The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has awarded two contracts for the covers of the U.S. passport, which includes an embedded, secure electronic chip and antenna, following a competitive procurement process.  The contracts have been awarded to Gemalto, Inc., and Infineon Technologies North America Corp.  As part of the process, companies had to meet the international standards established by the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization.  The contracts are for up to five years.

GPO produces the U.S. passport for the Department of State at the agency's secure production facilities in Washington, D.C., and the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. GPO has produced more than 80 million passports containing secure electronic features since they were introduced in 2005.  GPO has been responsible for all passport production for Department of State since the 1920s.

Link to image of U.S. passport:  http://www.gpo.gov/images/news-media/image/300/PassportCover.gif

"GPO is the Federal Government's recognized provider of secure official credentials," said Acting Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks.  "We are proud to be involved with the Department of State in the production of the U.S. passport, which is known worldwide as the gold standard of all U.S. identity documents."

GPO is the Federal Government's primary resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government in both digital and tangible formats.  GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies. In addition to publication sales, GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through GPO's Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov) and through partnerships with approximately 1,220 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov. Follow GPO on Facebook, Twitter, and on YouTube.