Thread: Support H.R.220 - Common Sense About Identity Theft & RE

Too much information
Mar 22nd 2007 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition

States balk at a new national standard


IN 2005 Congress considered an emergency spending bill that designated $81 billion for military spending and Asian tsunami relief. It passed easily. A politician would have to be mighty confident to vote against humanitarian aid and supporting the troops.

But grumbles have steadily grown about a law that was bundled in with the spending bill. The Real ID Act of 2005 established national standards for driving licences. By 2008, it said, every state would have to make sure its licences included “physical security features” and “a common machine readable technology”. A state would be responsible for verifying that anyone applying for a licence is in America legally. Only licences that met the new standards would be accepted by the federal government. An American who wanted to fly commercially, or do anything else for which he needed to identify himself, would end up in a queue at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The idea was to make life harder for would-be terrorists. But the scheme will certainly make life harder for the states. Issuing new licences to millions of Americans will be a hassle. Compliance will be expensive. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reckons that implementing the changes will cost states up to $14.6 billion, with individuals on the line for an additional $8.5 billion. And the federal government plans to meet only a fraction of the cost.

Critics also argue that the new licences will amount to national identification cards and will contain too much information about the bearer. Immigration advocates say that the Real ID Act unfairly targets illegal immigrants. And from a security standpoint the act raises as many fears as it allays. Licences that meet the revised standards would be rich repositories of sensitive data. They might prove irresistibly tempting to identity thieves and marketing firms.

On January 25th Maine became the first state to revolt. Its legislature passed a resolution refusing to implement the Real ID Act with nearly unanimous support. On March 8th, Idaho approved a similar bill. Two dozen other states have measures pending that question the act or oppose it outright.

On March 1st the DHS issued guidelines for implementing the Real ID Act that manage to ignore most of these objections. The guidelines allow states a bit more time to implement the act. But they give no quarter on the expensive physical security features and suggest that states deal with privacy concerns on their own. And as the National Governors Association promptly noted, they “do nothing” to address the cost to states.

Senators Daniel Akaka of Hawaii and John Sununu of New Hampshire have introduced legislation that would address some of the Real ID Act's shortcomings. Congress has ample reason to pay attention. It takes a special issue to unite Wyoming, Georgia and Vermont against the federal government.

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displ ... id=8894485

Make sure your names match

March 22, 2007 04:16 PM EDT


March 22, 2007

Albany -- Does the name on your drivers license match the name on your Social Security card? If they don't, your licenses could be suspended under a new crack down prompted by the federal government.

One Albany woman found out the hard way when she had her license suspended after a crash because they didn't match and now she's warning others.

In January, Lynn Ranew Mertins' vehicle collided with another along Slappey Boulevard. When police arrived, they informed Lynn she would need to call for a ride, because her license had been suspended.

"It was very disturbing when you're stopped, and they tell you they have to take your license away, that your license is suspended, and I never received anything in the mail," she said.

It's all part of an effort by Homeland Security in preparation for "Real ID" that requires everyone prove who they are with one identity. "They say that all information has to match everything on the drivers license or an identification card has to match and be the exact same as it is with the Social Security Administration," says Department of Driver Services Supervisor Diana Fielding.

For 23 years, Lynn's driver's license read, Lynn R. Mertins, but her Social Security card read Karen Lynn R. Mertins. "I've never gone by Karen, never intend to," she says.

"Everything has to match," says Fielding. "We check the first and last name and date of birth and make sure what we have matches with the Social Security Administration."

The state is two-thirds of the way through their review in Georgia. They're sending out letters informing most if there isn't a match. Mertins never got a letter.

Losing her license as a caterer who relies on her car for business was difficult but now she's sharing her experience with the brides she meets, hoping they won't have to go through the same. "It was just an unnecessary stress that I hope nobody else has to go through, so I encourage everybody to look at their driver's license, look at their Social Security card," Mertins said. And make sure they match.

