Suspension of new requirements for entering the United States by air is good news for communities located along the northern border.
On Friday, the Bush Administration temporarily lifted a requirement that U.S. passports be used for citizens flying to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The suspension resulted from a massive number of applications for passports that overwhelmed processing centers since the rule took effect this year.
Kudos to members of Congress, including Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who have pushed for the passport requirements to be lifted, or at the least suspended for a period. Coleman has been a vocal critic of the ability of the government to handle the new requirement. He has also been concerned about how the new regulations would effect the lives of border residents.
Our federal government was not prepared for the impact of the passport rules. Officials should have expected the increase in passport applications and put in place measures to better handle the surge.
The suspension could also play a role in other aspects of implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, scheduled to require passports for entry into the U.S. by land and sea as early as 2008. Coleman has introduced legislation to ensure that the problem with passport applications does not reoccur next year. The Western Hemisphere Traveler Improvement Act, authored by Coleman, requires the Secretary of State to certify the capacity to process passports within eight weeks before moving ahead with the land phase of WHTI.
Clearly, our area is not the only area impacted by these changes. However, by members of Congress banding together we can ensure that these regulations intended to protect us do not end up in harming us.