Comparing PASS Act with Real ID

A BTC Exclusive

The PASS Act, filed June 15, 2009, poses as the partial repeal effort of the expiring Real ID Act. The introduction comes on the heels of a DHS exchange, allowing Real ID legislation to have a second genesis.

Privacy advocates demand Real ID should be repealed in its entirety. Some maintainWashington's standard condition, that the law must be replaced with a related legislation. One such attempt is the PASS Act.

WHAT IS THE PASS ACT?

The Center for Democracy and Technology cited a a few of the comparisons and improvements. The more important question is, how does passing another law repeal the Real ID Act? According to the CDT, the Real ID Act is expected to "fade away" while the PASS Act takes its place. 



THOSE IN FAVOR

The National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL] and the National Governors Association [NGA], mid-level players between the federal mandate and the masses, have commended the the PASS Act as suitable amendment for the Real ID Act.

"NCSL is encouraged by the introduction of the PASS Act, because it would repeal Real ID and replace it with a system that will ensure greater safety and security without sacrificing privacy and without incurring exorbitant costs that REAL ID imposed," said Carl Tubbesing, NCSL's deputy director in the Washington, D.C., office. "We applaud the sponsors for recognizing the shortcomings of REAL ID and for working with states to bring about these much-needed changes."

THOSE OPPOSED

While state legislative engines run in favor of the legislation, there is opposition. The ACLU disagrees with the direction of the PASS Act that it is not dissimilar enough from the Real ID Act.

“Unfortunately under Senator Akaka’s proposal, a state would have to adopt Real ID or risk having all its citizens subject to secondary screening at airports,” says ACLU counsel, Chris Calabrese. “With this bill, states may still be coerced into adopting a National ID. It is also problematic that this legislation contains no exemption for religious beliefs of those who oppose identification.”

“Any day now, we will have fully half of all states on record opposing Real ID,” said Calabrese. “We agree with Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano that the best solution to the Real ID Act is to repeal it.”The ACLU would still much rather see identical legislation introduced to last sessions Identity Security Enhancement Act (HR 1117).

Opponents of HR 1117 volleyed similar criticisms that it too was not dissimilar enough from the Real ID Act of 2005. In weeks leading up to the PASS Act's introduction neo-conservative think tanks, like the Heritage Foundation, attacked the legislation for modifying the Real ID Act. They claim that the PASS Act pays seemingly heedless compliance to 9-11 Commission Report recommendations. 


Other more conservative civil liberties advocates, like the CATO Institute insist that the PASS Act still instates a National ID card program. Opposing a national ID card program historically has been part of both the Republican and Libertarian national party platforms.

With the move in the Senate to revive our moribund national ID law, the REAL ID Act, under the name “PASS ID,” it’s important to look at whether we’re still dealing with a national ID law. My assessment is that we are," says Jim Harper, Director of Information Policy Studies at the CATO Institute.

"First, PASS ID is modeled directly on REAL ID. The structure and major provisions of the two bills are the same. Just like REAL ID, PASS ID sets national standards for identity cards and drivers’ licenses, withholding federal recognition if they are not met."

The 9-11 Commission Report is still given justified consideration in the PASS Act despite the abused and incomplete credibility of its contents. [pp. 384, 390]

IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE?

Depending on who you ask, the 9-11 Commission Report's cred is not so much an issue as what is being traded in exchange for the security recommendations. 

In the Real ID Act, DHS was given jurisdiction over identity. Essentially DHS would have the power to determine who you are without much accountability or limits to qualify their demand to determine use of identity.

The distinction between the PASS Act & Real ID should be based on how much power is granted to federal powers to determine identity and its use and how this will affect the private daily lives of millions of Americans. The PASS Act only repeals Title II of the Real ID Act, having much to do with identity cards and national license regulations for States.

Regardless of the PASS Act's introduction, Real ID remains on the books and has not yet been repealed to finality. The deadlines and the pains of compliance continue into the daily lives of license holders nationally.

STATES & COMPLIANCE

State legislatures still contend with license and immigration standards consistent with the Real ID Act. Local activists and Real ID opponents fear the PASS Act becoming an Enhanced Drivers License mandate.

Two of the original anti-Real ID stronghold states, Maine and South Carolina, are embattled with the grind of new challenging local concessions in favor of federal regulations. Governor Baldacci of Maine recently added his endorsement to the PASS Act. Maine Senator Susan Collins co-authored the federal legislation. South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford, found many problems with the PASS Act including to "continue modifying what is now widely regarded as an impractical, intrusive federal mandate."

