 the        
,assistant ,secretary shall make        
publicly available on a website of the  
,department of ,state information       

related to the average expected         
processing time for applications for a  
passport and for the renewal of a       
passport4  7c7 ,notification of failure 
,to meet deadline ,if the average       
processing times referred to in         
subsection 7b7 fail to meet the #ab-week
 requirement for #d consecutive weeks-- 
7#a7 the ,assistant ,secretary1 not     
later than #g days after such failure1  
shall notify the appropriate            
congressional committees of the         
circumstances related to such failure2  
7#b7 the ,assistant ,secretary1 not     
later than #g days following the initial
 notification under paragraph 7#a71     
shall submit a second notification to   
the appropriate congressional committees
 that-- 7,a7 assesses the factors       
contributing to the passport processing 
delays2 and  7,b7 includes a plan for   
returning to compliance with the        
#ab-week requirement referred to in     
subsection 7a72 and  7#c7 the ,assistant
 ,secretary shall continue to submit    

weekly compliance plans to the          
appropriate congressional committees and
 no personnel from the ,passport        
,services ,division of the ,bureau of   
,consular ,affairs may be approved for  
telework or remote work until the       
,assistant ,secretary certifies that the
 average passport processing time is in 
compliance with the #ab-week requirement
 for #c consecutive weeks4  #d4         
,strengthening passport processing      
operations during seasons of high demand
  7a7 ,reassignment of personnel ,if the
 average passport processing time       
exceeds the #ab-week requirement        
required under section #c7;a71 the      
,secretary of ,state is authorized to   
reassign ,department of ,state personnel
 who do not work for the ,bureau of     
,consular ,affairs to assist with the   
processing and adjudication of passport 
applications until the ,bureau is in    
compliance with such requirement4  7b7  
,training plan  7#a7 ,in general ,not   
later than #a year after the date of the

 enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary 
of ,state1 in consultation with the     
,assistant ,secretary of ,state for     
,consular ,affairs1 shall establish a   
plan for training ,department of ,state 
personnel who do not work for the       
,bureau of ,consular ,affairs to process
 and adjudicate passport applications4  
7#b7 ,capacity ,the plan established    
pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 shall ensure 
that there are always a sufficient      
number of ,department of ,state         
personnel outside of the ,bureau of     
,consular ,affairs who are capable of   
processing and adjudicating passport    
applications to prevent a significant   
backlog of unprocessed passport         
applications during anticipated periods 
of high demand4  #e4 ,sustaining        
passport processing operations during   
national emergencies  7a7 ,preliminary  
plan ,not later than #a year after the  
date of the enactment of this ,act1 the 
,secretary of ,state1 in consultation   
with the ,assistant ,secretary of ,state

 for ,consular ,affairs1 shall submit a 
preliminary plan to the appropriate     
congressional committees that outlines  
how the ,bureau of ,consular ,affairs   
will sustain passport processing        
operations and functions in the event of
 a national emergency that warrants the 
suspension of normal operations4  7b7   
,contents ,the plan submitted pursuant  
to subsection 7a7 shall include-- 7#a7  
strategies and plans for adjudicating   
passport applications in a secure       
manner2  7#b7 an analysis of the        
feasibility of performing any steps of  
the passport adjudication process       
remotely2  7#c7 plans for sustaining    
staffing and infrastructure on a limited
 and ongoing basis2 and  7#d7 plans for 
resuming normal operations and reducing 
any backlog of applications that prevent
 compliance with the #ab-week average   
passport processing time requirement    
under section #c7;a74  7c7 ,notification
 of suspension of normal passport       
processing operations  7#a7 ,in general 

