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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. government has overcharged Americans by more than $100 million a year in its fee for new passports, according to cost figures uncovered by congressional investigators and analyzed by two senators and The Associated Press.

The two senators said Americans have been quietly gouged since 2002. The report they initiated showed the costs incurred by the State Department and the U.S. Postal Service, for accepting passport applications, were considerably less than the fee charged.

Yow. By how much have Americans been over charged you ask?

The $97 passport fee -- $82 for children under 16 -- dates back to 2005. The GAO studied whether a $30 portion of that fee was justified.

The $30 is intended to cover the cost of clerks examining and accepting passport applications at post offices, State Department passport offices, courthouses, libraries, municipal offices and universities.

The investigators' findings? The government's $30 fee was roughly double the actual cost when imposed in 2002. The Postal Service, which operates 5,382 locations where people can apply for passports, estimated its costs at $13.31 in 2002. The State Department, which operates 14 passport offices, said its costs were $16.20 at that time.

Apparently it's not just commercial big businesses that have profited grandly from the war on terror and the business-friendly administration. Considering how *many* people didn't get their passports on time, or had to pay twice when things were lost or delayed it's a genuine outrage. Also keep in mind that things are going to get worse really soon when a passport will be demanded for all air travelers visiting Canada, Mexico, Central American, South America, the Caribbean or Bermuda.

A little side note to ladies venturing forth on their honeymoon. If you book your tickets well in advance and plan on having your passport updated with your new last name - make certain you book your tickets with the same name. They won't let you on otherwise.