grimm
02-14-2005, 01:40 AM
The Bush administration is pushing this shit through right quick.
Taken from the Drudge Report web site...
Published: February 10, 2005, 5:46 PM PST
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday a sweeping set
of rules aimed at forcing states to issue all adults federally
approved electronic ID cards, including driver's licenses.
Under the rules, federal employees would reject licenses or identity
cards that don't comply, which could curb Americans' access to
airplanes, trains, national parks, federal courthouses and other areas
controlled by the federal government. The bill was approved by a
261-161 vote.
The measure, called the Real ID Act, says that driver's licenses and
other ID cards must include a digital photograph, anticounterfeiting
features and undefined "machine-readable technology, with defined
minimum data elements" that could include a magnetic strip or RFID
tag. The Department of Homeland Security would be charged with
drafting the details of the regulation.
Republican politicians argued that the new rules were necessary to
thwart terrorists, saying that four of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers
possessed valid state-issued driver's licenses. "When I get on an
airplane and someone shows ID, I'd like to be sure they are who they
say they are," said Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, during a
floor debate that started Wednesday.
States would be required to demand proof of the person's Social
Security number and confirm that number with the Social Security
Administration. They would also have to scan in documents showing the
person's date of birth and immigration status, and create a massive
store "so that the (scanned) images can be retained in electronic
storage in a transferable format" permanently.
Another portion of the bill says that states would be required to link
their DMV databases if they wished to receive federal funds. Among the
information that must be shared: All data fields printed on drivers'
licenses and identification cards, and complete drivers' histories,
including motor vehicle violations, suspensions and points on licenses.
The Bush administration threw its weight behind the Real ID Act, which
has been derided by some conservative and civil liberties groups as
tantamount to a national ID card. The White House said in a statement
this week that it "strongly supports House passage" of the bill.
Thursday's vote mostly fell along party lines. About 95 percent of the
House Republicans voted for the bill, which had been prepared by the
judiciary committee chairman, F. James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin
Republican. More than three-fourths of the House Democrats opposed it.
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat from Washington, D.C., charged
that Republicans were becoming hypocrites by trampling on states'
rights. "I thought the other side of the aisle extols federalism at
all times," Norton said. "Yes, even in hard times, even when you're
dealing with terrorism. So what's happening now? Why are those who
speak up for states whenever it strikes their fancy doing this now?"
Civil libertarians and firearm rights groups condemned the bill before
the vote. The American Civil Liberties Union likened the new rules to
a "de facto national ID card," saying that the measure would force
"states to deny driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants" and make
DMV employees act as agents of the federal immigration service.
Because an ID is required to purchase a firearm from a dealer, Gun
Owners of America said the bill amounts to a "bureaucratic back door
to implementation of a national ID card." The group warned that it
would "empower the federal government to determine who can get a
driver's license--and under what conditions."
Taken from the Drudge Report web site...
Published: February 10, 2005, 5:46 PM PST
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday a sweeping set
of rules aimed at forcing states to issue all adults federally
approved electronic ID cards, including driver's licenses.
Under the rules, federal employees would reject licenses or identity
cards that don't comply, which could curb Americans' access to
airplanes, trains, national parks, federal courthouses and other areas
controlled by the federal government. The bill was approved by a
261-161 vote.
The measure, called the Real ID Act, says that driver's licenses and
other ID cards must include a digital photograph, anticounterfeiting
features and undefined "machine-readable technology, with defined
minimum data elements" that could include a magnetic strip or RFID
tag. The Department of Homeland Security would be charged with
drafting the details of the regulation.
Republican politicians argued that the new rules were necessary to
thwart terrorists, saying that four of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers
possessed valid state-issued driver's licenses. "When I get on an
airplane and someone shows ID, I'd like to be sure they are who they
say they are," said Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, during a
floor debate that started Wednesday.
States would be required to demand proof of the person's Social
Security number and confirm that number with the Social Security
Administration. They would also have to scan in documents showing the
person's date of birth and immigration status, and create a massive
store "so that the (scanned) images can be retained in electronic
storage in a transferable format" permanently.
Another portion of the bill says that states would be required to link
their DMV databases if they wished to receive federal funds. Among the
information that must be shared: All data fields printed on drivers'
licenses and identification cards, and complete drivers' histories,
including motor vehicle violations, suspensions and points on licenses.
The Bush administration threw its weight behind the Real ID Act, which
has been derided by some conservative and civil liberties groups as
tantamount to a national ID card. The White House said in a statement
this week that it "strongly supports House passage" of the bill.
Thursday's vote mostly fell along party lines. About 95 percent of the
House Republicans voted for the bill, which had been prepared by the
judiciary committee chairman, F. James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin
Republican. More than three-fourths of the House Democrats opposed it.
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat from Washington, D.C., charged
that Republicans were becoming hypocrites by trampling on states'
rights. "I thought the other side of the aisle extols federalism at
all times," Norton said. "Yes, even in hard times, even when you're
dealing with terrorism. So what's happening now? Why are those who
speak up for states whenever it strikes their fancy doing this now?"
Civil libertarians and firearm rights groups condemned the bill before
the vote. The American Civil Liberties Union likened the new rules to
a "de facto national ID card," saying that the measure would force
"states to deny driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants" and make
DMV employees act as agents of the federal immigration service.
Because an ID is required to purchase a firearm from a dealer, Gun
Owners of America said the bill amounts to a "bureaucratic back door
to implementation of a national ID card." The group warned that it
would "empower the federal government to determine who can get a
driver's license--and under what conditions."