MessageFYI ---------------------------------------------------------------- Flemming Videbaek Physics Department Brookhaven National Laboratory e-mail: videbaek@bnl.gov phone: 631-344-4106 ----- Original Message ----- From: White DePace, Susan M To: Aronson, Samuel ; Babzien, Marcus ; Ben-Zvi, Ilan ; Carlson, Charles W ; Deshpande, Abhay ; Kusche, Karl ; Pogorelsky, Igor ; ags contacts ; RHIC Contacts ; UEC Members Cc: Baez, Mercy ; Guiffreda, Kelly A ; Melocoton, Angela ; Kirk, Thomas B Sent: Monday, July 26, 2004 4:06 PM Subject: FW: Information Alert: Senate approval of Extension on Biometric Requirements -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Senate Clears Bill to Extend Biometric Passports Deadline By Mary Agnes Carey, CQ Staff The Senate on Thursday voted to give the U.S. government and 27 friendly nations an extra year to issue new, high-tech passports. The Senate cleared the extension (HR 4417) by voice vote in the chamber's final action before beginning a six-week recess. The 27 countries, mostly in Western Europe, are part of the visa waiver program, which allows their residents and U.S. citizens to visit each other's nations for short periods without visas. Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed a law (PL 107-173) requiring the United States and its visa waiver partners to issue more secure passports. The new passports must be able to be read by computers and include a "biometric identifier" such as a digital photo. Congress set a deadline of Oct. 26, 2004, for the new documents. But the State and Homeland Security departments have asked for a two-year extension of the deadline, saying neither the United States nor the other countries are prepared to issue the passports. The agencies have warned that rushing to meet a deadline could create a situation in which countries' passport systems are not interoperable. The bill, which passed the House on June 14, would allow only an extra year. Source: CQ Today -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Rhiccontacts-l mailing list Rhiccontacts-l@lists.bnl.gov http://lists.bnl.gov/mailman/listinfo/rhiccontacts-l _______________________________________________ Brahms-l mailing list Brahms-l@lists.bnl.gov http://lists.bnl.gov/mailman/listinfo/brahms-lReceived on Tue Jul 27 20:44:51 2004
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