[Federal Register: January 29, 2008 (Volume 73, Number
19)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 5087-5090]
From the
Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29ja08-3]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 22
[Public Notice: 6082]
RIN 1400-AC41
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and
Overseas Embassies and Consulates
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Interim final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of State is revising the Schedule of Fees
for Consular Services to reflect an increase in the surcharge related
to consular services in support of enhanced border security and a
reduction in the execution fee for the passport book. The Secretary of
State is authorized to collect the border security surcharge by the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Pub. L. 108-447). In 2007,
Congress authorized the Secretary of State to administratively amend
the surcharge amount in the Department of State Authorities Act of
2006 (Pub. L. 109-472). The Secretary is also authorized to set and
collect a fee for executing passport applications by 22 U.S.C.
214.
DATES: Effective date: This interim final rule is effective
February 1, 2008.
Comment date: The Department of State will accept written comments
from interested persons up to March 31, 2008. Comments received before
the end of the comment period will be addressed in a final rule.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments by any of the
following methods. All comments must include the Regulatory
Identification Number (RIN) that appears in the heading of this
document.
E-mail: PassportRules@state.gov. You must include the Regulatory
Identification Number (RIN) in the subject line of your message.
Mail: (paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): An original and three
copies of comments should be sent to: Christine L. Grauer, Office of
Passport Services, Legal Affairs Division, Planning and Advisory
Services, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC
20037.
Fax: 202-663-2499. You must include the Regulatory Identification
Number (RIN) in the subject line of your message.
Persons with access to the internet may also view this notice and
provide comments by going to the regulations.gov Web site at: http://www.regulations.gov/index.cfm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For passport issuance policy:
Susan Bozinko, Division Chief, Office of Passport Services, Legal
Affairs Division, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 3rd Floor, Washington,
DC 20037. Telephone (202) 663-2491. E-mail: PassportRules@state.gov.
For consular fee setting policy: Tracy Henderson, Director of the
Budget, Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Suite
H1004, 2401 E St., NW., Washington, DC 20520, telephone (202) 663-2525
or by e-mail: fees@state.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Amendment to the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
As discussed below, this change in the schedule of fees will
reflect the proposed passport book surcharge increase, as well as a
reduction in the execution fee for the passport book.
Amendment to Passport Book Fees
Border Security Surcharge
Due to increased security concerns following the events of
September 11th, the Department of State has focused upon improved
security, particularly in relation to our nation's borders. In 2004,
Congress authorized the Secretary of State to collect a surcharge
related to consular services in support of enhanced border security.
(Pub. L. 108-447, Div. B, Title IV, 118 Stat. 2896 (2004), 8 U.S.C.
1714). The law set the initial border security surcharge at $12.00
because that was the estimated cost of providing consular services in
support of enhanced border security at that time.
In 2007, Congress provided the Secretary of State with the
authority to administratively amend the border security surcharge.
Department of State Authorities Act of 2006, Public Law 109-472,
section 6, 120 Stat. 3554 (2007) (codified at 8 U.S.C. 1714 note).
Congress included four requirements for such amendments:
(1) The amounts of the surcharges shall be reasonably related to
the costs of providing services in connection with the activity or
item for which the surcharges are charged.
(2) The aggregate amount of surcharges collected may not exceed the
aggregate amount obligated and expended for the costs related to
consular services in support of enhanced border security incurred in
connection with the activity or item for which the surcharges are
charged.
(3) A surcharge may not be collected except to the extent the
surcharge will be obligated and expended to pay the costs related to
consular services in support of enhanced border security incurred in
connection with the activity or item for which the surcharge is
charged.
(4) A surcharge shall be available for obligation and expenditure
only to pay the costs related to consular services in support of
enhanced border security incurred in providing services in connection
with the activity or item for which the surcharge is charged.
The proposed $8.00 increase in the surcharge falls within the above
parameters set by Congress.
