Information Costs

Getting a passport can be a maddening process, as many Americans know. And trying to get information about the process by phone can be an expensive one. The National Passport Information Center, under the State Department, charges $1.05 a minute for information calls on such matters as the location or hours of passport offices. Congressman Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) vows to get Congress to vote on a resolution ending this practice in 1997. The practice was defended by the State Department, Saxton said in a press release, for meeting their need for "efficiency and speed."