118th Congress International Affairs
H.R. 6610: Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act
Passed House
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed House (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill addresses issues related to the passport issuance process, including by providing the Department of State with emergency hiring authorities.
Under this bill, the State Department may hire additional personal services contractors to meet the exigent needs of the Bureau of Consular Affairs from FY2024 through FY2026. The State Department may have up to 100 such positions at any given time, and such positions may not be for longer than two years.
Furthermore, the bureau must award or expand contracts to implement certain information technology (IT) programs. Specifically, these contracts shall be to (1) provide a digital dashboard to congressional offices to track individual passport applications; (2) establish a program to provide automated messages and notifications to passport applicants, such as notifications of application errors; (3) establish a mobile application to allow passport applicants to communicate with the State Department and submit documents; (4) expand the online passport renewal system to also accommodate routine first-time adult passport applications; and (5) provide rules-based tools to screen online passport renewal applications with no changed biographical information against commercial databases.
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The bureau must also solicit the private sector for proposals about commercially available technologies that may improve the passport issuance process.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must report to Congress a comprehensive review of the passport issuance process, including opportunities to enhance the process. The bureau must periodically report to Congress on its progress in implementing the GAO's recommendations.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Maria Salazar R-FLOriginal
- Jim Costa D-CA
- Warren Davidson R-OH
- Michael Lawler R-NY
- Nikema Williams D-GA
- Alma Adams D-NC
- Mike Collins R-GA
- Jenniffer González-Colón R-PR
- Katie Porter D-CA
- Janice Schakowsky D-IL
- Bradley Schneider D-IL
- Dina Titus D-NV
- Derrick Van Orden R-WI
- Brandon Williams R-NY
- Jesús García D-IL
- Richard Hudson R-NC
- Pramila Jayapal D-WA
- Grace Meng D-NY
- Hillary Scholten D-MI
- Roger Williams R-TX
- Clay Higgins R-LA
- Lloyd Smucker R-PA
- Juan Ciscomani R-AZ
- Lori Chavez-DeRemer R-OR
- Josh Gottheimer D-NJ
- Colin Allred D-TX
- Sydney Kamlager-Dove D-CA
- Thomas Kean R-NJ
- Michael Turner R-OH
- Joaquin Castro D-TX
- Chrissy Houlahan D-PA
- Lisa Blunt Rochester D-DE
- Nicolas LaLota R-NY
- Eleanor Norton D-DC
Who scored on this bill
- 1Darrell Issa SponsorIntroduced, drew cross-party cosponsors, reached a cosponsor milestone, passed House4 events+42
- 2Alma AdamsCosponsored; cosponsored bill passed2 events+4
- 2Colin AllredCosponsored; cosponsored bill passed2 events+4
- 2Lisa Blunt RochesterCosponsored; cosponsored bill passed2 events+4
- 2Joaquin CastroCosponsored; cosponsored bill passed2 events+4
See all scorers and every scoring event
Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.
Other bills by Darrell Issa
- H.R. 4283: Captain E. Royce Williams Post Office Building (Escondido, CA)
- H.R. 5682: To take certain land in the State of California into trust for the benefit of the Pechanga Band of Indians, and for other purposes.
- H.R. 8285: Protecting American Competition Act of 2026
- H.R. 1071: No Censors on our Shores Act of 2025
- H.R. 7054: To require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a notification of certain construction projects using nonstandard designs.
- H.R. 435: Direct Hire To Fight Fires
History
- Passed the House by voice vote.
- Introduced in the House by Darrell Issa.
Show the full action history (11 actions)
- Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Mrs. Wagner moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1198-1201)
- DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6610.
- Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1198-1200)
- On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1198-1200)
- Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 46 - 0.
- Introduced in House
- Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.