Passport outrage: Official who caused the crisis set to be promoted

Townhall.com ^ | June28, 2007 | Joel Mowbray

[Kaslin]

During a contentious Senate hearing last week, State Department consular chief Maura Harty took personal responsibility for the backlog of two million passport applications—leading to wait times of 12 weeks or more—that has wreaked havoc on honeymoons, family getaways, and business trips.

She was hailed by many for her contrite performance. Unfortunately, though Harty was apologetic, she was not entirely honest. Not only that, the Senate did not learn the full extent of her personal culpability in creating the passport mess with a series of blunders.

And on the heels of creating a backlog of two million passport applications and then misleading Congress about it, Harty is poised for a promotion. Unless the White House acts to stop it, Harty could soon ascend to one of the top positions at the State Department.

How the crisis really happened

The State Department’s public line is that the new rules requiring passports for most Western Hemisphere air travel caused a surge in applications, and Harty’s office relied on a private consulting firm’s estimate of 16.2 million passport applications this year—a number that proved too low by roughly 1.5 million.

The reality, however, is that following the private consulting study, provided by BearingPoint, would have lead to slightly overestimating the number of passport seekers.

When questioned at the hearing about how she could have missed the mark so badly, Harty tried to shift the blame, responding, “[W]e predicted 16.2 million based on our study with BearingPoint.”

The BearingPoint study, however, did not produce the 16.2 million figure; Harty and her staff did. The results of the report, in fact, would have lead to a calculation of approximately 18 million applications this fiscal year—just slightly over the number expected to be filed.

State’s and DHS’s interpretation of the BearingPoint study—which estimated only the number of people who would apply for a passport to comply with the new travel rules—was that 4.1 million travelers would do so in the first year. That figure would only result in a total of 16.2 million if the number of people seeking passports would otherwise stay flat from last year. But that would ignore entirely recent history.

Since 2003, passports have been a growth business, with applications rising by an average of 18% annually between that year and 2006. And that 18% yearly increase was before the implementation this January of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

Simple math dictated that far more than 16.2 million would apply for a passport this year. Adding 18% growth over the 12.1 million passports issued in fiscal year 2006 to the 4.1 million figure results in a total of just over 18 million. (BearingPoint was willing to release its study, but a spokesman said the company contractually needed State’s permission to do so. State refused to release the report before publication of this column.)

How Harty made matters much, much worse

But even then, if Harty’s office had only committed the sin of a bad prediction, the mess never would have become a full-blown crisis.

Converting what would have been a short-term logjam into a yearlong nightmare were several factors: 1) Harty staffed at the low end of what would be necessary to process her tragically low projection of 16.2 million applications, 2) she had no contingency plans, and 3) she inexplicably refused to react when it became clear that she had woefully underestimated.

Rather than err on the side of caution on staffing, Harty hired the bare minimum to deal with the number of passport applications she expected this year, 16.2 million. Aggravating matters, Harty apparently lacked meaningful contingency plans. No blueprint was in place, for example, to ramp up staffing if needed.

There was already a glaring need for additional staffing late last year.

As early as last November, applications were coming in at a much higher rate than her office expected, receiving 250,000 more than projected for that month alone. This January, Consular Affairs received 1.8 million applications, or 600,000 more than expected.

By her own admission, this flood of applications did not convince Harty to change course. She thought it was a blip.

For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Harty waited until this March—nearly five months after it became apparent that her estimate was astonishingly insufficient—to hire more staff than originally planned for processing passports.

Harty had every reason to err on the side of caution. The price of underestimating applications and then going into crisis mode has been extremely high. Passport centers have been working nights and weekends, State has brought back retirees, and call center capacity has had to expand exponentially. Not only would more staffers up front been much less expensive, but they would have been needed for years to come. According to Harty’s testimony, 23 million applications are projected for next year, and the number could hit 30 million by 2010.

Joel Mowbray, who got his start with Townhall.com, is an award-winning investigative journalist, nationally-syndicated columnist and author of Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department Threatens America's Security.

[leadpenny]

F up and move up.

