Thread: Oppose Funding for, and Seek Repeal of, the Real ID Act!

Oppose Funding for, and Seek Repeal of, the Real ID Act!
Tom DeWeese

Please immediately ask Congress to oppose any legislation that would provide funding, or in any other way lead to funding, for implementation of the Real ID Act of 2005. Many states are already on record refusing to implement the Act, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to resolve the technological and privacy infirmities within the Act. DHS’ failure to resolve these issues begs the question whether DHS is even fully committed to Real ID.

In fact, DHS seems to be in denial of the States’ revolt against this draconian measure:

* Seven states - George, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington - have enacted binding legislation prohibiting participation in the Real ID program. Yet DHS sent each state a waiver, postponing required state action until the end of 2009, or possibly later.
* Eleven more states have received waivers after informing DHS they were still weighing their options, but could not now commit to implementing Real ID; and
* Legislatures in other states, such as Alaska, Arizona, Idaho and Minnesota, are nearing final passage of legislation to prevent their states from implementing Real ID.

That’s twenty-two states that have outright refused, or have to-date refused, compliance with the Real ID Act.

The result of this unprecedented state rebellion is clear - this failed program does not merit further funding. In 2005, $40 million was appropriated to states for Real ID implementation. To date, of that amount, only $6 million has been provided in grants, and only $3 million was accepted by one state: Kentucky. New Hampshire wisely rejected an offer of federal funding, knowing that the acceptance of those funds would obligate New Hampshire to spend vast additional sums raised solely from new state taxes.

No further money was appropriated by Congress in 2006 or 2007, as cost estimates clearly show a staggering, largely unfunded mandate would be imposed on states if they agreed to implement the program.

A comprehensive analysis in 2006 revealed a cost to states of more than $11 billion over the first five years. A survey conducted by the National Governors Assoc., the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American Assoc. of Motor Vehicle Administrators (http://www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2006 ... REALID.htm ) showed “the cost of the changes to the driver’s licensing process are a one-time calculable expense of nearly $1 billion and ongoing costs of more than $10.1 billion for the first five-year enrollment period.â€

Done, once again.