Even the Dead Man got a Passport Faster Than I did

[G.G]

Using phony documents and the identities of a dead man and a 5-year-old boy, a government investigator obtained U.S. passports in a test of post-Sept. 11 security.

Despite efforts to boost passport security since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the investigator fooled passport and postal service employees four out of four times, according to a new report made public Friday.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, details the ruses:

• One investigator used the Social Security number of a man who died in 1965, a fake New York birth certificate and a fake Florida driver's license. He received a passport four days later.

• A second attempt had the investigator using a 5-year-old boy's information but identifying himself as 53 years old on the passport application. He received that passport seven days later.

• In another test, the investigator used fake documents to get a genuine Washington identification card, which he then used to apply for a passport. He received it the same day.

• In yet another investigation, he used a fake New York birth certificate and a fake West Virginia driver's license and got the passport eight days later.

These people are getting passports issued anywhere from the same day to 8 days later. And here I had to wait 7 weeks. Silly me for submitting all legal documents the obvious expedient way is to submit falsified papers.