Department of Homeland Security and Department of State: Documents Required for Travelers Departing From or Arriving in the United States at Air Ports-of-Entry From Within the Western Hemisphere, GAO-07-250R, December 6, 2006
The Honorable Charles
E. Grassley
Chairman
The Honorable Max Baucus
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Finance
The Honorable Peter T.
King
Chairman
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Homeland Security
House of Representatives
Subject: Department of Homeland Security
and Department of State: Documents Required for Travelers Departing From or
Arriving in the
Pursuant to section
801(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, this is our report on a major rule
promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of
State (DOS), entitled “Documents
Required for Travelers Departing From or Arriving in the United States at Air
Ports-of-Entry From Within the Western Hemisphere” (RINs: 1651-AA66;
1400-AC10). We received the rule on
The final rule contains the first phase of a joint DHS and
DOS plan known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, to implement new
documentation requirements for certain
Enclosed is our assessment of DHS’s and DOS’s compliance with the procedural steps required by section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. Our review indicates that the agencies complied with the applicable requirements.
If you have any questions about this report, please contact James W. Vickers, Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 512-8210. The official responsible for GAO evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule is Norman Rabkin, Managing Director, Homeland Security and Justice. Mr. Rabkin can be reached at (202) 512-8777.
signed
Kathleen E. Wannisky
Managing Associate General Counsel
Enclosure
cc: Craig T. Clark
Chief, Border Security
Regulations Branch, CBP
Department of Homeland Security
ENCLOSURE
ANALYSIS UNDER 5 U.S.C. sect. 801(a)(1)(B)(i)-(iv) OF
A MAJOR RULE
ISSUED BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
ENTITLED
"DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR TRAVELERS
DEPARTING FROM OR
ARRIVING IN THE UNITED STATES AT AIR PORTS-OF-ENTRY
FROM WITHIN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE"
(RINS: 1651-AA66; 1400-AC10)
(i) Cost-benefit analysis
It is estimated that the final rule will require 4 million passports to be issued in the first year of the rule’s effectiveness at a direct cost to traveling individuals of $649 million.
(ii) Agency actions relevant to the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. sections 603-605, 607, and 609
The agencies have certified that the final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
(iii) Agency actions relevant to sections 202-205 of
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. sections 1532-1535
Since the final rule will impose a private sector mandate, as defined in title II, of more than $100 million in any one year, the agencies have prepared the required statement as part of the rule’s regulatory impact analysis.
(iv) Other relevant information or requirements under
acts and executive orders
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. sections 551 et seq.
The final rule was issued using the notice and comment
procedures found at 5 U.S.C. 553. On
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. sections 3501-3520
The final rule does not contain a new information collection subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act, but it does alter the annual burden for an already approved collection. DOS has submitted the required information to OMB for its review and approval.
Statutory authorization for the rule
The final rule is promulgated under the authority found at
section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
(Pub. L. 108-458,
Executive Order No. 12866
The final rule was reviewed by OMB and found to be an “economically significant” regulatory action under the order.
Executive Order No. 13132 (Federalism)
The final rule does not have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a federalism impact statement.