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Officials: Border passport plan on track
By SAM BISHOP News-Miner Washington Bureau


Monday, June 12, 2006 - WASHINGTON--Government and travel industry officials offered far different views last week of the likelihood that the nation will have a workable system in 19 months that would identify every person legally crossing its borders with Canada and Mexico.

Paul Rosenzweig, an attorney and acting assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, assured members of a congressional panel that the government is on track to meet the Dec. 31, 2007, deadline.

"It's only in Washington that 19 months before a deadline is a crisis," Rosenzweig told the immigration subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association of America, asked Congress to extend the deadline to make sure the job is done right.

The Department of Homeland Security has not hired contractors or even selected which technology to use, Dow said.

Dow asked for "a reasonable extension, not an indefinite delay."

Congress in 2004's intelligence reform act told the administration that it must require either a passport or equivalent identification from every person entering the United States starting Dec. 31, 2007. The rules apply to U.S. citizens as well as foreign nationals.

The administration also decided, through regulation, to require such identification starting Dec. 31 of this year from all people traveling by air or boat into the United States.

Current law requires no such high-level documentation for travelers entering the U.S. from western hemisphere countries.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, amended the recently passed Senate version of the immigration reform bill to push back the final deadline to June 1, 2009. Stevens' amendment wouldn't affect the earlier air and boat deadline, though, Dow said in a brief interview after Thursday's hearing.

And it's not clear if the administration would do anything even if the bill passes.

"If Congress were to pass a delay, my goal would be not to use it," Rosenzweig said.

The Senate immigration bill still must be merged with the House's, and the merged version then must pass each side again. Given that the versions are very different, some wonder if Congress will reach any agreement.

If Congress doesn't act, U.S. citizens on Alaska-bound cruises that originate or stop in Canada next year could need a passport, or equivalent documentation, to enter the state. So, too, will people who fly into the state from Canada or Mexico.

Dow said in the interview that airlines already require passports for such international flights, so the requirement is seen as less onerous for air travel.

Federal officials may have been mistakenly under the impression that cruise ships also already require passports, Dow said. They do not, and many people are unaware that such a document will be needed, he said.

"There's going to be a real problem coming up in six months," Dow told the subcommittee.

Rep. John Hostetler, R-Ind. and the subcommittee chairman, asked Dow if cruise companies could require a passport number with a reservation.

Dow, in his written testimony, said many reservations are already made. In addition, he told Hostetler, people often don't have their passports readily available when making reservations.

Dow told the subcommittee that the travel industry supports the new ID rules but wants a single deadline rather than the separate air and boat deadline.

"Our industry on Sept. 11 was dropped to its knees in a matter of minutes," he said.

But it also has a lot to lose if the ID system doesn't work.

The industry also wants a single, low-cost alternative to the passport, Dow said. Absent that, it wants the government to discount the cost of passports.

Passports start at about $100 and go up from there depending on how fast a person wants to get one and whether the applicant employs private services that expedite the process, which can otherwise take a few months to complete.

Hostetler, the subcommittee chairman, wasn't receptive to Dow's request for a deadline extension.

Neither was Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif.

"Do we just give up?" Lungren asked.

Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., though, told Rozenzweig that he sees reason for the industry's skepticism about whether the government can create the system in 19 months.

"I would suggest that because it's Washington, we know that it might be a problem," Flake said. "There are some benchmarks that have to be hit as we go along to give us some confidence. Can you give us that confidence by telling what measures are being taken now, specifically? Is there procurement going on right now? Is there testing ... ? Is there a public education and awareness campaign?"

Rosenzweig said a decision on the technology to be used is coming soon.

"I expect that to be made in a matter of weeks," he said. Once that has been decided, procurement can start, he said.

"I believe 18 months will be more than enough time to propagate that technology," he said.

The technology being considered for a card is commonplace, he said. "If you've traveled on Metro (the Washington, D.C., subway), you've used a proximity chip," he said.

Rosenzweig said his predecessor spent considerable time publicizing the coming changes in northern tier states. But a detailed explanation has to wait.

"It makes no sense to tell the public of a coming issue without also telling them of the precise steps they must take," he said.

Other witnesses at the hearing testified about the need for the new system.

"Canada is a recruiting, planning, financing and launch point for

international terrorism," said David Harris, former strategic planning chief for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Harris warned the committee in particular about the problem of "home-grown" terrorism perpetrated by Canadians from rapidly growing legal immigrant communities that don't honor the country's tradition of tolerance for diversity of thought.

Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, though, observed that all the effort to require passports or something equivalent won't stop the home-grown terrorists.

"So intelligence has to be key," she said.

Washington, D.C., reporter Sam Bishop can be reached at (202) 662-8721 or sbishop@newsminer.com .