Dakota Times

WASHINGTON, DC – This week, U.S. Representative Angie Craig called on House leadership to invest in technology that will help the U.S. State Department process passport applications more quickly.

Rep. Craig joined more than 100 Members of both parties urging Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Kay Granger and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro to secure the federal investments needed to address the backlog of passport applications and modernize the Travel Document Issuance System and the Online Passport Renewal (OPR) System to prevent future delays.

“We know that the State Department can face unexpected challenges just like any large institution, but our constituents rely on the efficient and predictable provision of government services to make decisions and plan their lives,” the Members wrote.

Rep. Craig’s office has helped more than 150 constituents with passport issues since the beginning of the year.

Rep. Craig encourages any constituents having problems with a passport application to call her Minnesota office at (651) 846-2120.

A copy of Rep. Craig’s letter can be found below or here.

July 10, 2023

The Honorable Kay Granger

Chairwoman

Committee on Appropriations

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro

Ranking Member

Committee on Appropriations

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member DeLauro,

As we are sure you and the Members of your Committee are aware, there is currently a months-long backlog of passport applications impacting our constituents. Every one of our offices has been inundated with requests from people with urgent travel needs to see sick-or-dying family members, to see loved ones for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, or to pursue invaluable personal, professional, and educational opportunities.

These processing delays and subsequent influx of requests to Congressional offices cause added stress for our constituents around long-planned travel and sometimes require them to pay additional money for expedited processing and/or overnight shipping fees they otherwise would not have pursued. Meanwhile, Congressional offices are having to dedicate additional time and resources that could be devoted to other constituent service demands.

We know that the State Department can face unexpected challenges just like any large institution, but our constituents rely on the efficient and predictable provision of government services to make decisions and plan their lives. We saw that the current State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill includes funding for the Consular and Border Security sections above the President’s Budget Request. As we anticipate the bill moving to full committee, we reiterate our support for funding for technological improvements in the Consular Section, especially to address the backlog of passport applications including the modernization of the Travel Document Issuance System and the Online Passport Renewal (OPR) system.

In her testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability on June 7, 2023, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter emphasized the need for improved consular systems and technology. Specifically, Assistant Secretary Bitter highlighted the need for “sustained and significant investment in our IT infrastructure and staff.” As we understand, a significant contributor to the current passport backlog is difficulties with the Travel Document Issuance System and the Online Passport Renewal (OPR) system.

As Assistant Secretary Bitter noted in her testimony, a surge in hiring or mandatory overtime is not a permanent solution to the cycle of passport backlogs we have seen over the years. Rather, she described the importance of “invest[ing] in modernized systems and equipment to be able to support these functions” and making sure the people they hire “have appropriate systems and the best modernized systems for the 21st century.”

Thank you for your consideration of our support. All of our offices have felt the brunt of these delays and are grateful to the consular affairs staff working extremely hard to process passports as quickly as they can. We encourage the sustained and significant investment necessary to create a long-term solution to this problem for our constituents.

Original source can be found here.