Sec. 5. Enhanced information technology solutions to improve the passport issuance process
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The Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall implement the information technology solutions described in subsection
(b)in accordance with the timelines described in such subsection. The enhanced information technology solutions and timelines described in this subsection are the following: Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall, including if necessary through the awarding of a contract or expanding an existing, establish a tool to enable congressional offices to monitor the status of individual passport applications being handled as casework by such offices. Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall take all reasonable steps, including if necessary the awarding of a contract for the establishment and ongoing maintenance of a service to provide to passport applicants automated, voluntary proactive communications, by email or text message, for each progress point in the passport issuance process, and for the notification of application errors, and delivery of mail tracking numbers, and reminders of renewal eligibility. Applicants shall be provided the choice of whether to use the services described in subparagraph
(A)and data gained as a result of participation in such services shall not be transferred to any third party outside the Department or its contract awardees. The services described in subparagraph
(A)shall provide separate options for email and text message notification, as well as separate options for processing-related notifications and renewal eligibility notifications. Consistent with the Bureau’s modernization plans and timelines, and subject to the availability of funds, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall seek to enter into a contract or contracts as appropriate, for the establishment and maintenance of a mobile application to allow for the centralization of applicant communication with the Department, including document submission, application status tracking, virtual appointments, access to the notification of application errors, and allowing for passport holders to receive messages from the Department and communicate emergencies to the Department. The Assistant Secretary shall provide each passport applicant with the option of whether to use the mobile application described in subparagraph
(A)or another service of the Department. As a condition for awarding any contracts described in subparagraph (A), the awardee shall demonstrate that it can begin tests on the solution within one year of the award of the contract and complete implementation, including bug fixes, cybersecurity audits, and customer service testing, not later than two years from the award of the contract. Consistent with existing law, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall expand the online passport renewal system, including to accommodate electronic acceptance of routine first-time adult applications as applicable, in addition to adult renewal applications in sufficient volume to be able to accommodate most applications by the date that is four years from the date of enactment of this Act. Planning carried out to implement subparagraph
(A)shall prepare the Bureau to verify applications without recourse to the information gained through appearance in person described in section 1 of the Act of June 15, 1917 ( 22 U.S.C. 213 ), subject to any additional authorities required. To meet the objectives described in subparagraphs
(A)and (B), the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall, to the maximum extent practicable, make use of commercially-available technology solutions, including by seeking to enter into a contract or contracts for the expansion and maintenance of the online passport renewal system to accommodate the functionality described in such subparagraphs. In expanding the online passport renewal system pursuant to subparagraph (C), the following services should be included or otherwise accounted for: A customer-friendly, user-friendly internet website or portal to facilitate internet-based submission of passport applications by adults. To the extent possible, remote document verification tools and infrastructure, to allow for a passport transaction to be completed entirely remotely. To the extent possible, information technology infrastructure not already maintained by the Department. The Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall take all reasonable steps and to the maximum extent practicable make use of commercially-available technology solutions to implement additional rules-based tools, including by seeking to enter into a contract or contracts for such tools and their maintenance, to adjudicate online passport renewal applications in which no biographical information was changed for citizenship, identity, and entitlement against internal and commercial databases. The tools described in subparagraph
(A)shall be fully operational within 4 years of the date of the enactment of this Act. The Chief Information Officer shall ensure that the use of the tools do not make passport adjudication more vulnerable to cyberattack. The Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall ensure that the tools described in subparagraph
(A)are implemented consistent with the maintenance of standards appropriate to ensuring the integrity of the United States passport. For purposes of using the tools described in subparagraph (A), the requirement that a passport be issued by the personnel described in the first section of the Act entitled “An Act to regulate the issue and validity of passports, and for other purposes”, approved July 3, 1926 ( 22 U.S.C. 211a ), shall be satisfied provided that such personnel oversee the tools described in such subparagraph consistent with the requirements in subparagraph (D). In addition to other requirements in this section, not later than 30 days before the Assistant Secretary begins work to procure internally any of the information technology solutions described in subsection (b), the Assistant Secretary, in coordination with the Chief Information Officer, shall certify to the appropriate congressional committees that— the reasons for procuring such service internally; the Bureau has sufficient capacity to implement and maintain such services; and the Bureau cannot procure such services for significantly reduced cost externally. In procuring and implementing the information technology solutions described in subsection (b), preference should be given to entities with the technical expertise necessary for the project and capacity to deliver timely solutions. The Chief Information Officer’s concurrence shall be required before the Assistant Secretary awards a contract pursuant to this section. With respect to the contracting and implementation of the systems described in subsection (b), the Chief Information Officer shall have— final decision making authority on the technical feasibility and specifications, cybersecurity requirements, compatibility with existing Department information technology infrastructure, and the feasibility of timelines from a technical standpoint; and final approval of all technical matters before full implementation. In selecting the services described in subsection (b), the Assistant Secretary and the Chief Information Officer shall include in the criteria for selection— the ability of the proposal to maintain security, including the cybersecurity, standards appropriate to the United States passport and to protect personally identifiable information; scalability to accommodate current and future passport demand; and long-term viability and upgradability. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an action plan on how the Bureau plans to complete the modernization described in this section in conjunction with other related, ongoing steps to modernize the passport issuance process. The action plan required by paragraph
(1)shall include the following elements: Progress made on implementing the information technology solutions described in subsection
(b)within specific timelines, and additional steps planned. The expected cost and timeline for implementation of the information technology solutions described in subsection (b). An evaluation of the information technology solutions described in subsection
(b)to determine whether the full implementation of such solutions will require additional funding or authorities, including budget estimates and a description of such authorities, as appropriate. Efforts to ensure world-class cybersecurity standards for protection of passport applicant data and the passport issuance process infrastructure, particularly such infrastructure involved in adjudication of passport applications. Other specific planned steps that the Bureau will take to achieve the criteria described in section 4. Not later than 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the following: Progress on each information technology solution described in subsection (b). Additional information technology solutions the Bureau intends to adopt. Changes in the cost for implementation of the steps described in the action plan, if applicable. The plans and report required by this section shall be submitted in an unclassified form and may include a classified annex, if necessary.
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Sec. 5
Enhanced information technology solutions to improve the passport issuance process
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