Official takes blame for passport messBy MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 26 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The current passport mess is rare among
government foul-ups: A top federal official has publicly taken
the blame and expressed regret.
"Over the past several months, many travelers who applied for a
passport did not receive their document in time for their planned
travel. I deeply regret that," says Assistant Secretary of State
Maura Harty, who is in charge of passports for U.S. citizens.
"I accept complete responsibility for this."
-snip-The culprits have variously been identified as inept planning,
underfunded preparations, popular misunderstanding of poorly
crafted government advertising, unanticipated effects of public
debate over immigration, tardy and ill-considered responses to
the developing crisis, and even partly on Hurricane Katrina,
which damaged the New Orleans processing office.
Some in Congress wonder if the effort hasn't actually harmed
security. Others question whether more passports actually
contribute much to security at all.