Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who was unveiling final details of the REAL ID Act's rules on Friday, said that if states want their licenses to remain valid for air travel after May 2008, those states must seek a waiver indicating they want more time to comply with the legislation.
Chertoff, as he revealed final details of the REAL ID Act, said that in instances where a particular state doesn't seek a waiver, its residents will have to use a passport or a newly created federal passport card if they want to avoid a vigorous secondary screening at airport security.
"The last thing I want to do is punish citizens of a state who would love to have a REAL ID license but can't get one," Chertoff said. "But in the end, the rule is the rule as passed by Congress."
Chertoff spoke as he discussed the details of the administration's plan to improve security for driver's licenses in all 50 states — an effort delayed due to opposition from states worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset about what they believe are invasions of privacy.
Under the rules announced Friday, Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years.
The Homeland Security Department has spent years crafting the final regulations for the REAL ID Act, a law designed to make it harder for terrorists, illegal immigrants and con artists to get government-issued identification. The effort once envisioned to take effect in 2008 has been pushed back in the hopes of winning over skeptical state officials.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Real ID churns on
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7 comments:
The Homeland Security Department has spent years crafting the final regulations for the REAL ID Act, a law designed to make it harder for terrorists, illegal immigrants and con artists to get government-issued identification.
now you should be writing comedy!
of course when this takes effect with their wonderful security measures Chertoff and his gang will be long gone....
(Cheated and hijacked quote completely from TPM) Does the average American citizen recognize what this means? Being stopped in the street and asked to show your papers? Having incompetents in charge of all your personal data and doing who knows what to it?
They aren't planning to track illegal immigrants nor terrorists nor con artists. They are planning to track us.
And we are letting them.
ellroon -- of course thy are gonna track us. but as long as American Idol starts next week, why, iho hum ... gotta watch Paula Abdul.....
Germany 1933....back to the future
I'm just waiting for the Department of Homeland Security to request really cool uniforms and high boots....
we should all 300,000,000 of us go and get 5 fake realid's each.
Lol! The bureaucracy would absolutely shut down....
that's the idea
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