Secretary
of State Colin L. Powell
Passports and Visas with Embedded Biometrics and the October Deadline
Prepared Testimony
House
Judiciary Committee
Mr. Chairman, members of the
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the progress of those
countries participating in our Visa Waiver Program (VWP) toward producing
passports with embedded biometrics by
I am pleased to be here today with my friend and
fellow cabinet officer,
The inclusion of biometrics in international travel
documents is a critical step in upgrading security for
The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform
Act (EBSA) established
In May 2003, ICAO decided to make facial recognition
technology the standard passport biometric, leaving VWP countries only 17
months to bring a biometric passport from design to production. Such a process normally takes years. The EBSA does not provide a waiver provision
and very few, if any, of the 27 participating VWP countries will be able to
meet this legislatively-mandated deadline.
Although the governments of the VWP countries share a commitment to this
step forward, many are encountering the same challenges that we face in our own
effort to introduce embedded biometrics to the
The challenge provided to the
international community by section 303 of the EBSA is a daunting one. Meeting it has taken VWP countries and the
This concern for taking the necessary time to get
things right has not kept us from working aggressively with the VWP
countries. We've urged them to issue
biometric passports by the
That is why in the ICAO working groups, for example, we led in advocating the successful
inclusion of biometrics in travel documents.
In the G-8, we strongly advocated support for ICAO leadership in
biometrics and we participate actively in a special working group on biometrics
established by the G-8 ministers of Home and Justice Affairs. At every opportunity around the world, State
Department officials seek to educate VWP government representatives,
journalists and citizens from these countries about the requirements and
deadlines. In addition, VWP countries
have sent representatives to
As a result, VWP countries are making progress
toward complying with the biometric requirement, but I doubt whether any will
meet the October 26 deadline. None of
the larger countries - for example, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy or Spain -- will begin issuing passports with standardized
biometrics by that deadline.
Under these circumstances, we believe there are
compelling reasons to extend the
Failure to extend the deadline will have other serious
consequences as well. Since travelers
from VWP countries with passports issued on or after
The delays
resulting from this increased nonimmigrant visa demand will also discourage
travel to the
In fact, we judge that the added economic costs will
be substantial. VWP travelers, who tend
to spend more than other visitors, contribute billions of dollars to our
economy each year. One out of every
eight jobs in the
But Mr. Chairman, I want to be clear that extending
the deadline is only part of our answer.
We will also continue to pursue vigorous diplomatic efforts at the
highest levels to ensure that the VWP countries remain committed to introducing
biometric passports. Over the next few
months, the Department of State will participate in the VWP country reviews led
by Secretary Ridge's Homeland Security Department and we will take every opportunity
to remind governments of the importance of meeting the new deadline should it
be extended. We will ensure that they
all understand that if they fail to meet the extended deadline we will have no
alternative but to begin requiring visas for travelers from those
countries. Further, to continue to
tighten our security posture, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will
enroll all VWP travelers in US-VISIT - the program that tracks the entry and
exit of foreign visitors by using electronically scanned fingerprints and
photographs. Secretary Ridge will
describe this program in detail for the committee.
Before I close, Mr. Chairman, let me give you a few
more details with respect to our own efforts.
As I noted earlier, we believe that embedding biometrics in
That said, we are making good progress
in our own biometric efforts. For
example, we began deployment of our Biometric Visa Program on
Under the Biometric Visa Program, consular officers electronically scan the fingerprints of the visa applicants at the visa interview windows as part of the visa interview process. These fingerprints are checked electronically against the DHS fingerprint database. If there is no match, then the visa applicant's fingerprints are stored in the US-VISIT databases. If the fingerprints do match any in the fingerprint database, no action can be taken on the visa application until a consular officer reviews the information. If and when a visa is issued, the applicant's bio-data, photo and fingerprint data are sent to DHS's US-VISIT system. When the visa applicant arrives at a port of entry, the DHS officer will use the fingerprint data to match the visa in the US-VISIT databases, and will compare the visa holder's fingerprints with those on file. This one-to-one fingerprint comparison ensures that the person presenting the visa at the port of entry is the same person to whom the visa was issued. To ensure the integrity of visas issued prior to the introduction of biometrics (currently some 20 million), we have also upgraded our visa datashare program for use in the initial inspection under US-VISIT. This means that US-VISIT has access to the photograph that was previously captured on most visas currently in circulation - providing us with a critical enhancement during primary inspection even though fingerprints are not available. An additional security measure of the Biometric Visa Program is that consular officers now interview all visa applicants with the exception of children, the elderly, and diplomats. We are working hand-in-hand with our colleagues in DHS to ensure that we have a system that allows legitimate travelers to be on their way as expeditiously as possible while, at the same time, it identifies those who pose a threat so we can prevent them from entering our country or arrest them if the situation warrants such action.
As I said, ensuring the security of our borders is
our number one priority. But protecting
our democracy and the special, welcoming society we have always been, demands
that we remain an open nation.
Mr. Chairman, in my confirmation hearing before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January 2001, I pointed out that
But I am also a realist. I know that while we maintain our openness we
must also enhance our security. I know
too that enhancing our security was a principal purpose of the Border Security
Act. What I am requesting of you today
is that you and the members of your committee recognize that the deadline of
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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