In a letter to congressional leadership on Wednesday, the National Governors Association disclosed that as many as 36 states won't meet the end-of-year deadline. Another 13 states have thumbed their noses at the federal government by passing laws that prohibit participation in Real ID, which states have long viewed as an unfunded federal mandate that could violate their residents' privacy. The recession, meanwhile, has ravaged state budgets and is likely to further erode states' willingness, or their ability, to comply with Real ID.
BTC - Why comply with a federal program which is fit for repeal? It's a waste of paper. Governors and state leaders have more important stuff to do. While many NGA governor's seem to be "okay" with PASS ID; their state constituents need to recognize that the new legislation still relies on the majority of Real ID to stay in place and to eventually procure state funding for centralizing identity databases. One of the original critics of Real ID, Governor Sanford of South Carolina, openly opposed the build of centralized databases as a continued risk to privacy in the PASS ID Act.
We urge you to ask your State for a comprehensive repeal
of the Real ID Act and the PASS ID Act.
WASHINGTON -- While Congress debates national health care legislation that could put new fiscal burdens on the states, the nation's governors are pushing Capitol Hill for a reprieve from another costly federal program that states have long criticized: Real ID.
The program, created in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, requires all states to start issuing more secure driver's licenses by the end of this year. Residents of states that do not comply with the deadline will not be able to board commercial aircraft or enter federal buildings using their driver's licenses beginning in January.
In a letter to congressional leadership on Wednesday, the National Governors Association disclosed that as many as 36 states won't meet the end-of-year deadline. Another 13 states have thumbed their noses at the federal government by passing laws that prohibit participation in Real ID, which states have long viewed as an unfunded federal mandate that could violate their residents' privacy. The recession, meanwhile, has ravaged state budgets and is likely to further erode states' willingness, or their ability, to comply with Real ID.
In their letter, the governors urged Congress to approve a replacement version of Real ID -known as Pass ID - that would give states more time and flexibility to upgrade their driver's licenses, including the processes used to check applicants' identities.
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