So near, so far with a passport

The Homeland Security Department granted a reasonable reprieve for travelers worried a huge backlog of passport applications would foil their plans for foreign travel. But it's only a reprieve.

To re-enter the United States by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and some Caribbean nations, you won't need a passport until summer 2008 — about a six-month break on the deadline that spurred the rush of passport applications. Congress should resist those who would push the requirement back even further — to mid-2009. That kind of delay is excessive, especially considering the passport requirement is a key recommendation of the 9/11 commission to improve border security. Consider, the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks approaches and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., is less than three years off.

Starting Jan. 31, travelers wanting to get into the United States without a passport still will need to show some other form of government-issued picture identification, such as a driver's license, and proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. That's something border agents already recommend.

No longer will you be able to get back into the United States by vouching verbally for your own citizenship.

The deferral of the passport requirement is a reasonable compromise to ease the passport crunch. Still, some travelers bound to other foreign destinations and needing a passport have been snared in the backlog that has increased wait times from six weeks to as much as four months.

Six months is a reasonable delay. The agency should take full advantage of this reprieve and increase its ability to process what will continue to be a rapid clip of applications.