GOP, Democratic Senators Assail Real I.D.

WASHINGTON — Senators from both sides of the aisle assailed the REAL I.D. Act Tuesday as a gigantic unfunded mandate for states and an affront to the privacy of Americans.

They also said that the plan to create national standards for driver's licenses would create a "one-stop shop" for identity thieves.

The program has been controversial since it was enacted in May 2005, with several states passing statutes opposing compliance, forcing the Department of Homeland Security to delay its implementation and cut costs.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said that the act is the "worst kind of Washington boondoggle" and is taking resources away from other pressing security efforts such as adding more federal agents on the northern border.

"This legal bobbing and weaving has done nothing to enhance homeland security," he told a hearing of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.

Sen. George Voinovich, an Ohio Republican and ranking member of the panel, said he was troubled that the REAL I.D. program is expected to cost states $4 billion, but only $90 million has been appropriated through REAL I.D. grants. In Ohio alone, initial compliance is expected to cost about $15 million, he said.

Voinovich said he is also concerned that databases slated for the program are not ready for full implementation.

"I question how we can go forward with a proposal that asks states to utilize systems that don't exist or don't work," he said.

Stewart Baker, assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security, defended the program, saying it would make it harder for terrorists to travel in the United States while also "allowing innocent travelers to move quickly and smoothly to their destinations."

He also said that the administration cut costs by 73 percent through the delayed implementation schedule.

The REAL ID plan stems from a recommendation from the Sept. 11 commission, which investigated the al-Qaida terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. It found that the hijackers had 30 driver's licenses and identifications and used them to travel extensively.

Earlier this year, Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff warned states that they must "bite the bullet" and comply with the legislation or face the consequences.

Chertoff also announced the delayed schedule — giving citizens born after Dec. 1, 1964, until 2014 to get a new license and giving older Americans until 2017.

If a state does not participate, the state's drivers' license cannot be used for boarding an airplane, entering federal buildings, and other purposes.

Despite strong resistance in several states — including Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington — every state agreed to at least a waiver after the extension periods were announced. In Georgia, lawmakers voted to allow Gov. Sonny Perdue to refuse federal demands to create the licenses until federal officials can guarantee that safeguards are in place to protect licensees' privacy.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which has called on Congress to repeal REAL I.D., said it is a "backbone system" for a national identification card and will give "tens of thousands of people" access to individual information in a "massive government database."

Baker said that the program does not establish a national database, but gives state systems a "connectivity" to talk with one another.

On the Web:

Department of Homeland Security: www.dhs.gov