I finally have an update, even if it's not good news.
I inquired with my Congressman's office (on the House side - Van Hollen in MD) about a week ago and got an update today. They are definitely aware of the issue, and in fact another constituent had made a similar inquiry with them earlier.
What they said is that the way the legislation is worded, CBP has until 2016 to implement this, though of course nothing stops them from implementing it sooner.
My Congressman realizes the importance of this, and is working with other members of Congress to draft a joint letter to the acting director of CBP to emphasize the need to speed this up.
So on the plus side, this issue is not being forgotten. On the minus side, we still don't have what we want, nor is there a clear timeframe for when we'll have it.
At this point, I think it's worth it to contact your Congressional representative to try and generate more attention and pressure on the issue.
Also if anyone knows of any press that would like to write about the issue, I think that's a good path to follow as well. Is anyone's company a member of a travel trade group like the
Global Business Travel Association? I think groups like that do get involved in legislative issues, and may know the right people to contact to make this a priority.