Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have worked with Mr. Issa and our Foreign Affairs colleagues to bring this bill before the House today. H.R. 6610 modernizes processing capabilities at the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. That means new performance standards for issuing passports, new tools for our caseworkers to track our constituents' passport requests, and new text and email notifications for Americans throughout the whole passport process so they know where their applications stand and how much longer the process is likely to take. Finally, H.R. 6610 requires the State Department to expand the online passport renewal system so that Americans can apply for and get the travel documents they need as efficiently as possible. I commend Representative Issa for prodding the State Department to adopt the best commercially available technology solutions. The private sector has much to offer that will reduce wait times and streamline bureaucracy at the State Department. I also thank Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Meeks, and the bipartisan members of the Foreign Affairs Committee who voted unanimously for this bill during the committee markup. The American people deserve a more responsive passport process when they seek to exercise their right to travel. For that reason, H.R. 6610 deserves our unanimous support. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Edwards).…”