Congress Shouldn’t Give Americans an ID We Don’t Want
May 23rd, 2007
Be afraid—be very afraid—of Real ID. Many Americans already are. A new poll states that most Americans think a national driver’s license set up like the Real ID Act would “cause more harm than good.â€? Fifty-seven percent of people say that type of driver’s license wouldn’t be a good tool to fight terrorism.
State governments across the country understand that Americans don’t want Real ID, and Congress should as well. Real ID was quietly tacked onto a spending bill in 2005 without any debate because members of Congress knew public outcry would force them to kill a stand-alone bill.
Last month, thousands of people told the Department of Homeland Security in public comments that Real ID is a terrible idea. Eleven states have chosen not to participate in the program, and more are on the way.
Members of Congress need to listen to the people who put them there. Real ID is a real nightmare. It would require everyone to get a national driver’s license containing our private information, likely including fingerprints or even DNA samples. Once that information is put into a national database, we’d just be twiddling our thumbs while our information is available for the taking, with Real ID as a one-stop shop for identity thieves.
It’s science fiction without the fiction. Dozens of databases like Real ID’s are hacked into everyday. And if you think the DMV is bad now, just wait until every single American is required to get in line for a Real ID. That line will have a $23 billion price tag. Even DHS itself has said that the program won’t work.
Sens. Akaka (D-Hawaii), Sununu (R-N.H.), Leahy (D-Vt.) and Tester (D-Mont.) have written a bill that would let states opt-in to Real ID but not make it a requirement. Their bill would also get rid of a lot of the act’s worst privacy problems. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine.) and 25 co-sponsors in the House have introduced a bill that would also put an end to Real ID. Listen to the voters, Congress: Get rid of Real ID and start finding real solutions to real problems.
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