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| Forget Bald Eagles, Just Give Us Passports |
May 18, 2007 |
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Albuquerque Journal Op-Ed
Friday, May 18, 2007
Forget Bald Eagles, Just Give Us Passports
Do you suppose State Department officials got so busy redesigning passports, complete with embedded security chip, that they forgot travelers were actually going to need those passports— in a hurry?
Just as the e-Passports came out, so did new federal regulations requiring citizens to present passports when flying back from Mexico, the Caribbean, South America or Canada.
Part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the regulations went into effect in January. It makes sense to require passports from all arriving airline passengers, including Americans. No problem there.
But it also would have made sense to look ahead and see the spike in demand. Last year 12 million passports were issued. Officials are estimating they`ll process 20 million applications this year. The wait has jumped from about six weeks to 14 weeks or more, generating passport panic for many travelers. Expedited applications, which used to be processed in three to five days for an extra fee, are taking up to six weeks.
"It`s a nightmare," says Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., whose office is fielding 10 to 20 calls a day from travelers watching the clock run out on their trips. The office of Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has assisted 100 callers over the past two weeks.
Wilson is right in demanding an immediate increase in staffing at the State Department passport office and a temporary easing of regulations for returning American passengers.
The new e-Passports are beautiful, as you can see by flipping through them at an animated page on the State Department Web site (go to travel.state.gov/passport and look for US Electronic Passport in the lefthand index). Instead of blank pages, they are filled with patriotic images including a bald eagle, an American flag and Mount Rushmore.
But none of that matters if you can`t get a passport before your trip. |
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