Today, the State Department suspended the regulation that travelers in the Western Hemisphere need a passport to reenter the U.S. because of the increasingly long processing times for passports. Since the change in regulations in January, air passengers have needed to apply for their passport as much as 16 weeks in advance or pay an expeditor to speed up the process. This suspension of the regulation is probably because elected officials have been inundated with complaints from constituents.

If you have already applied for a passport, you can now go to the State Department website and get a confirmation that it is in the works. To do this, go to the link below. Once you have your confirmation, the printed copy can be presented at customs, in lieu of the passport, along with a driver’s license or other governmental ID. Passengers to destinations other than Canada, Bermuda, the Caribbean, and Mexico, and those who have not yet applied, will still need to get a passport. The biggest benefits to this relaxation of the regulations will be the elimination of travelers' anxiety about processing times and expeditor fees.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/about/npic/npic_896.html