Passport Processing Efficiency Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9398 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9398

  To prioritize the processing of United States passport applications 
submitted at in-person appointments at passport agencies or through the 
                     mail, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 23, 2024

  Ms. Caraveo (for herself and Mr. Carter of Georgia) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prioritize the processing of United States passport applications 
submitted at in-person appointments at passport agencies or through the 
                     mail, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Passport Processing Efficiency 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PRIORITY OF PROCESSING OF PASSPORT APPLICATIONS AT IN-PERSON 
              APPOINTMENTS AT PASSPORT AGENCIES AND THROUGH THE MAIL.

    The Secretary of State shall prioritize the processing of United 
States passport applications submitted by individuals at in-person 
appointments at passport agencies or through the mail over applications 
transmitted by third-party passport couriers.

SEC. 3. REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State 
shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a 
report that includes--
            (1) data illustrating the allocations of slots to third-
        party couriers by each passport agency on a yearly basis, 
        disaggregated by passport agency;
            (2) data illustrating the changes made to the number of 
        such allocations of slots to third-party couriers by each 
        passport agency, disaggregated by passport agency, during the 
        reporting period; and
            (3) an explanation detailing how the Department of State 
        decided on the allocation of slots to third-party couriers and 
        any adjustments thereto during the reporting period.
    (b) Report Relating to Citations.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives a report that includes--
            (1) all citations against third-party passport couriers by 
        each passport agency; and
            (2) for each citation listed under paragraph (1), a 
        description of the penalty imposed against the courier involved 
        and a notation indicating the passport agency that issued the 
        citation and the penalty.
    (c) Citation Defined.--In this section, the term ``citation'' means 
any violation of the Department of State's National Hand-Carry 
Procedures for Passport Applications and Completed Passports, or any 
regulations or other measures related to or succeeding these 
procedures, recorded by a passport agency.

SEC. 4. WEBSITE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall publish and maintain 
on the Department of State's website a section for individuals to 
submit complaints against third-party couriers and an aggregated 
summary of such complaints.
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The aggregated summary required by 
subsection (a) shall include--
            (1) the most frequent and the most severe complaints 
        submitted pursuant to such subsection; and
            (2) a description of steps the Department of State has 
        taken, is taking, or intends to take to remediate such 
        complaints.

SEC. 5. THIRD-PARTY PASSPORT COURIERS AND THIRD-PARTY COURIERS DEFINED.

    In this Act, the terms ``third-party passport couriers'' and 
``third-party couriers'' mean a private-sector entity that charges a 
passport applicant a service fee for hand delivering his or her 
passport application to a domestic United States passport agency and 
retrieving the completed passport or related documents on behalf of the 
applicant.
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