The State Department should begin issuing passports with chips containing biographic information later in the year; an assistant secretary of state says the United States needs to take the lead to encourage other nations to issue similar passports. The State Department should begin issuing passports that will include electronic chips containing the bearer’s biographic information and photograph later this year, meeting an internationally agreed deadline that many other nations may not meet. Maura Harty, assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, testified at a Congressional hearing Thursday that the United States needs to take the lead in issuing the new passports to encourage other nations to do likewise. Doing so, she says, will help secure our borders against terrorists and other potential troublemakers. Full Story