Washinton D.C. –U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) recently joined Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) along with 12 colleagues in writing to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to immediately take action to end the huge queue of applications for passports. In the letter the Senators are aware of numerous complaints from Americans in their states on problems and concerns about delayed waiting times, a lack of appointments available in person and the inability of communicating with passport authorities which is a blatant inefficiency from a government that should be focusing on providing for American citizens and their requirements.
“Given the large number of Alabamans who recently sought assistance regarding their passports I’m worried about the fact that no action has been earlier to address this issue which is clearly affecting a significant amount of residents in Alabama,” said Senator Britt. “As record numbers of Americans still make reservations for flights around the world and we ask that this issue be addressed promptly and in a transparent manner to avoid any further delays.”
In addition to senators Britt and Scott as well were U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La. ), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Barrasso (R-Wyo. ), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo. ), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), JD Vance (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb. ).
Check out the complete letter below:
My dear Secretary Blinken:
As the summer season begins with families all over the country are deciding on their travel plans We have received a myriad of stories from our constituents in our states regarding the huge queues for handling passport requests. We are grateful for the hard labor by Passport Agency employees across the nation, this huge backlog and inability to answer the majority of passport queries is not acceptable.
Since January 2023 Our offices have noticed an increase of questions about passports from our customers. We are aware that the Department of State is experiencing an unprecedented amount of renewals and applications for passports However, the strategies that have been put in place to deal with this demand are in need of additional focus.
This has led to several American families having to end their travel plans due to the delays, a absence of appointments in person and inability to contact passport authorities. Additionally, the delays of many Americans encounter in obtaining their passports could be damaging to their lives.
The Department of State must address these issues quickly to correct the situation. While our offices continue to operate every day to assist citizens with passport issues We are seeking information on the following issues:
What steps are being taken to reduce processing and wait time?
What does the Department intend to solve the issues with communications?
What is the Department intend to solve these issues so that there is no delays in the future?
Families across America depend on a swift and effective solution to the various problems and delays that in the Passport Agencies are experiencing. We’re looking forward to hearing about your solutions for this ongoing issue.
