Posted by James Sensenbrenner, Jr on June 22, 2009, 11:05 am, in reply to "Re: Ordering a Pizza in 2010"
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On June 15th, a few Senators introduced the PASS ID legislation, which would repeal REAL ID and return America to the security standards we had in place on September 10, 2001. Those standards allowed 19 terrorists to manipulate our own forms of identification to bring this country to a standstill and kill nearly 3,000 people.
I introduced REAL ID in the House in 2004, and I stand behind REAL ID as it passed the House, was voted for unanimously in the Senate – including a vote of support for then-Senator Barack Obama – and was signed into law.
One of the reasons our nation has not been attacked again is because the federal government and many states have been implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations through REAL ID. Many states besides Wisconsin, that is.
In Wisconsin, our own Governor Doyle raised the driver’s license fee by $10 – generating about $12.5 million to help the state comply with REAL ID – but then he stole that money to pay for other programs.
The PASS ID legislation that was introduced is nothing but a smokescreen that allows the Obama Administration and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to turn back the clock to pre 9/11, and put America at risk.
PASS ID lowers security standards and eliminates the opportunity for states to be able to cross-check who already has a driver’s license with another state or verify birth certificate records to prevent identity theft -- its advocates are inaccurate in touting that they are following the 9/11 Commission recommendations or keeping strong security standards.
We cannot let our guard down or lessen our efforts to protect Americans. Supporters of PASS ID should read the 9/11 Commission Report and the Commission’s recommendations.
The 9/11 Report said: ‘Fraud in identification documents is no longer just a problem of theft.’
The Facts support this. Ziad Jarrah, one of the terrorists responsible for the plane crash in Pennsylvania, was pulled over two days before 9/11. Had REAL ID been in place, he would have been discovered holding multiple licenses and red flags may have been raised. Instead, he was issued a ticket and sent on his way.
Reason 1 to Pass on PASS ID: PASS ID eliminates the ability for police and states to cross-check an ID, meaning unlike REAL ID, under PASS ID, red flags still won’t be raised in this situation, keeping terrorists on the streets.
The 9/11 Report also said: ‘For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons.’
The Facts support this. The 9/11 plane hijackers held visas and multiple forms of ID.
Reason 2 to Pass on PASS ID: In the hands of a terrorist, a U.S. driver’s license, or other form of ID, proves just as dangerous as a bomb. PASS ID eliminates provisions that would have required the new IDs to board airplanes and for a person’s birth certificate to be checked to ensure its authenticity before issuing an ID.
There are many more reasons to pass on PASS ID; if we want to be real in our expectations to keep America safe, then we need REAL ID. The Department of Homeland Security should comply with the law and hold the feet of the states who are complaining to the fire, including Wisconsin, to ensure they comply with the law as well.
Like so many Wisconsinites, I will never forget what happened to our country on September 11, 2001. Keeping America safe needs to be our number one priority and the way we can do that right now is to pass on PASS ID and help states in their implementation of REAL ID.
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