To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. NEBRASKA AVENUE “Governors agree on the importance of strengthening state-issued licenses (DLs) and identification cards (IDs) to protect the security and integrity of these important documents,” said the NGA in a recent statement. “The federal REAL ID Act, however, places unnecessary and costly burdens on states that will do little to achieve the law’s intended security goals.” The law should be revised and full funding to the states should be provided, the statement concluded. While many states are resisting REAL ID, others have begun to comply. In Maryland, for example, Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and state transportation officials were pushing lawmakers to pass a residency requirement for all driver’s licenses in anticipation of REAL ID.As of this year,Maryland was one of the few states left that did not require proof of US residency from its drivers. On the other hand, despite collecting fees from drivers to pay for REAL ID, Wisconsin suspended its rollout until DHS offered more direction. According to the Journal-Sentinel newspaper, the state had already allocated $11.2 million for REAL ID, but Gov. Jim Doyle (D) has said they were definitely “slowing down” efforts. Every state received an extension for compliance in May 2008, but will be required to start issuing the new IDs in 2010 under the current statute. In order to avoid the penalties, all residents must have a new license or government ID by Dec. 1, 2017. Any modification to REAL ID now, DHS officials remind, would take a change in the law. In March: Craig Fugate was nominated as FEMA administrator. …Juliette Kayyem was named assistant secretary of intergovernmental programs. …Phil Reitinger was named deputy undersecretary of the National Protections Program Directorate. …Charles Axton was named head of the Unified Public Assistance Project Decision Team in the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office. …Brian Beckwith was selected as senior associate director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. …Janet Woodka was named Gulf Coast Rebuilding Coordinator. …On April 3 Jane Holl Lute was confirmed as DHS deputy secretary. See the new DHS organization chart on page 34. After spirited resistance from Democrats and the Senate, REAL ID was nonetheless passed in 2005 as part of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Tsunami Relief and signed by President George Bush. According to the final DHS rules, the new cards would require residents to provide proof of lawful residency with a birth certificate or immigration papers to their state department of motor vehicles, as well as more identifying information like proof of a valid Social Security number or an official explanation why the applicant does not have one. The state would be responsible for verifying supporting documents with appropriate federal databases. To prevent people from getting licenses and IDs in multiple jurisdictions, state motor vehicle departments would have to link to each other’s databases. The cards themselves would have to be secured with “physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting or duplication,” which could mean something as simple as watermarks or more elaborate— and controversial—measures like radio frequency identification (RFID) encoding devices built into the plastic and containing the identifiable information of the holder. So far, the technology to make this all work is still being developed. According to the NGA, the Social Security On-LineVerification and the Systematic AlienVerification for Entitlement systems are already on line and deployed nationally. But the capability of all states to verify vital records is still incomplete, and existing federal database networks need to be upgraded to handle the increased volume of verification. DHS is still working on a system that would allow states to meet the data exchange requirements. “[REAL ID] does three things,” said Sensenbrenner. “First of all,it provides more protection for the individual—ensuring that they are really the person it says they are on their driver’s license. Second, it prevents people from getting more than one driver’s license and it prevents illegal immigrants and people whoseVISAs have been expired to use this as a way to get services.” DHS ROSTER EDL: REAL ID of the future? Napolitano’s recent comments indicate that state alternatives to REAL ID might be welcome in the near future. One of those alternatives may be the EDL, which has already been introduced, in concert with DHS, by several border states to ease new requirements under the new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The WHTI requires anyone from the United States, Canada, Mexico or Bermuda to carry a passport before entering or leaving the United States for travel in the Western Hemisphere. Washington, Michigan, New York and Vermont have all initiated EDLs, which allow travelers to carry an all-in-one card, encrypted with RFID with all their pertinent information, in lieu of a passport and other documents. EDLs are supposed to be cheaper than passports and more convenient for frequent travelers. Instead of just residency, the cards require proof of citizenship, plus Social Security number and other information. It’s not clear yet whether state EDLs would satisfy the critics, especially if costly and controversial technology and restrictions—preventing people without an EDL or passport from flying anywhere in the United States or accessing federal services—remain in place. Brady Wiseman, a Democratic state representative in Montana who helped pass a rejection of REAL ID in his state two years ago, said the EDLs sound just as insidious. As he put it: “I think Montanans would object to having the enhanced license become the standard for everyone. We simply don’t trust the federal government to safeguard our privacy and stay out of our business.” HST Homeland Security Today Magazine | May 2009 What is REAL ID? Members of Congress like Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who worked hard to pass REAL ID four years ago, are concerned now that it might be doomed. They, too, are wondering where Napolitano might go with it. “She hasn’t called—I’d be happy to talk to her about it,” Sensenbrenner told Homeland Security Today. As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee four years ago, he spearheaded REAL ID, primarily because he believed tighter standards could have prevented the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers from fraudulently obtaining multiple government IDs and licenses in concurring jurisdictions. “If REAL ID gets eviscerated, she has yet to tell us what it would be replaced with,” said Sensenbrenner. Register online today for exclusive online content and eNewsletters 13