SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you. That was actually pretty amazing there by Dr. Oz. That actually was remarkable. This is - this is really going to be a revolution in the way that government works for the average American. So just think about for a moment what you just saw. They took something that millions of Americans deal with every single day, and they made it simpler and they made it easier and they made it more effective, and they made it that way in every possible way. And that's just one piece of the whole that we're here to talk about today.
So earlier this year, Joe came to my office and he showed me America.gov. It's a whole-of-government project. And it touches on every department, every agency, every bureau you can imagine. And in each and every case, the goal is simple. It's to make life better and easier for normal Americans. So, you've already heard a few examples already.
Now, for us at the State Department, one particular thing came to mind: the passport. Today, more than half of Americans have one, and it has come a long way since the early days of this country. Let me show you - this is what it looked like in 1781, just a piece of paper. It's a very nice one, but just a piece of paper. And then in time, that piece of paper became a booklet. That booklet then introduced a photograph. And then we entered the computer age with electronic chips. From the wax seal to the electronic chip, the American passport has become the most trusted and powerful - and I would argue most important - identity document in the entire world.
But the document kept evolving. Unfortunately, the process of getting one did not continue to evolve. So today, if you need your first passport, you start at the State Department's website, and this is what greets you. This is what greets you. It's not bad. There's a lot of information up there, but it's - but if you actually want to apply, that is where the maze starts. So you have to know which form to print, you have to schedule an appointment, then you have to go wait in line, and then when something - and when something is this hard, then someone is bound to make money off of it, right?
So today, there's an entire cottage industry that's built around cashing in on every stage of the passport process. And some of these sites are charging you for forms that are free; some are charging you for appointments that are free. And after they take your money, they take your most sensitive personal information too. And if you make it through all of that, sometime in the future, you get this in the mail. This is what arrives, and that's not really the kind of packaging you would expect for the most powerful identity document you will ever receive. We ship tens of millions of these envelopes every year.
Now, a United States passport, it means something, right? It's a physical symbol of who we are. It's a promise that, wherever you go in the world as an American, you are one of us. And so, I think - I think you would agree - that American citizens deserve better than this. And that's why the State Department is partnering with America.gov to rebuild the entire thing from the ground up, and it begins with something pretty remarkable.
Starting next year, Americans will be able to apply for their first passport entirely online. (Applause.)
Let me show you how easy it is. You would ask: How do I apply for my first passport? And once I'm signed-in with login.gov, I can securely see the information that the government already has about me in its system. I don't have to type the same thing over and over and over again.
Now the fun part, the photo. You can take a new one of them yourself on the phone. You probably can't use those filters to make you look 50 years younger, but you can take a picture of yourself on the phone in the comfort of your own home, or you can upload one directly from your own device. You're not going any longer to some drugstore to get your picture taken behind a white screen. And this is a really cool feature: You can see your photo in the context of the finished passport. And if you don't like it - and as you probably know, many people don't like it, so you're going to take 150 of these. (Laughter.) But eventually, you will like one. And you can retake it until it's the perfect shot, the one you like.
Now, I have to say, this may be the most beautiful government checkout I've ever seen. And because I'm securely logged in through login.gov, my name, my address - they're already here. I enter my payment securely. So, let's check out. And that's it. There, your payment is complete, my first application. (Applause.)
No printing forms, no drugstore hostage photo - (laughter) - no appointment, no line, no middleman that you're paying to do something that should be available to you. You tell America.gov what you're trying to do, and it walks you through every single step and tells you exactly what comes next.
And then there's this - real-time status. So, for years, you could track any delivery - a pizza, whatever - more precisely than you can track where your passport is in the mail. Not anymore. We have an estimated delivery date, so you know it's coming.
And by the end of 2027, our goal is for the vast majority of Americans to be able to apply for a passport or a passport card on America.gov. Because the point of all of this, we're doing here today - and this is simple - make the process more accessible and easier for Americans. So, whether you live in the middle of a major city or you live in a rural town, you'll be able to apply from anywhere.
Now, there's one more thing.
(Video is played.) (Applause.)
SECRETARY RUBIO: That looks pretty good. I actually carry these around with me now. There it is. It looks even better in person. (Applause.) This is the 2028 U.S. passport. And the State Department worked really closely with the National Design Studio to rethink it from cover to cover. Because a passport - think about this - a passport is more than just a travel document. It's an expression of the unbreakable bond between the nation and the citizen - a bond, by the way, that doesn't end at the water's edge, at our borders, but one that Americans carry with them. You carry this with you when you travel to any corner and every corner of the globe.
And so, we found one uniquely American symbol to carry that idea from beginning to end. You see it carved into our buildings. You see it on the ships that defended and defend our country. You see it on our currency. And when our founders needed a symbol of the country itself, they placed it at the center of the Great Seal. So frankly, there was really only one choice - the American Eagle, the emblem of American strength and freedom - and it's instantly recognizable to everyone anywhere in the world.
Now, the eagle has always been on the cover of the passport, but Joe and his team at the design studio helped us make it even better. So now that's the old passport, right? That's the new one. The words "United States of America" are now exactly where they belong - first, right on top - and the Great Seal is larger, it's more prominent, it's more gold. (Laughter.)
And when you open the book - when you open the book, the eagle takes flight. The eagle carries you across 250 years of America. You see it soar, right, from the eagle's point of view, above patriots standing their ground at Lexington and past the families crossing west with everything they owned in a wagon. The men who drove steel across a continent and two bicycle mechanics from Ohio who taught mankind how to fly. There's the Marines who raised our flag on Iwo Jima and all the way to the Artemis splashdown. The entire sweep of American history from the patriots of '76, to the pioneers setting out into the great unknown, to the astronauts who carried our flag to the moon.
It is a visual story of the greatest nation in the history of the world - a nation destined from the very beginning for extraordinary things. And this passport won't just carry you; it will carry that story into the world. And because this is the - because this is one of the most secure documents in the world, there are obviously things that I can't and won't show you, but here's what I can show you. I can show you this. Watch the eagle as you flip through the pages. It flies. Now, I think that's pretty good. (Applause.)
I can see Americans sitting at airports all over the world, like why do people keep flipping through the page? (Laughter.) Well, it's a - it's either this or some Gameboy for your kids to keep them entertained, they can flip the eagle around. But anyway, the book itself is beautiful. It's incredibly secure. It feels substantial. And after putting this much thought into the book itself, we figured that the way it arrives at your home ought to matter, too. The presentation, how it gets there, should matter.
So, you remember this. I showed this to you earlier, right? We're not doing that anymore. For something as important and as dignified as the United States passport, it will arrive the way you would expect it to. This is what comes next. (Applause.)
Now, at the State Department we're not waiting. We move pretty quick. We try to move very fast. So, we're not waiting until 2027 to bring you something really exciting. A passport application experience you can complete entirely from home, and in 2028 a beautiful new United States passport, carrying 250 years of America within it, and our goal is to make passports and passport cards accessible to more Americans. Because a United States passport says something very simple, and it says that anywhere in the world. It says, "I - I - am an American and my country stands behind me." American citizenship is a sacred thing, and the symbols and documents that uphold it should reflect that. And that's precisely what the new United States passport will do.
So, I hope you'll get one, and thank you for the opportunity to present this to you today. (Applause.) Thank you. (Applause.)
