ID Plan Is Broadly Criticized

Bipartisan Objections Cite Security, Costs and Privacy
By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 12, 2008; Page A02

A new Bush administration plan to create national standards for driver's licenses drew heavy criticism yesterday from civil liberties groups, some Republican and Democratic lawmakers, governors, and the travel industry.

The critics said the new licenses anticipated under the plan, which is aimed at screening out potential terrorists and uncovering illegal immigrants, could still be forged. They also complained that the program, known as Real ID, would be costly for states to implement, potentially restrict summer travel, and allow private companies access to the personal data of most U.S. citizens ...

"DHS has kicked the can down the road to the next administration, and conceivably the next two or three administrations," said Barry Steinhardt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union. Already, 17 states have said they would either refuse to issue the new licenses or have asked Congress to repeal a 2005 law that required states to collect and store additional data on driver's license applicants, such as birth certificates, Social Security numbers and home addresses.

Under Real ID, all new licenses would be machine-readable and contain personal information that could be scanned by governments and potentially by corporations ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103410.html

Air Travel Security Showdown
By DEVLIN BARRETT – 6 hours ago

... So far, 17 states have passed legislation or resolutions objecting to the REAL ID Act's provisions, many due to concerns it will cost them too much to comply. The 17, according to the ACLU, are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.

Maine officials said Friday they were unsure if their own state law even allows them to ask for a waiver ...

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hGWEcbtYTTl9RTiO3YS_POnaYJ9gD8U4136G0

Leahy: REAL ID Won't Improve Security
POSTED: 2:47 pm EST January 11, 2008

Sununu co-sponsors effort to repeal the REAL ID
January 11, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Vermont U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy said the Department of Homeland Security's plan for secure driver's licenses won't improve the nation's security.

Leahy said the REAL ID program will result in resentment, litigation and enormous costs that states will be forced to absorb ...

http://www.wptz.com/news/15030998/detail.html

CONCORD, N.H.—Sen. John Sununu says now that the Department of Homeland Security has released more details of its proposed federal ID, he continues to support legislation to end the program ...

Sununu says the REAL ID Act imposes a nearly $4 billion unfunded mandate on states and he says the program fails to protect personal information that will be stored and shared among the states and the federal government ...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/11/sununu_co_sponsors_effort_to_repeal_the_real_id/