The more unsavory regulations include RFID tags and biometric identifiers as license requirements, more specifically to Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative compliant border crossing cards or Enhanced Drivers Licenses. Biometrics vendors cite the Real ID Act as a good sale point for embedding DNA laminates in licenses. DHS continues to push states on federal compliance benchmarks. In Texas, vendors levied threats of legal suit, with or without merit, against licensing agencies over security fulfillments. Conversely, states like Pennsylvania now are contending with lawsuits against the use of an insecure facial recognition software called, Face Explorer. The use of biometrics have been found to create violations of the state's strict constitutional privacy provisions.

One Pennsylvania plaintiff, Renee Bumgartner, said the software has been licensed by Viisage to most states in the U.S. Bumgartner is gaining daily support from others seeking representation in Pennsylvania for what may be a class action lawsuit against the Real ID Act's requirements for biometric identifiers. She affirms that Real ID is alive and well. States who passed local laws barring Real ID compliance based on privacy and identity security are moving towards regulations in licenses without qualified consent and State constitutional laws.

"My research is trying to prove [PennDOT] is converting legacy photographs and new digital captured photos into biometric face prints templates," says Bumgartner.

RFID tags have the potential to send stores of private transactional information into State maintained fusion centers. With plausible legal slight of hand, personal information may be sold to 3rd parties. States like Arizona and Texas, have transportation code moving towards Enahnced Drivers licenses, but never were granted the federal funding to move programs forward. Literal compliance fell to the wayside while state law has been in place.

The battle for privacy, and identity security clamor for recognition amid the white noise of immigration interests in border territories. The manifest destinies of state level Real ID touch diversity and immigration in America. California Senator Gil Cedillo recently suspended the 2009 SB 60 due to the reevaluation of the Real ID Act. It was Cedillo's third attempt to pass the California Real ID Act, persisting to give undocumented immigrants license to drive and identity in the U.S. Texas, which shares the largest border with Mexico, recently passed State-to-federal law requesting emergency funding to expedite jamming traffic at the border. In the Spring of 2009, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano recognized RFID technology as a key tool to speed port of entry regardless of it's documented failures in DHS pilot U.S. VISIT program in Brownsville, TX.

So far there has been no mention of border affairs in the PASS Act. That could be due to Congressman Raul Grijalva's work to repeal border fence provisions in the Real ID Act, providing exchange legislation in the Border Security and Responsibility Act.

Administration Plans to Scale Back Real ID Law

By Spencer S. Hsu
THE WASHINGTON POST 
Sunday, June 14, 2009

WASHINGTON — Yielding to pressure from states that refused to pay for it, the Obama administration is moving to scale back a federal law passed after the Sept. 11 attacks that was designed to tighten security requirements for driver's licenses, Homeland Security Department and congressional officials said.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants to repeal and replace the $4 billion domestic security initiative known as Real ID, which calls for placing more secure licenses in the hands of 245 million Americans by 2017. The proposal, called Pass ID, would be cheaper, less rigorous and partly funded by federal grants, according to draft legislation that could be introduced as soon as Monday.

The rebranding effort follows months of talks with the National Governors Association and poses political risks for Obama as well as Napolitano, a former association chairwoman who wants to soothe strained relations with the states without appearing to retreat on a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission.

Commissioners called for federal standards for driver's licenses and birth certificates, noting, "For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons." Eighteen of 19 terrorist hijackers obtained state IDs, some of them fraudulently, easing their movements inside the country.

The Bush administration struggled to launch the 2005 law, delaying the program as states called it an unfunded mandate and privacy advocates warned it would create a de facto national ID.

Eleven states have refused to participate in Real ID.

In April, a judge blocked the Texas Department of Public Safety from continuing to enforce rules that were part of the state's efforts to comply with Real ID, finding that DPS acted outside its scope of authority.

The Pass ID plan keeps elements of Real ID, such as requiring a digital photograph, signature and machine-readable features such as a bar code. States will still need to verify identities and legal status by checking federal immigration, Social Security and State Department databases.

But it eliminates demands for new databases that would allow all states to store and cross-check such information, and a requirement that motor vehicle departments verify birth certificates with originating agencies.

