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States Force Showdown with DHS over REAL ID |
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by Mickey McCarter
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Wednesday, 05 March 2008 |
Four states have refused to request an extension for compliance with the REAL ID Act, prompting DHS to issue a warning
By the end of this month, US states must submit a request for extension to comply with the REAL ID Act (Public Law 109-13) or else their driver's licenses and state identifications will no longer be recognized for federal purposes, according to a letter sent to holdout governors by Stewart Baker, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for Policy, Monday.
When Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005, it originally set May 11, 2008 as the target date for compliance. Final regulations issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January provide opportunities for states to delay full compliance until 2017, but they must apply for an extension by March 31 in order to extend the original May 11 deadline, DHS spokesperson Amy Kudwa told HSToday.us.
"Those states that opt not to comply have to face ramifications come May 11, which means their licenses and ID cards will not be valid for federal purposes to include boarding domestic aircraft, entry into federal facilities that require an ID, and entry into nuclear power plants," Kudwa warned.
Four states--including Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina--have not sought an extension at all. DHS is examining a request from Delaware to determine if the request meets extension criteria.
At least two of the states have dug in their heels, determined not to comply. Democratic Govs. Brian Schweitzer of Montana and John Baldacci of Maine have vowed to resist implementation of REAL ID, which they argue violates the privacy rights of US citizens by enabling federal monitoring of ID use through the uniform security standards required by the act.
"Today I am asking you to join with me in resisting the DHS coercion to comply with the provisions of REAL ID," Schweitzer wrote in a Jan. 18 letter to his fellow governors. "Secretary [Michael] Chertoff has stated that every state must file an extension within 60 days of the final rule publication or he will, beginning on May 11 this year, direct the Transportation Security Agency and other federal offices to subject the citizens of non-compliant states to secondary screening every time they wish to board a commercial aircraft or enter a federal office building."
Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both Democrats, have been pushing to overturn REAL ID with negotiated standards for each state. But Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) called for her states' governor to comply with the act in a Feb. 29 letter and to submit a request for extension.
The holdout states also have expressed concerns about the costs of REAL ID, which Chertoff estimates to be about $4 billion over the next 10 years. The National Governors Association unanimously called for full federal funding of REAL ID during a meeting in February.
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Mickey McCarter |
| About the author: |
| eNewsletter Editor/Senior Washington Correspondent,
is a journalist with more than a decade of experience in reporting
on
military affairs and information technology.
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