While Americans may be the leaders in "rush to security after an incident", they are far from leaders of new technology security. Take credit cards for an easy example, the world has embraced chip and pin cards for what, a decade or better. It's just this year American business has finally adopted the system. How many Americans were denied usage of their dated swipe and sign cards travelling abroad during the last decade?
A biometric tie to the passport presenter is not a tin foil hat convention theme.