DHS would have nine months to write new regulations and states would have five years to reissue all licenses, with completion expected in 2016.

Texas License Redesign Release Obscure

Aspects of public tests aren't making the cut in day-to-day life. The benefits and security details are still obscure.

From local Fox 7: On Your Side

CAUGHT ON TAPE: FEMA/Homeland Stupidity

This speaks for itself...  DHS is threatened by dead conservative idealogues.

More here: 

Blackfeet enhancing IDs for border crossings

By TRAVIS COLEMAN
Tribune Staff Writer

The Blackfeet Tribe is one of a group of tribes developing enhanced tribal identification cards to get in line with the new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

The initiative — which went into effect June 1 — requires people crossing the U.S.-Canada border to show a passport or enhanced driver's license.

Homeland Security officials are allowing Native Americans to continue using their tribal-issued photo ID cards to cross the border while tribes develop their own enhanced cards.

Homeland Security will allow this for a "modest, but reasonable transition period," according to the Washington, D.C.-based National Congress of American Indians, or NCAI.

"It would take some time to develop the technology with each of the tribes having their own cards," said Mike Milne, press officer for several nearby ports of entries.

Sweetgrass Port Director Larry Overcast said he met with the Blackfeet Tribe in May to discuss the issue and the tribe seemed to be interested in developing some form of an enhanced tribal ID card, among other options.

"All of our officers are aware that their photo IDs will be fine," Overcast said.

The Blackfeet Indian Reservation borders Canada to the north.

In some states, the enhanced IDs feature a flag denoting citizenship and different barcodes. Milne said the enhanced tribal IDs may feature radio frequency technology so the cards would be read more efficiently.

Only a handful of tribes have agreed to develop their own enhanced ID system, including the Blackfeet and the Kootenai Tribe in Idaho, Milne said.

Blackfeet Business Council Chairman Willie Sharp Jr. said tribal employees are attending a NCAI conference to discuss enhanced IDs. One of Sharp's main concerns in developing a new system is maintaining a high standard of how the tribe certifies people as tribal members.

Sharp said the upgrade process can be long and that the cost of developing the system falls on the tribe.

"But we hope we can get some funds from Homeland Security or other means," Sharp said.

DHS Pumping Money Towards Border Fence

"The spending bill would fund security the southwest border by providing $692 million to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for border infrastructure and technology along the southwest border, Price stated. The bill also would provide money to meet an overall staffing level of 20,019 Border Patrol agents. Programs at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in support of the Southwest Border Initiative would receive about $28 million more than requested by the White House, funding them with roughly $98 million. Those funds include an additional $10 million for ICE investigations of transnational gangs; an additional $10 million for ICE to fight of cross-border weapons smuggling; an additional $5 million for ICE investigations into drug smuggling; and about $3 million to combat human smuggling and trafficking."