If you have questions or know there's one name on your social security card and another on your drivers license but haven't been contacted, you can contact the Social Security Administration in Albany or the Department of Driver's Services in Albany to clear up the problem.

Feedback: news@walb.com?subject=MatchingNames/JE

On Eve of Senate REAL ID Hearing, New Online Resource Provides Valuable Identity Document Security Information

By: PR Newswire
Mar. 23, 2007 06:36 PM
Digg This!




WASHINGTON, March 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee prepares to hear testimony on REAL ID issues March 26, former 9/11 Commission counsel Janice Kephart announces the launch of an online Identity Document Security Library, consisting of legal, technical, and policy pieces regarding identity document security. Kephart, a nationally recognized border security expert, created the library to serve as a 'one-stop-shop' information portal for those seeking objective, credible information on the issue of identity document security.

The library is available on the following website: http://www.911securitysolutions.com/.

The library contains federal, state and international legal materials; standards and best practices; federal, state and association activity, reports and letters; state leadership in identity document security; information on identity theft and counterfeiting; news and opinion pieces. Where possible, links to primary sources and websites are provided.

The issue of identity, and information about identity, underlies the 9/11 Commission's border work, whose recommendations included the creation of minimum standards for state-issued driver licenses and IDs. Kephart's recently issued white paper, "Identity and Security: Moving Beyond the 9/11 Staff Report on Identity Document Security" ( http://911securitysolutions.com/docs/RE ... INALv2.pdf ), maintains that securing identities and identity documents is perhaps the single most effective measure the United States can take to lay a foundation for national and economic security and public safety.

However, Kephart said, security cannot be achieved without essential and accurate information available to government leaders, academics, journalists, private sector stakeholders, and citizens making and influencing the policy, technical and legal decisions regarding the future of identity security.

During the research and writing of the white paper, Kephart said, "I noticed a dearth of objective, factual information on the issue of identity document security." As a result, she created the library to better inform the public about this important issue.

"Education is always the key to making the right decisions for the security of our nation," said Kephart. "This library is intended to be a dynamic player in helping keep everyone on the same informational playing field when it comes to identity document security."

About 9/11 Security Solutions

9/11 Security Solutions, LLC, http://www.911securitysolutions.com/ , was built on the premise that public safety and national security policies prove their value when implemented as real solutions that make America more secure. The company provides advisory services to those in the security-oriented private sector and helps define and develop policy, with special expertise in border security. In addition, 9/11 Security Solutions works with the academic community to engage, educate and analyze complex security issues in new ways.

9/11 Security Solutions, LLC
CONTACT: Trish Rimo, +1-202-669-8835, trishrimo@verizon.net, for the
9/11 Security Solutions

Web site: http://www.911securitysolutions.com/

Published Mar. 23, 2007
http://www.sys-con.com/read/353042.htm

Some Mennonites moving south to avoid license law

Alan Scher Zagier
Associated Press


Some Mennonites in Missouri are preparing to head south in objection to a state law requiring photo driver's licenses, but those near Seymour have no plans to leave the state.
Some Mennonites believe in a biblical prohibition against "graven images" that keeps community members from having their pictures taken.



Jonathan Miller, a teacher at the Ozark Mennonite School, which has an enrollment of 37 students in grades 1 through 10, said the law is not an issue in that community.

"It's not one of our beliefs," he said.

Near Huntsville, however, more than a dozen families in a central Missouri enclave are preparing to move to Arkansas, where state law offers a religious exemption to obtain driver's licenses without photos.

Missouri allowed a similar exemption for more than 30 years. That changed in the security crackdown after the 2001 terrorist attacks, as the state sought to prevent identity theft.

"We want to respect our government," said Ervin Kropf, who owns a country market near Huntsville. "We're not trying to fight them. But we still have our beliefs."

Like the old order Amish, many Mennonites adhere strictly to the "graven images" rule. So it's not enough that Missouri's law, which allows the state to keep photos off licenses but requires the images to remain on file with government officials, offers something of a compromise.