,if the ,president declares a national  
emergency under the ,national           
,emergencies ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #afja  
et seq471 section #bjc of the           
,international ,emergency ,economic     
,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agjb71 or  
section #eja of the ,robert ,t4         
,stafford ,disaster ,relief and         
,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#ej        
,u4,s4,c4 #eaia71 or if the ,secretary  
of ,health and ,human ,services declares
 a public health emergency under section
 #cai of the ,public ,health ,service   
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d71 the        
,secretary of ,state1 not later than #ae
 days after such declaration1 shall     
submit a report to the appropriate      
congressional committees regarding      
whether such emergency necessitates a   
suspension of normal operations for     
passport processing functions in the    
,bureau of ,consular ,affairs4  7#b7    
,continuation of passport processing    
operations during emergency ,if the     
,secretary of ,state determines that an 

emergency referred to in paragraph 7#a7 
necessitates a suspension of normal     
passport processing operations1 the     
,secretary1 not later than #cj days     
after such determination1 shall submit a
 report to ,congress that describes how 
the ,bureau of ,consular ,affairs plans 
to sustain passport processing          
operations during such emergency at the 
most productive level practicable4  #f4 
,strengthening passport customer        
visibility and transparency  7a7 ,online
 status tool ,not later than #b years   
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,assistant ,secretary of      
,state for ,consular ,affairs shall     
develop a secure1 online tool that      
provides information to passport        
applicants of the status of their       
application in the following stages3    
7#a7 ,submitted for processing4  7#b7   
,in process at a lockbox facility4  7#c7
 ,awaiting adjudication4  7#d7 ,in      
process of adjudication4  7#e7          
,adjudicated with a result of approval  

or denial4  7#f7 ,materials shipped4    
7b7 ,additional information ,the tool   
developed pursuant to subsection 7a7    
shall include a display that informs    
each passport applicant of-- 7#a7 the   
date on which his or her passport       
application was received2  7#b7 the     
estimated number of days until his or   
her passport will be issued2 and  7#c7  
actions required from the passport      
applicant to remedy any deficiencies in 
the application4  #g4 ,strengthening the
 ,national ,passport ,information       
,center  7a7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is 
the sense of ,congress that the         
,national ,passport ,information ,center
 7referred to in this section as ,,npic7
 has failed to adequately assist its    
customers4  7b7 ,online chat feature    
,not later than #cj days after the date 
of the enactment of this ,act1 the      
,secretary of ,state shall direct ,,npic
 to develop an online tool with the     
capability for customers to correspond  
with customer service representatives   

regarding questions and updates         
pertaining to their application for a   
passport or for the renewal of a        
passport4  7c7 ,,gao report ,not later  
than #cj days after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller
 ,general of the ,united ,states shall  
initiate a review of ,,npic operations1 
which shall include an analysis of the  
quality with which ,,npic-- 7#a7        
responds to constituent inquiries by    
telephone1 including how long           
constituents are kept on hold and their 
ability to be placed in a queue2  7#b7  
provides personalized customer service2 
and  7#c7 maintains its                 
telecommunications infrastructure4  #h4 
,expanding access to passport           
adjudication appointments  7a7 ,finding 
,congress finds that since the          
suspension of normal operations in      
,march #bjbj1 the ,department of        
,state-- 7#a7 has adopted a policy of   
not providing adjudication services to  
individuals who arrive at a passport    

agency or center without an appointment2
 and  7#b7 is offering fewer total      
adjudication appointments4  7b7 ,sense  
of ,congress ,it is the sense of        
,congress that the ,department of ,state
 should-- 7#a7 increase the number of   
appointments at each passport agency and
 center to a level that is consistent   
with appointment offerings before the   
suspension of normal operations in      
,march #bjbj2 and  7#b7 resume the      
practice of providing adjudication      
services to individuals who arrive at a 
passport agency or center without an    
appointment in a manner that is         
consistent with the ,department of      
,state's approach before the suspension 
of normal operations in ,march #bjbj4   
#i4 ,eliminating barriers to onboarding 
new employees ,notwithstanding sections 
#ccbg and #cccj of title #e1 ,united    
,states ,code1 the ,secretary of ,state 
may make noncompetitive temporary       
appointments or noncompetitive term     
appointments to positions in the        

competitive service for the critical    
hiring needs of the ,passport ,services 
,directorate of the ,bureau of ,consular
 ,affairs 7,,ca_/,,ppt74