I’m not sure if anybody could have seen it coming. “I know everybody’s frustrated, but this is abnormal - beyond expectations, the number of applications that we’ve received in the last year. I don’t even know what to call it anymore,” Wentz said. But Wentz said the department is getting an unprecedented “tsunami” of new applications that is unlike anything its workforce has had to deal with before. Lawmakers have grown frustrated with the State Department for not doing more to prepare for a surge in passport applications each summer. I’m not trying to sugarcoat it - it’s exhausting, but at the same time, we’re getting paid to do the job.” We want to do the job we get paid for, to help everybody get a passport. Having to work overtime every day can be a struggle. “We’re meeting the expectation of what we should be doing to meet the overtime demands. “If management says we need everybody to step up, it’s everybody’s responsibility to step up and do it,” Wentz said. Wentz said most of that overtime is voluntary, and that passport services employees are willing to put in extra hours when needed. NFFE represents about 1,300 passport services employees.īetween January and June this year, the Bureau of Consular Affairs authorized between 30,000 and 40,000 overtime hours each month. But when you hit unexpected requests for product, it’s hard.” “It would be nice if we could get everybody a passport in six-to-eight weeks, which we’ve done in the past. But at the same time, from the employee standpoint, we’re doing everything we can to help everybody,” Wentz said. We all totally get that, we totally understand it. And if we were on the other side of the coin … I’d be frustrated too. “We’re all here doing what we can to help everybody. National Federation of Federal Employees Local 1998 President Lee Wentz said in a recent interview that passport services employees are also frustrated by these delays. Lawmakers have written several letters complaining about the delays - and have introduced legislation to remedy the situation. The department is also looking to fully launch an online passport renewal platform by the end of this year, or early next year, after soft-launching the platform in late 2022 and earlier this year. 10 with Jason Miller, agency leaders and Splunk's Kristi Chiarenza who will discuss how agencies are addressing the goals and initiatives outlined in NCSIP, and what agencies have in store for cybersecurity in the future. Between the Lines with the Administrative Conference of the United States.
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