US tries to stamp 'secure' on passports

Mr. Johnson, who testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, contends that the State Department is not providing sufficient resources to combat passport fraud and that it lacks the analytic capacity needed to do so.

"During my service ... I found that there was simply no institutional capacity to spot and understand trends, analyze information gained from operations, and share intelligence across the [Diplomatic Security Service] and other law-enforcement organizations," he says. "The lack of such an intelligence capacity cripples DSS's ability to identify and dismantle organizations across the world that are involved in the manufacture and sale of counterfeit documents used to illegally enter and or remain in the United States."

The GAO's investigation also finds a consistent lack of effective information-sharing with other agencies. For instance, the State Department's Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS,) which is used to screen passport applicants, is not connected to the nation's larger terrorist watch list at the Terrorist Screening Center.

While the State Department does have regular communications with the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies, the GAO found the communications to be ineffective. The department's CLASS system holds about 50,000 names, while there are about 1.2 million fugitives in the US. Investigators tested 67 names of wanted criminals, including some on the FBI's most-wanted list. Fewer than half were on the State Department's watch list.

One of the names tested was Donald Eugene Webb, who's on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list but not in the CLASS system. "If someone like Mr. Webb could potentially apply for and receive a passport, the prospects of denying passports to possible terrorists are most worrisome," says Senator Collins.

Officials at the State Department counter that they already working to improve communications with the both law enforcement and homeland security officials. Indeed, they are on the verge of signing an agreement that will give consular offices access to the consolidated terrorism watch list. They are also negotiating with the FBI to ensure their databases are more current.

And they are working to improve training for staff responsible for accepting applications, as well as beefing up their antifraud staffs.

"We're in the process of adding more fraud-prevention managers to our ... larger agencies, and we have increased the numbers of persons working in the fraud offices," says Frank Moss, deputy assistant secretary for passport services at the Bureau of Consular Affairs. "This will have a direct impact on improving the training that is provided to the passport specialists who adjudicate passport applications."

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