LEGISLATION

Critics Fear New Bill May be Precursor to National ID

By John Jessup
Washington Correspondent

CBN.com – (CBN News) -- WASHINGTON - Next week, the Senate is expected to pass a measure that would make it more difficult to get or renew your driver’s license.

The measure passed the house Thursday as part of a spending bill for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it could affect your ability to board a plane, enter a federal courthouse, or even set up a bank account.

Getting your driver's license already requires a wait. But, if the Senate follows in the footsteps of the House, your wait could get even longer.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner: "Longer lines are a small price to pay to flush out the fraud in driver’s licenses."

The bill's sponsor, House Judiciary Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), says the measure will counter much more than fraud. Proponents believe it will also help fight against terrorism.

Some of the 9/11 hijackers legally obtained licenses to board their flights, but under the new measure, an estimated 70 million people applying for drivers' licenses each year would have to show four types of identification at their state Department of Motor Vehicles office.

That includes a birth certificate, a photo ID, verification of your social security number, and an acceptable document showing your name and address.

All these are required to prove you are a U.S. citizen. And, the resulting verification process would effectively do away with what some states have worked hard to do, trying to make getting or renewing a driver's license more convenient.

Cheye Calvo, Senior Policy Specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures "First of all, Americans are no longer going to go to a DMV, get their license in one day."

Some worry that the legislation is more about cracking down on illegal immigrants than terrorism, and others fear it's a threat to privacy. Privacy advocates say the new requirements would effectively open the door for a national ID program, backed by the 9/11 commission and the Bush administration.

And they worry that nationwide databases storing your personal information would be targeted by identity thieves.

House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, "Whatever you think of the idea, understand what a burden it places on the states."

Congress estimates it will cost states $100 million to implement the new requirements, which would go into effect by 2008, but some think it will cost much more, and because it is attached to the widely supported spending bill for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, many believe the measure will pass.

Sensenbrenner remarked, "This legislation will keep us safer. We need to know who has a driver's license and who is in our country."

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