The $8.00 increase is reasonably related to the costs of providing
consular services in support of enhanced border security because it
represents the cost of providing passport books with upgraded security
features resulting from the State Department's enhanced border
security programs implemented since 2005. New passport book security
measures, including the introduction of an electronic passport and the
use of traceable priority mail delivery to applicants to prevent
passport loss or theft, have increased the
[[Page 5088]]
security-related passport costs and $12.00 is no longer sufficient
to cover such costs.
First, due to these new security measures, the passport book and
mailing now costs the Department $19.40. Each passport book costs
$14.80, nearly triple the previous cost, and priority mail costs $4.60
as opposed to the original 60-cent standard first-class mail rate, for
a total cost of $19.40. In order to avoid a loss, the Department is
rounding up the security surcharge to $20. Thus, the Department is
raising the security surcharge by a total of $8.00 at the present
time.
Even taking this rounding into account, the total amount of the
surcharge collected will not exceed the aggregate amount obligated and
expended for costs related to consular services in support of enhanced
border security incurred in connection with passport services, nor
will it exceed the total amount obligated and expended for passport
books and mailing. When the Department initially began collecting the
security surcharge in March 2005, the amounts collected were more than
sufficient to fund costs. Nevertheless, each fiscal year, the
Department expended the majority of its passport book security
surcharge collections, leaving only a minimal amount to carry over
into the new fiscal year for operating expenses on October 1.\1\
Because of the substantial increase in costs caused by the
introduction of the electronic passport book and the use of priority
mailing, these costs now significantly exceed the amounts collected
through the security surcharge. Thus, the amounts now collected
through the security surcharge do not fully cover the costs for
passport books and secure mail and other consular fees are used to
fund the full cost of the passport book and priority mailing. This
demonstrates the necessity of raising the passport book security
surcharge at this time.
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\1\ Since these funds are designated as no-year funds which do not
expire at the end of a fiscal year, they may be used in the following
year, but only to the extent that they are expended to cover enhanced
border security costs.
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Third, the surcharge is only collected to the extent that it is
obligated and expended to pay the costs associated with enhanced
border security. These funds are maintained in a separate
account--``Passport Security Surcharge''--and are used only for
consular functions supporting enhanced border security.
Fourth, all of the surcharge funds are obligated and expended only
to pay costs related to consular services in support of enhanced
border security. As stated above, the Department has established a
separate account for monies collected through the border security
surcharge and ensures, and will continue to ensure, that such monies
are expended only to pay the related border security enhancement
costs. The financial plan for the Border Security Program exclusively
uses the revenue received through the passport book security surcharge
to pay for the production and mailing costs of the new electronic
passport books. The passport book security surcharge is not used to
support any other activities.
It is important that the Department of State increase the security
surcharge by $8.00 to $20.00. The Department of State considers the
enactment of this rule a matter of the utmost importance to ensure the
availability of funds necessary to support consular services related
to enhanced border security throughout our nation.
Execution Fee
The Department is also reducing the execution fee for the passport
book from $30.00 to $25.00, as proposed in its Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) published on October 17, 2006 at 71 FR 60928. As the
Department explained in the NPRM, the $25.00 execution fee for
passport applications is based on an internal review of the
Department's cost of service, along with information from the United
States Postal Service. The $25.00 execution fee has already been
implemented for the passport card through the Passport Card Rule
published on December 31, 2007. This rule completes the transition to
the $25.00 execution fee for passport card and passport book
applications by applying the lower fee for the passport book.
The passport book security surcharge and reduction of the execution
fee will take effect at the same time the new passport card fees
become effective so that the Department can administratively implement
all passport fee changes at the same time.
