REAL ID Act took another blow

REAL ID Act took another blow in the Senate last week, hopefully putting legislators one step closer to ditching the national ID mandate.

An amendment tacked onto the Homeland Security appropriations bill would have given $300 million in federal funds to implement the Act. This measly sum would have done nothing to make up for the $23 billion burden states and taxpayers will be forced to bear.

Moreover, throwing more money at the states can't fix REAL ID's fundamental problems. The Act would require possession of a new standardized drivers license for all sorts of everyday tasks, such as getting on a plane or train, and would create a vast national database linking all of the ID records together. Over time, the ID and aggregation of your personal information would facilitate a wide range of tracking and surveillance by the government and businesses.

So far, 17 state legislatures have already expressed their opposition, and, just last month, an immigration reform bill was scuttled as Senators refused to end debate on a provision requiring every American to present a REAL ID in order to get a job.

That's great news, but unfortunately REAL ID isn't dead yet -- keep the momentum going and tell Congress to repeal the Act now.

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March 6th, 2007
Action Alert: Repeal the REAL ID Act!
Posted by Derek Slater

The federal government has taken another step towards forcing you to carry a national ID in order to get on airplanes, open a bank account, enter federal buildings, and much more. But with state legislatures and Congressional representatives increasingly turning against the REAL ID Act, you can help stop this costly, privacy-invasive mandate -- voice your opposition now.

On March 1, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released draft regulations [PDF] for implementing REAL ID, which makes states standardize drivers licenses and create a vast national database linking all of the ID records together. Once in place, uses of the IDs and database will inevitably expand to facilitate a wide range of tracking and surveillance activities. Remember, the Social Security number started innocuously enough, but it has become a prerequisite for a host of government services and been co-opted by private companies to create massive databases of personal information.

REAL ID won't just cost you your privacy. The states and individual taxpayers bear the estimated 23 billion dollar burden of implementing the law, and that figure is probably low given that the necessary verification systems don't exist yet.

And what will you get in return? Not improved national security, because IDs do little to stop those who haven't already been identified as threats, and wrongdoers will still be able to create fake documents.

REAL ID is fundamentally flawed, and DHS' proposed regulations do nothing to change that. Thankfully, the tide is turning against REAL ID in a big way -- state legislatures around the country are passing or considering legislation rejecting its implementation, and Congress is considering repealing it.

The DHS regulations mean that states must have an implementation plan ready by October 2007. Make sure your Congressional representatives support the repeal of REAL ID before it's too late.

For more information, check out San Jose Mercury News' recent editorial opposing REAL ID as well as the ACLU's Realnightmare.org.

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January 29th, 2007
Maine Rejects Real ID
Posted by Hugh DAndrade

The Real ID Act took a blow last week, when Maine became the first state to formally declare its opposition. The Maine legislature voted overwhelmingly to refuse to comply with the act's mandates, and requested that Congress repeal the law.

The Real ID Act essentially forces states to create a national ID. Under the law, state drivers licenses will only be accepted for "federal purposes" -- like accessing planes, trains, national parks, and court houses -- if they conform to certain uniform standards. The law also requires a vast national database linking all of the ID records together. Estimated costs of $12 billion or more will be passed on to the states and, ultimately, average citizens in the form of increased DMV fees or taxes.

"It's not only a huge federal mandate, but it's a huge mandate from the federal government asking us to do something we don't have any interest in doing," said Maine's House Majority Leader Hanna Pingree.

Meanwhile, opposition in other states is growing. Similar measures rejecting the Real ID Act are under consideration in 11 states, including Montana, Georgia, Massachusetts and Washington state.

For more information on the problems with the Real ID Act of 2005, visit EFF's Real ID page, as well as the ACLU's www.realnightmare.org.

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December 20th, 2006
Akaka-Sununu Bill Corrects Many Bad Aspects of Real ID Act
Posted by Hugh DAndrade

In 2005, Congress hastily passed legislation that rolled back privacy rights and moved the country towards a national ID system. The REAL ID Act states that drivers' licenses will only be accepted for "federal purposes"—like accessing planes, trains, national parks, and court houses—if they conform to certain uniform standards. The law also requires a vast national database linking all of the ID records together. Estimated costs of $12 billion or more will be passed on to the states and, ultimately, average citizens in the form of increased DMV fees or taxes.

Thankfully, new bipartisan legislation could correct some of REAL ID's many flaws and add critical privacy and civil liberties safeguards. With the "Identification Security Enhancement Act of 2006," Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and John Sununu (R-NH) would cancel most of the standardization that might have led to a national ID card, call for more flexible standards, require encryption of the data itself, and prohibit the use of ID data by third parties.

For more information on the problems with the Real ID Act of 2005, visit www.realnightmare.org.