From today's News-Press, an article on REAL ID - an unfunded mandate imposed on the states (by a Republican Congress, interestingly) for new federal minimum standards on driver's licenses.

I gotta say, I went to this panel debate yesterday and granted, it was sponsored by the Center for American Progress, but the lady they had in favor of REAL ID did not exactly hit her argument outta the park. Quite the opposite, in fact.

She couldn't refute the claims that these measures wouldn't have prevented 9-11. She couldn't address the potential vulnerabilities this system sets up, by grouping everyone's Social, DOB and address into what amounts to a nationwide database.

It reminded me of that Cessna incident two weeks ago, where in the interest of security they evacuated tens of thousands from the Capitol...and basically grouped them all outside just a few blocks away in every direction. A Congressman I interviewed pointed out the potential "counter-productive" aspects of that strategy.

Plus, I asked her if she thought preventing illegals from obtaining licenses could, in essence, be counter-productive to our national security interests since we're basically pushing this population further into the shadows with REAL ID.

"That's why we're having these debates," she said, "to talk about these issues. I think it's definitely a risk."

Waitaminute. This friggin bill is now law. It was hurried through on the back of a military spending bill. No debate in the Senate. You're sitting up there advocating it. And you're telling me NOW we need to start talking about it? Worse, you're acknowledging that this bill you're championing in the interests of national security...could be "a risk" to national security??

*sigh*

Dear God. Where do they find these people.

(Well, you can see where I got my lead from...)

The whole time, there was this guy sitting next to me who would say "that's bullshit" not-exactly-under his breath whenever the critics of REAL ID would hit their points. At the end, he stood up to ask a question, (i.e. "speech"), and it turns out he's a 9/11 family member.

Yikes. My heart goes out to him, and I can't say how well I'd handle these contentous issues in the face of such unspeakable loss. But I can hear his anger - his ongoing mourning - and it's all directed at illegal immigrants.

As we walked back to the newsroom, Rebecca pointed out how 9/11 has divided this country more than it could ever unite it. I think she might be right.

Anyways, on with the show.

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Panel debates strict new license standards

Real ID Act affects all 50 states; some say it amounts to national identification card

5/27/05
By DICKIE CRONKITE
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT



An enlarged copy of the driver's license for one of the principal Sept. 11 hijackers, Mohammed Atta, is presented during a debate on Real ID in Washington, D.C.


WASHINGTON -- The first nationwide standard for acquiring a driver's license is now law, changing how 23 million California drivers will obtain their licenses, but the debate on the merits of the measure is just getting started.

As a means of tightening post-Sept. 11 security, the House passed the so-called Real ID Act, a sweeping measure that requires applicants to present a photo identification, birth certificate, proof of residency and Social Security number. States are required to verify the information, scan it electronically and store it in a database.

The measure didn't have enough votes to pass the Senate, said Raj Goyle, senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, who moderated a Real ID panel debate on Thursday. But it was swiftly adopted after lawmakers attached Real ID to an emergency spending bill on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush signed the bill into law earlier this month.

"This really is a national identification card for the United States of America for the first time in our history," Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said before the military spending bill was passed. "We have never done this before, and we should not be doing it without a full debate."


Mr. Alexander, echoing others' complaints about the lack of a lengthy discussion, said, "Without one single hearing in the Senate about a national ID card -- which we might not, under our Constitution, even be able to require to be presented to a law enforcement officer -- we just pass (a provision) and then we send the bill to the states."


States have three years to comply with the new standards. Steve Haskins, spokesman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, said his agency could not yet comment on how it planned to proceed.

Proponents of Real ID say the law's strict documentation requirements will plug the loopholes in national security that allowed the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The law prevents millions of illegal immigrants from obtaining valid licenses. Critics who say it unfairly targets these immigrants allege the law will also hurt legal immigrants by demanding difficult and confusing documentation standards.

At the panel, Gustavo Torres, executive director at CASA of Maryland Inc., said the day laborers his organization serves have told him a driver's license is now their top priority above health care and housing.

"ÊÔIt's the only way we can take our kids to school, go to our jobs -- have an identity,'Ê" Mr. Torres said, quoting the laborers. "ÊÔIt's the only way we can demonstrate that we are a human being.'Ê"

Amanda Bowman, president of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, defended Real ID during the panel discussion.

"It is not an effort to penalize immigrants," said Ms. Bowman, an immigrant from Britain.

She presented an enlarged copy of the driver's license for one of the principal Sept. 11 hijackers, Mohammed Atta.

"His visa had expired a week before those attacks," Ms. Bowman said. "(Mr. Atta) was stopped by law enforcement, but his driver's license was valid, so he was allowed to go."


As written, however, the new requirements probably would not have prevented the attacks. According to the Center for American Progress, the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the country with proper documents and were legal immigrants when they obtained their driver's licenses. Additionally, even though their licenses had expired, the hijackers had valid passports to board planes at the time of the attacks.

Mr. Torres maintained that "millions" of people would continue driving without a license, resulting in ongoing claims for uninsured drivers.

Critics have further asserted that Real ID could exacerbate national security woes and privacy concerns, as well as escalate the nation's identity-theft problem, since the law requires databases of personal information accessible in all 50 states.