The new fees for the passport book are as follows:
(SEE PDF VERSION FOR TABLE)
Regulatory Findings
Administrative Procedure Act
The Department is publishing this rule as an interim final rule,
with a 60-day provision for post-promulgation comments and with an
effective date less than 30 days from the date of publication, based
on the ``good cause'' exceptions set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B)
and 553(d)(3). Delaying implementation of this rule would be contrary
to the public interest because the rule is necessary in order to
continue to fund consular services in support of enhanced border
security. This rule constitutes an integral component of several
changes to the Department's regulations taking place between January 1
and February 1, 2008 as part of the Department's plans to increase
border security in several key areas. Failure to increase the border
security surcharge on February 1 would jeopardize the Department's
ability to fund consular services in support of enhanced border
security, and would undermine the integrated implementation of other
security-related initiatives designed to go into effect during the
same time period. Moreover,
[[Page 5089]]
delaying implementation of the $25.00 execution fee for the
passport book until after February 1 would create a disparity between
the fee charged for the same service for the passport book and the
passport card.
Regulatory Flexibility Act/Executive Order 13272: Small
Business
The Department of State, in accordance with the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354, 5 U.S.C. 601-612) and Executive Order
13272, section 3(b), has evaluated the effects of this proposed action
on small entities. The Department has determined and hereby certifies
that this rule would not have a significant impact on a substantial
number of small entities.
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UFMA),
Public Law 104-4; 109 Stat. 48; 2 U.S.C. 1532, generally requires
agencies to prepare a statement before proposing any rule that may
result in an annual expenditure of $100 million or more by State,
local, or tribal governments, or by the private sector. This rule does
not result in any expenditure by State, local or tribal governments,
nor will it significantly or uniquely affect small governments. The
effects on the private sector are discussed below in connection with
the economic analysis required under Executive Order 12866.
The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996
This rule is a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804 for purposes
of congressional review of agency rulemaking under the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, Public Law 104-121. A
copy of the rule, along with a concise general statement relating to
the rule and its effective date, are being provided to each House of
Congress and the Comptroller General as required by 5 U.S.C. 801.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 808, this interim final rule will take effect on
February 1, 2008.
Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Review
This rule is considered by the Department of State to be an
economically significant regulatory action under Executive Order
12866, section 3(f), Regulatory Planning and Review. The surcharge
increase is based on the Department's costs and projected volumes that
were available at the time this rule was drafted, and the rule has
been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
The implementation of this rule will result in a net increase of
$3.00 per application in the cost of a passport book when execution of
the passport book application is required. For those renewal
applications that do not require execution it will result in an $8
increase. Although the economic impact of the rule on any given
individual will be relatively minor, it will provide the Department
with an additional $232 million in FY 2008 in annual fee revenue,
based on a projected annual volume of 29 million applications for
passport books, over the fee revenue that would be collected through
the current security surcharge. This increase in revenue will be used
to fund consular services in support of enhanced border security, as
required by 8 U.S.C. 1714 note. The increased revenue will be used for
the purchase of blank passport books and priority mailing for
completed passport books. If the Department does not adjust the
security surcharge to recover the cost of the books and priority
mailing, its ability to fund these and other consular services in
support of enhanced border security will be compromised, and the
Department will be forced to continue to divert funds from other
consular fees in order to meet the shortfall. This diversion, in turn,
will undermine the Department's ability to deliver the high-quality
consular services the public has come to rely on from it.
The Department is concerned with the impact on individual
applicants of any rise in the overall cost of the passport book, and
carefully analyzed whether it would be possible to keep the security
surcharge below the Department's actual cost for passport book
purchasing and mailing. It determined, however, that a fee amount that
did not meet these costs was not possible given the amount of funding
required for the Department's consular services in support of enhanced
border security. Although this rule will cause a modest increase in
the total cost of a passport book for the individual applicant, the
increased cost of the passport book over its 10-year lifetime will be
minimal. An increase of $3.00 or, for renewals, $8.00, in the cost of
a passport book with a validity period of 10 years corresponds to an
increased cost of either thirty cents or eighty cents per year for the
life of the passport book. The Department does not anticipate that
this de minimis increase in the lifetime cost of a passport book will
impose an undue burden on individual passport book applicants, or that
it will have an impact on application volumes or any other public
behavior. Public demand for the passport book has been rising over the
past several years and is expected to continue to rise as individuals
increasingly come to regard the passport book as a valuable identity
document.
