By Brian Friel  February 5, 1997  The State Department has come
up with a novel way to meet the increasing demand from its
customers for information about applying for a passport. If
customers don't want to wait in line at a passport office, they
can call the new National Passport Information Center. But
they'll pay up to $1.05 a minute for the privilege.  The center
can only be reached via a 1-900 telephone number (900-225-5674).
With a major credit card, people can call the center at
1-888-362-8688 for a flat fee of $4.95.  That, says Rep. Jim
Saxton, R-N.J., is "downright insulting and intolerable." So, he
introduced a bill in Congress requiring the State Department to
set up a free customer service line for passport information.
The Freedom of Passport Information Act of 1997 (H.R. 491)
prohibits the State Department from "imposing a charge or fee
for providing passport information to the general public."
State's Bureau of Consular Affairs, which oversees passport
services, started the 1-900 service in N