(PatriotNewsDaily.com) – The passport applications backlog that is ever expanding has led to many calling for the Senate to simplify the process that is in place for Americans who want to travel overseas and need a passport. Currently, those who want to get either a new or renewed passport will need to wait up to 13 weeks in order to get their new passport. The expedited process is only slightly better as it takes anywhere between 7 and 9 weeks.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a relative decline in the number of people who were requesting a passport, but after restrictions eased, many Americans wanted to travel out of the country. As a result, the State Department was forced to deal with the ever-expanding backlog of passport applications.
Many constituents have now been pushing their Senators to take action in order for this backlog to be solved. Some Senate offices revealed to The Hill that the number of passport cases from 2022 until now has increased by five times.
Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) have introduced new legislation that would set a 12-week processing time, as well as a tracking system that would make it simpler for people to see what progress their application has made.
Lanford in a statement revealed that this entire situation is a mess and that prior to this backlog they only had 35 to 50 passport cases that were active each week. That number has now climbed to 150 to 200 cases.
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