This rule will also provide distinct benefits that cannot be
quantified monetarily. As OMB Circular A-4 states, ``It will not
always be possible to express in monetary units all of the important
benefits and costs'' of a rule. A vital, non-quantifiable benefit of
this interim final rule is that it will enable the Department to
advance its goal of enhancing border security while simultaneously
investing in infrastructure and other developments needed to meet
projected levels of passport book demand in FY 2008 and beyond. By
supplying the funds to purchase passport books and priority mailing,
the security surcharge will significantly enhance the nation's border
security.
The passport book costs three times the previous passport book for
a reason. It is one the world's most secure travel documents. It
contains an embedded chip with coding that will prevent digital data
from being altered or removed, as well as a unique ID number for the
chip. In addition, the electronic passport book uses a form of Public
Key Infrastructure (PKI) that will permit digital signatures, thus
protecting the data from tampering. These features make it much more
difficult for individuals to engage in the fraudulent use of an
electronic passport book. Likewise, the use of priority mail makes it
possible for both the Department and the legitimate recipient to track
the electronic passport book through the mailing process, making it
easier to prevent and detect any loss or theft of the book.
At the same time, because it will fully fund the cost of blank
passport books and priority mailing, the increased surcharge will
permit the Department to maximize the efficiency of its operations. As
OMB Circular A-4 explains, ``[a] regulation may be appropriate when
you have a clearly identified measure that can make government operate
more efficiently.'' By ensuring that the base cost of each passport
book and priority mailing is funded through the surcharge, the rule
allows the Department to more effectively plan for what is projected
to be a record level of passport book demand, and to determine in
advance how to best allocate the Department's other available
resources so as to provide efficient and high-quality consular
services to the American public. Specifically, the rule will permit
the Department to use other funds to
[[Page 5090]]
provide the infrastructure and staffing needed to meet the
projected demand for passport books over the next fiscal year and
beyond. This will enable both the Department and the public to avoid
the inefficient use of resources that arises when infrastructure and
staffing are insufficient to meet demand. This, along with enhanced
border security through the use of the passport book and priority
mailing, is a tangible and noticeable benefit. Thus, the benefits of
this rule exceed its costs.
Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This regulation would not have substantial direct effects on the
States, on the relationship between the national government and the
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government, and Executive Order No. 13132 is
therefore not applicable.
Executive Order 12988: Civil Justice Reform
The Department has reviewed this regulation in light of sections
3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order No. 12988 to eliminate ambiguity,
minimize litigation, establish clear legal standards, and to reduce
burden.
National Environmental Policy Act
The Department has analyzed this regulation for the purpose of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) and
has determined that it would not have any effect on the quality of the
environment.
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed rule would not impose any new reporting or
recordkeeping requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44
U.S.C. Chapter 35.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 22
Passports and visas.
Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above, 22 CFR part 22 is
amended as follows:
PART 22--SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR CONSULAR SERVICES--DEPARTMENT OF
STATE AND FOREIGN SERVICE
1. The authority citation for part 22 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1153 note, 1351, 1351 note; 10 U.S.C. 2602(c);
22 U.S.C. 214, 2504(a), 4201, 4206, 4215, 4219; 31 U.S.C. 9701; Pub.
L. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681 et seq.; Pub. L. No. 108-447, 118 Stat.
2809 et seq.; E.O. 10718, 22 FR 4632, 3 CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 382;
E.O. 11295, 31 FR 10603, 3 CFR, 1966-1970 Comp., p. 570, Pub. L.
109-167, January 10, 2006, 119 Stat. 3578; Pub. L. 109- 472, section
6, 120 Stat. 3554 (2007).
2. Section 22.1 is amended in the table by revising entries 1 and 2
under the heading ``Passport and Citizenship Services'' to read as
follows:
Sec. 22.1 Schedule of fees.
The following table sets forth the U.S. Department of State's
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services:
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
(SEE PDF VERSION FOR TABLE)
* * * * *
Dated: January 22, 2008.
Maura Harty,
Assistant
Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Department of State.
[FR
Doc. E8-1343 Filed 1-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P
