July 3, 2023 3:00 a.m.

On Thursday, all eight members of the Oregon Congressional Delegation called on the U.S. Department of State to continue working to address the passport backlog for Oregonians by driving down wait times, increasing communication with other Oregon applicants, and informing Congress of any additional resources the Department needs.

A joint release said over the last year, passport requests have increased by thirty to forty percent, with routine processing times increasing to between ten and thirteen weeks and expedited processing times increasing seven to nine weeks. The bi-partisan collation sent a joint letter to Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs Rena Bitter, urging immediate action to alleviate the delays.

Congresswoman Val Hoyle said, “I appreciate the steps the State Department has taken to help address the backlog. However, without an Oregon-based passport agency, many of my constituents must travel across state lines in order to help expedite their applications. We need increased communication and transparency for Oregonians”.

The full text of the letter is linked: https://hoyle.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/hoyle.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/oregon-delegation-calld-on-u.s.-department-of-state-to-address-the-passport-application-backlog.pdf