Frequent U.S. travelers will soon be offered RFID-embedded passports that can be read from 20 feet (ca. 6 m) away - ground travel only. This passport will cost $45. The one who develops privacy concerns may instead choose the more 'secure' model for $97 that can only be read at a distance of three inches (ca. 7,6 cm). (Source)

I can't get it: first they say there's terror everywhere and we have to tighten security measurements. That means everybody is treated like a potential terrorist. Then they're lowering border security by introducing these new passports. Not only do these passports use a technology that never was meant to identify people but to track goods (like toilet paper rolls in a supermarket). A technology that must come as an invitation for any wannabe-hacker who is hunting for any kind of personal data. And what do they do against unwanted scanning of that chip: they wrap the passport into a metal sleeve. Fabulous! Reminds me on Lübeck, Germany, where you also get a stylish aluminium sleeve for your new RFID-enabled passport. This way security is the cardholder's duty, thus making him sort of an early adopter of immature technology. If something bad happens and somebody steals your data, well, tough luck! But to make that allegedly more secure document twice as expensive than the other is just bordering on impudence.