The change has drawn criticism from community members who call their Mennonite neighbors peaceful, hardworking taxpayers wrongly ensnared in the government's war on terror.

"This whole business of homeland security is a farce," said Joel Hartman, a University of Missouri-Columbia professor of rural sociology. "These people are no threat whatsoever to the larger society."

Hartman estimated the combined Mennonite and Amish population in the state at 6,000 to 7,000.

Displaced Missourians' stay in Arkansas — at least as licensed drivers — could be short-lived.

A federal law known as the Real ID Act will set a national standard for driver's licenses while linking state motor vehicle offices in a central database.

The proposed law has drawn a firestorm of criticism from privacy advocates and some evangelical Christians who call the standard a precursor to a national ID card.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News-Leader reporter John Taylor contributed to this report.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /703230404

Don't Stand For Fingerprinting
March 23, 2007
ERIC PETERS What if we just said no?

Not to drugs - though that's a good idea, too. But no to being fingerprinted and/or optically scanned for purposes of the soon-to-be-mandatory "National ID" card?


How about it?

We're supposed to be a fiercely independent, freedom-loving bunch - the sort who'd never trot willingly to the glue factory like so many European herd animals. Right?

So what's the deal with this National ID stuff - specifically, to meekly submitting to being fingerprinted and having our irises scanned - the so-called "biometric" tags - like common criminals?

In 2005, the government passed into law the Real ID act, which requires all states to change the way they issue driver's licenses so that they conform to a single federal standard - one that includes a requirement, dazzling in its stridency, that each of us be tagged with those so-called biometric identifiers - digitized fingerprints, retina scans - with the data linked to a single federal database that would be continuously fed information about us and what we do and where we go.

All of it in the name of fighting terrorism; apparently this will be accomplished by setting up one of the building blocks of every modern police state. The National ID card will be required for virtually every transaction of modern life, from boarding an airplane to opening a bank account.

The digitized devices would provide an endless mine of personal data - where you travel, what you buy, etc. - for Beltway bureaucrats to pore over and identity thieves to exploit. Just wait until that $10,000 bill for computer gear you never bought shows up in the mailbox!

Privacy advocates have been up in arms since the idea was first broached after the 9/11 attacks - and rightly observed that homegrown terrorists like Timothy McVeigh had perfectly in-order "papers" - including legitimate driver's licenses.

A National ID would not have stopped the Oklahoma City bombings - or prevented Mohammed Atta from boarding the 767 that flew into the World Trade Center's Tower 1. And anyone who believes it will prevent or even put a dent in the endless truckloads of illegal aliens entering this country from Mexico has been guzzling the Kool-Aid.

Interestingly, several states are showing more guts than most of us - or at least, more self-interest.

Maine, Georgia, Wyoming, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington state have either passed legislation objecting to the federal Real ID Act - or seem poised to do so. It's not that they're looking out for us, though. They're looking out for their bottom lines. Estimates of compliance costs run to $11 billion and more - big money, even at the federal level and huge payouts for states with entire budgets that are smaller than that.

But we - you and me - have a more profound interest at stake.

At a certain point that's hard to define before it confronts us, we must each be ready to take a principled stand and say "no." This is unacceptable. I will not comply. Politely; without violence. But firmly. It is a question of right vs. wrong.

The "law" be damned.

That's a concept that made this country possible in the first place. The American Revolution was set off by obnoxious tax edicts from the English crown and parliament. It's the kind of attitude that helped self-cleanse some egregious historical wrongs - slavery comes to mind; then Jim Crow. A certain amount of scofflawing from time to time has served, for more than 200 years, to keep Washington from over-stepping its bounds.

A people no longer able to get its collective back up, no longer willing to take a stand when something really important is on the line, is a people that is ready for fingerprints and optical scans.

Are we such people?

