In today’s busy world easy and affordable access to services and destinations is increasingly essential.  This month we wanted to update you on a couple initiatives aimed at meeting that goal. 

Passport Legislation
How many times have you thought about crossing the border to Canada but declined to because members of your family don’t have a passport and you aren’t prepared to pay over $100 per person to obtain required documents?  For residents in Western New York, prior to 9/11, traveling to southern Ontario to work, shop and visit was as seamless as crossing the street to your neighbor’s house.  Ontario residents represent about 38% of Buffalo Airport travelers and approximately a quarter of our professional sports fans.  In return Western New York residents own nearly 1,800 cottages on the Canadian shoreline worth almost $277 million.  This cross border flow represents good paying jobs to both Canadian and US citizens but families and businesses along the border disproportionately bear the cost of obtaining passports for everyday activities and business.  That’s something we’re hoping to change.

This month Congresswoman Kathy Hochul and I introduced the Passport Fee Relief Act and the Passport Acquisition Savings and Security Act which would help provide U.S. residents with affordable access to passports for both business and personal travel.

The Passport Fee Relief Act would allow residents to get a refund on the cost of a passport when filing their taxes – a savings of nearly $500 for a family of four.  This bill would lift a huge burden for working families, who now are discouraged from traveling to Canada due to this cost.

Under our second bill - the Passport Acquisition Savings and Security Act (or PASS Act) - the State Department must set the passport fee no higher than the cost of administering the passport program.  Currently, over half of the fees and surcharges collected for Passport processing are returned to the treasury as general revenues and do not correspond with the cost to the government for providing these services.  In addition, if in a given year the amount collected through passport fees is greater than the cost to operate the program, that surplus should be used to decrease the cost of getting a passport the following year.  National security is a concern to all Americans but the cost of complying with our security measures should not be borne by predominantly border communities.

Congress on Your Corner
Over the last five years our office hosted 600 Congress on Your Corner (COYC) events and another 135 outreach events are scheduled for 2011. At these satellite events our office comes out to neighborhoods throughout the district and staff is available to listen and provide assistance with federal issues.  In June we were in Buffalo, Hamburg, Lackawanna, East Aurora and Concord.  This year, in addition to the traditional hours, we are providing several unique events with specialized resources for residents. 

On July 22 from 1-3pm we will hold a COYC event for veterans at the Leonard Post at 2450 Walden in Cheektowaga.  In addition to our staff, we will have representatives from the Veterans Administration and Small Business Administration there to help with a range of issues from benefits to entrepreneurial and job opportunities.  We will also be joined by various veteran assistance organizations.

On August 8 from 2-5pm at the Orchard Park Library at 4570 South Buffalo Street we will host one of our Computer Outreach events.  Many federal agencies have converted their forms to online editions; leaving those who may not have basic computer skills or direct computer access at a disadvantage. Our office is partnering with local libraries to assist constituents in locating online forms and resources from Social Security, IRS, Veterans Administration and other federal agency websites.

From 9-11am on August 17 at the Burchfield Penney Auditorium at Buffalo State College, small businesses are invited to a COYC event that will cover issues ranging from accessing capital to new media marketing.   Planning is still underway but complete details will be announced soon.

As always you can access our office anytime by calling 716-852-3501 or keep up on our efforts by visiting our website at: http://higgins.house.gov/ or following us on Facebook or Twitter.