[SE Mom]

~snip~

Converting what would have been a short-term logjam into a yearlong nightmare were several factors: 1) Harty staffed at the low end of what would be necessary to process her tragically low projection of 16.2 million applications, 2) she had no contingency plans, and 3) she inexplicably refused to react when it became clear that she had woefully underestimated.

~snip~

Competence and accountability in government ?? pppffttt..

[Paulus]

What is the modern name for inefficiency???

Government.

[Christian4Bush]

ping

[Flintlock]

Yo!
Hello?
This ain’t no screwup.
They WANTED a backlog!
they needed this mess.
It’s all a parcel of the border/immigration mess. Their only solution for which is a “COMPREHENSIVE” ONE.
See?

[PurpleMan]

Under the title of: “You just can’t make this stuff up”

DHS’s Citizenship and Immigration Department is advertising for a new Public Affairs person. I guess the problem is that because of this gap, they haven’t been able to spin their incompetence as opposed to FIXING THE DAMNED PROBLEMS! :>)

Here’s the link: http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=58969439&AVSDM=2007%2D06%2D21+00%3A00%3A05&Logo=0&q=public+affairs&FedEmp=Y&sort=rv&vw=d&brd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y&SUBMIT1.x=72&SUBMIT1.y=15

[Nomorjer Kinov]

Reality: 15 million lawful Americans apply for passports, there is a 12-week backlog.

Fantasy:12 million (yeah, right) "undocumented" illegal aliens will apply for Z-Visas and be processed in just 1 day.

[dennisw]

• 

  Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing to examine the passport backlog, and the State Department's response to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP via Yahoo! News - Jun 19 1:56 PM

• 

  Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing to examine the passport backlog, and the State Department's response to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP via Yahoo! News - Jun 19 1:49 PM

• 

  Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing to examine the passport backlog, and the State Department's response to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP via Yahoo! News - Jun 19 1:49 PM

• 

  Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing to examine the passport backlog, and the State Department's response to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP via Yahoo! News - Jun 19 1:49 PM

[dennisw]

Ambassador Maura Harty Visits Bogota

[RightFighter]

I’m quite certain that they are very happy with the backlog. I just applied for my passport on Monday, and at the time of application, you have an opportunity to pay $60 extra to expedite your application. You are also encouraged to pay overnight delivery in each direction. If they can convince everyone that there’s so much uncertainty about when the passport will arrive unless you pay the extra fee, then nearly everyone will pay the extra $60, as I did.

If they get 1,000,000 people to pay the extra $60, they can have a big pizza party at State. If they get 10,000,000 people to pay the extra $60, well...you get the point. That’s why she’s being promoted - she has been VERY good for the bottom line.

[RightFighter]

She has a certain look about her....I just can’t place it....what is it that my brain is trying to tell me about her?....someone help me out here.

[maica]

Coincidence is when God wants to remain anonymous.

Maura Harty’s poor decision making comes at the best possible time to illustrate to all what will happen if the current Immigration “reform” act is passed.

The State Dept has been in the passport business for hundreds of years. There is a track record of passports issued, and there are statistics for international travel of Americans.

How many passports will be requested at any given time should not be a mystery. When the State Dept cannot get this right, how do we have confidence in their handling of other duties -—

such as granting visas to Saudi students, for example.

[maica]

LOL!

[sgtbono2002]

In the government, promoting people to get rid of them is an institution.

If you have someone in the office that is so bad you simply have to get rid of them, its much easier to promote them and send them somewhere else than to fire them. So, thats the way its done.

[RightFighter]

See my post 11 for the real story about why she’s being promoted.

[djf]

This is the part that P’s me off the most.

As natural born Americans, we now need some government approval/tracking device to come and go into OUR country.

But hey, if you name is Pedro or Juan or whatever then just do whatever you want and we’ll look the other way.

Homeland security is a JOKE! So is the Federal department of immigration and naturalization!

Let the States handle it. It’s obviously beyond the Fed’s ability. They’re just too far from the peasants. Like being ruled by a King 3,000 miles away... Like that never happened before...

[dennisw]

Maura Harty looks like Barbra Mikulskis long lost daughter

 

Ambassador Maura Harty Visits Bogota

Mikulski

[bannie]

Breaking the rule: Being promoted PAST your level of incompetence.

[dennisw]

There is legislation to get your $60 refunded