They caught up!
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2007-09-13-passport-delays_N.htm
After months of being slammed for delays in obtaining or renewing passports, the State Department says service is back to normal. Expect a six- to eight-week wait for routine applications and up to three weeks for expedited service, a spokesman says. (Tim Carney of Bend, Ore., got a new passport Monday after discovering his was expired while packing Friday night for a European trip.) The State Department has issued more than 16 million passports in fiscal year 2007, which ends Sept. 30, vs. 12.1 million in fiscal 2006. It's continuing to hire passport staff.