Good news for those of you flying to Amma's Toronto tour

[Guest guest]

Feds Suspend Border Passport Rule

 

By DEVLIN BARRETT and JENNIFER TALHELM

AP

 

WASHINGTON (June 8) - The Bush administration on Friday suspended some of

its new, post-Sept. 11 requirements for traveling abroad, hoping to placate

_Congress_ (javascript: and irate summer travelers whose vacations have

been

thwarted by delays in processing their passports.

 

 

 

The proposal would temporarily lift a requirement that U.S. passports be

used for citizens flying to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

 

The suspension should allow the State Department to catch up with a massive

surge in applications that has overwhelmed _passport_ (javascript:

processing centers since the rule took effect this year. The resulting backlog

has

caused up to three-month delays for passports and ruined or delayed the

travel plans of thousands of Americans.

 

Until the end of September, travelers will be allowed to fly without a

passport if they present a State Department receipt, showing they had applied

for

a passport, and government-issued identification, such as a driver's license.

 

Those without passports would receive additional security scrutiny, which

could include extra questioning or bag checks.

 

The change would help those like Judy and Darrell Green, of Rifle, Colo.,

who are still waiting to hear whether their son-in-law's passport will arrive

in time for a a family vacation to Mexico to celebrate their 40th wedding

anniversary and Darrell's 60th birthday.

 

Darrell Green's passport arrived Thursday, only after Rep. John Salazar,

D-Colo., helped expedite it. Their son-in-law expects to get his Friday with

the

help of his congresswoman.

 

 

" It makes you feel kind of frantic because you've spent all that money, "

Judy Green said.

 

Homeland Security signed off on the proposal Thursday after consultations

with the State Department, the White House and members of Congress, who have

been deluged with calls from angry constituents seeking help with their

passports.

 

Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y., whose district lies near the Canadian border,

said White House officials had been on Capitol Hill trying to work out a

compromise amid what he called a " turf war " between State and Homeland

Security.

 

Reynolds faulted " arrogant " officials for failing to get the system working

properly, and said he was worried about even more headaches next year when

passports will be required to drive into Canada or Mexico.

 

Lawmakers had been pushing for a change for weeks.

 

" To say people must have a passport to travel and not give people a passport

is right up there in the stupid column, " said Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M.,

who urged the State Department to lift the rule last month.

 

The application surge is the result of the Western Hemisphere Travel

Initiative that since January has required U.S. citizens to use passports when

entering the United States from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean by air. It is

part of a broader package of immigration rules enacted after the Sept. 11,

2001,

terrorist attacks.

 

Between March and May, the department issued more than 4.5 million

passports. It has millions more to process, according to consular affairs

officials.

 

Wilson's office took more than 500 calls from frustrated travelers seeking

help in May alone. The problem has since spread from border states to Ohio,

Pennsylvania, Kansas, Colorado and elsewhere.

 

 

 

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.