Two days ago, the Senate passed the House amendment to the Passport Backlog Reduction Act of 2007. This amendment, that the Senate passed by unanimous vote, will become active once the President signs it into law. The original bill, passed by the Senate on June 29, allowed for the temporary rehiring of Foreign Service retirees to help reduce the backlog in passport applications.
This new amendment contains additional language that allows these rehired retired individuals to assist in passport fraud investigations. In addition, it shortens the period of authorization for these rehired individuals. The expiration date for this authorization period was moved up from September 30, 2010 to September 30, 2008 in this amendment.
