* US Passport renewal policy?how long can a passport be expired and
still be used for renewal purposes?
February 21, 1993--2 years. (Orlando Sentinel, ?Avoid the passport
logjam?experts say apply early?)
January 26, 1997?2 years (Sentinel, ?Passport primer:  What you need
to do to obtain one, and when?).
December 31, 2000?2 year (New York Times, ?How to avoid passport woes?).
March 11, 2001?5 years (?Home Free:  how to renew passport without hassle?)
February 26, 2003?5 years.
Currently in 2004?5 years. <http://www.travel.state.gov/get_forms.html>

Exactly when did the policy change from 2 years to 5 years?  Was it
January 1, 2001?
Why was the policy changed from 2 years to 5 years?  Was it paperwork reduction?
Was it ever only (1) year?
Those are the three main questions of concern.
Optionally, an overview of the policy since 1952 [pp. 4 & 5 in United
States. Passport Office. 1976. The United States Passport : Past,
Present, Future. Washington, D.C.: The Office ; for sale by the
Superindtendent of Documents. U.S. Government Printing Office.  Is
this book going to be updated and reissued?] when U.S. passports were
required of citizens leaving or entering the U.S. would be appreciated
to gain a better understanding of the historical underpinnings of
current policy.

*  How many sitting U.S. Senators and how many U.S. Representatives
have current passports?  If stats are kept on this and are there
historical trends and what might they be correlate to?

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Request for Question Clarification by mwalcoff-ga on 08 Jul 2004 10:45 PDT

I have information on the change from 2 to 5 years and the reasons
why. I cannot determine if the rule was ever 1 year; this would
require lots of research in libraries. Would you be satisfied with
answers to the other two questions?

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Clarification of Question by jts007-ga on 08 Jul 2004 21:30 PDT

Yes and no.  I've already spent a bunch of time in the library and not
been able to dredge up any answers so I would be partially satisfied
with making incremental progress.  But I don't know if I wouldn't want
to adjust the fee for the partial since what it appears you're
suggesting doesn't include the Senate and Congress either, or does it?
 If it includes the latter YES--let's do it.  If not, can we adjust it
to $15.00?  If so, then it's a go.  I must confess that I'm not
proficient with the protocol and normas around here so please advise
on how we should proceed or if this is feasible, etc.  Thanks. JTS

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Request for Question Clarification by mwalcoff-ga on 09 Jul 2004 10:20 PDT

I think $15 is fair for an answer to the two questions I can answer.
You can cancel this question and list a second one. To do that, go to
"My Account," click on this question (if you aren't there already) and
click "Cancel question." When you write your second question, you
might want to preface it with something like "for mwalcoff-ga only" so
other researchers know it is for me. Note that you will still be
charged 50 cents for listing the first question.