HOUSE BUDGET BILL ADDS FUNDS TO SOUTHWEST BORDER SECURITY

by Mickey McCarter

Tuesday, 09 June 2009

Homeland security subcommittee also focuses on cargo screening deadlines The House version of the fiscal 2010 budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advanced out of the homeland security spending subcommittee Monday with more funding than originally requested to fund southwest border security operations while reducing the administration's overall request by 1 percent. Total discretionary funding for DHS would come in at $42.625 billion under the billion, an increase of 6.5 percent over fiscal 2009, excluding the cost of overseas operations for the US Coast Guard, declared Rep. David Price (D-NC), chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. "This funding level reflects the hard decision Congress made in adopting this year's budget resolution, which reduced overall funding levels by $10 billion. This subcommittee had to take its share of that cut," Price said in his opening statement. The spending bill would fund security the southwest border by providing $692 million to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for border infrastructure and technology along the southwest border, Price stated. The bill also would provide money to meet an overall staffing level of 20,019 Border Patrol agents. Programs at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in support of the Southwest Border Initiative would receive about $28 million more than requested by the White House, funding them with roughly $98 million. Those funds include an additional $10 million for ICE investigations of transnational gangs; an additional $10 million for ICE to fight of cross-border weapons smuggling; an additional $5 million for ICE investigations into drug smuggling; and about $3 million to combat human smuggling and trafficking. The bill would provide $60 million for Operation Stonegarden in fiscal 2010 to provide grants to states and localities to strengthen law enforcement agencies along US borders. Changes to the bill gained Republican support in the subcommittee. Ranking Member Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) decried the administration's budget proposal as one that did not fully fund security efforts at the southwest border, thereby undercutting the fight against Mexican drug cartels. "Indeed, I find it incredibly ironic and disappointing that just this past Friday, the President released a 77-page strategy on stopping the Mexican drug cartels that professes the need to enhance our intelligence and drug interdiction capabilities; and yet, his FY10 budget request only marginally increases DHS's intelligence office and Border Patrol and actually proposes cuts to CBP's operational assets and Coast Guard personnel," Rogers lamented. Bi-partisan changes made by the subcommittee, however, resulted in a "pretty good bill," Rogers said. Controversial programs that members of Congress are seeking to retool or outright kill also receive funding under the bill. The REAL ID program receives $25 million to cover administrative costs at US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been working with Senators to craft legislation that would rework the REAL ID Act. The bill also would provide a classified amount to the National Applications Office (NAO), which members like Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) would like to abolish due to concerns over its use of satellite imagery for domestic intelligence efforts. The bill also would extend the E-Verify employment verification program by two years, instead of three as the White House suggested, as Price anticipates a larger debate about immigration within that timeframe. The spending bill also would allocate funds to the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), which received no funding under the administration's fiscal 2010 budget proposal. Price said funding was necessary for all screening equipment to meet the congressionally mandated goals of 100 percent screening of air cargo by August 2010 and of US-bound sea cargo by 2012. Napolitano and other homeland security officials have stated that those goals cannot be met due to a lack of technology and a lack of international cooperation. However, the fiscal 2010 budget bill that emerged from the subcommittee would provide $800 million for additional explosive detection systems and about $123 million for air cargo security activities at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to help meet the air cargo deadline. CBP and DNDO would receive about $804 million under the bill to continue development of screening technology for radiological threats and nuclear weapons under the bill. Another $162 million would go to overseas operations to monitor foreign cargo and to assist with the development of screening technology to meet the 2012 deadline for ports. In total CBP would receive $10 billion; ICE, $5.4 billion; the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $7.4 billion; TSA, $7.7 billion; and the US Coast Guard, $10 billion. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on June 12.

Laminate Technology Stores DNA for Travel Docs

"They" Want Your Blood or Your DNA

The following is a corporate press release in which vendors favor themselves, yet again, to feed the delusions of grandeur fostered by really bad legislation [Real ID Act].   "National security" is the phrase vendors and colluding agencies use to continue business at the expense of ethics, personal privacy and the 4th Amendment.  Real ID has both specific and loosely defined terms for including biometrics.   DNA is considered as biometric fodder where Real ID is concerned.   

c/o Nanowerk news

(Nanowerk News) Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., a provider of DNA-based security solutions, announced today that in collaboration with a world leader in security laminated materials, it has validated its proprietary SigNature® DNA into laminates typically used in travel documents, credit cards, drivers licenses and other government issued identification cards.

Protecting secure documents against alteration and counterfeiting has become a priority of governments around the world. The REAL ID Act is U.S. Federal law that imposes certain security, authentication, and issuance procedure standards for the state driver's licenses and state ID cards, for them to be accepted by the Federal government for "official purposes”.

According to the Real ID Act, DNA is accepted as one of the biometric identifiers along with fingerprints and retinal scans. For example, SigNature DNA can be incorporated as part of a security ink that is embedded into the laminate of a driver’s license.

Incorporating SigNature DNA into the existing inks and printing processes safeguards the driver’s license at a forensic level and ensures that the license can not be copied or re-engineered. DNA protection also offers each State their own unique DNA identifier that can be authenticated even 10 years from the date the license was issued. The strength of DNA authentication has already been demonstrated by law enforcement in the United States and is accepted internationally as forensic evidence should a criminal or civil case be prosecute

[Here's the "we've got what America needs" marketing pitch...] Raising the security systems standards of state-issued identification is an important step toward enhancing national security. Because a driver's license serves so many purposes (access to federal buildings, nuclear power plants, boarding aircraft, etc.), terrorists actively seek fraudulent state-issued identification. The REAL ID rules will make it more difficult for them, while making it easier for law enforcement to detect falsified documents. The Department of Homeland Security has provided States with an extension to comply by December 31, 2009. In addition, States that meet certain benchmarks for the security of their credentials and licensing processes will automatically be granted a second extension until May 11, 2011 to complete full implementation of REAL ID.