Report finds U.S. passports overpriced
03.11.2007 - The U.S. government has overcharged Americans by more than $100 million a year in its fee for new passports, according to cost figures...
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has overcharged Americans by more than $100 million a year in its fee for new passports, according to cost figures uncovered by congressional investigators and analyzed by two senators and The Associated Press. The two senators said Americans have been quietly gouged since 2002. The report they initiated showed the costs incurred by the State Department and the U.S. Postal Service, for accepting passport applications, were considerably less than the fee charged. The passport fee is set by the State Department, which denied Friday that it overcharges anyone. "We are not trying to gouge the American public," deputy department spokesman Tom Casey said. Over the past year, as the government issued nearly 14 million new passports, Americans paid at least $111.4 million more in passport fees than the government's stated costs, according to calculations by the AP using information from State Department and the Government Accountability Office. Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who jointly asked for the GAO study, estimated the government overcharged travelers $112.7 million in 2002, when fewer than half the number of new passports were issued. At issue is a $30 portion of the passport fee, which is currently $97. The $30 is intended to cover the costs of clerks examining and accepting passport applications at post offices, State Department passport offices, courthouses, libraries, municipal offices and universities. The other $67 goes to produce the passport booklet and for costs such as rent at passport offices, security guards and background checks. Investigators did not look into that part of the fee. Investigators found that the government's $30 fee was roughly double the actual cost when it was imposed in 2002. The Postal Service, which operates 5,382 locations where people can apply for passports, estimated its costs at $13.31 in 2002. The State Department, which operates 14 passport offices, said its costs were $16.20 at that time. "This is not supposed to be a profit-making venture," Dorgan said. "They charge 30 bucks just for passing something across the counter." A Postal Service spokeswoman, Joanne Veto, said the agency's $13.31 figure was not an accurate reflection of its costs when the fee was imposed. Congressional investigators, however, said that was the figure the Postal Service gave the State Department for use in setting the $30 fee.
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