Eric Peters is an automotive columnist for The Army Times and The Navy Times. This was distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

POST A COMMENT
» Please Review Our Posting Rules

http://link.toolbot.com/courant.com/71266

Senators call for REAL ID overhaul

WASHINGTON Some U-S senators from both parties today criticized an anti-terrorism law forcing states to make drivers licenses more secure.

The law was passed in response to the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The measure requires all states to bring their drivers licenses under a national standard and link their record-keeping systems by May eleventh of 2008.

But cost, technology and privacy issues are being raised over the 2005 REAL I-D Act.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing today was the first congressional hearing on the two-year-old law.

Democratic State Senator Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio is president of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Texan says states will ask that the law be repealed if Congress doesn't provide full funding by the end of the year.

http://www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=6282275&nav=2FH5

Here's Your NAU SPP REAL ID!



http://www.fcw.com/article98065-03-27-07-Web

Washington State to test drive border-friendly driver's license

Published on March 27, 2007

The Homeland Security Department and Washington State have agreed to launch a pilot program, under which upgraded driver’s licenses could potentially serve as valid proof of U.S. citizenship at border crossings.

The agreement brought into relief the technical distinctions between the highly controversial Real ID program for secure driver’s licenses and the passport card program now being developed to assist the rollout of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative’s requirement that returning citizens show passports or other secure biometric credentials at a border.

The agreement could provide a boost to the embattled Real ID program which, like the WHTI’s passport card requirement, is intended to foil travel by terrorists and international criminals.

“We think it is a breakthrough,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Policy Development Richard Barth said today, just before the opening of a Senate subcommittee hearing to examing the Real ID program. “We expect other border states will also [seek comparable hybrid documents].”

That hearing, held before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on the Oversight of Government Management, was scheduled to include witnesses whose prepared testimony strongly criticized the Real ID program. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) issued a prepared statement that also criticized the Real ID program and called for changes.

The Real ID program faces bitter opposition from some state governments, as well as from some vocal privacy advocates and federal lawmakers.

The passport card program, a phase of WHTI that is progressively tightening the documentation requirements for individuals entering the country by land, also has attracted criticism, especially along the northern U.S. border. Border state lawmakers have protested in harmony with their constituents, who historically have re-entered the country either with birth certificates or, in some cases, no credentials at all.

Border state officials have protested the additional bureaucratic hassle their constituents will face when they must start showing secure proof of citizenship, such as the new passport card or a U.S. passport, at land borders as of January 2008. Governments of border state also have protested the expense of obtaining the new credentials and their potential for hampering legitimate travel and trade.

“This pilot project is a way to boost security at our border without hampering trade and tourism,” Washington State Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a prepared statement. “Our effort to keep our border crossing moving is particularly important with the upcoming 2009 World Police and Fire Fighter Games and the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in British Columbia.”

The memorandum of understanding between DHS and Washington calls for the state to develop an enhanced driver’s license, which would be accepted for re-entry at land and sea ports, for residents who voluntarily apply and qualify.

DHS said in a press statement that the combo credential would be “slightly more expensive than a standard Washington state driver’s license, and will require proof of citizenship, identity and residence, as well as contain security features similar to a U.S. passport.”

DHS secretary Michael Chertoff praised the agreement, saying in a statement that “the foundation of terrorist and criminal activity is the ability to move undetected.” He added that security and efficiency at the borders can be harmonized, and thanked the state of Washington for helping to achieve the twin goals.

DHS soon will receive responses to a Real ID Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will address how to technically harmonize the security features of the upgraded driver’s licenses and the passport cards.

Wilson P. Dizard III writes for Government Computer News, an 1105 Government Information Group publication.

Real ID Resolution Approved

The House has approved a non-binding resolution requesting that the state's congressional delegation support repeal of a federal law requiring that driver's licenses be standardized nationally.

By a voice vote yesterday, the House approved the resolution by Senator Ruth Whitaker, a Republican from Cedarville, that would call for the repeal of the Real I-D Act of 2005.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=43574

Posted: Tuesday, March 27th, 2007 5:10 AM HST



Honolulu mayor testifies before Senate panel on federal id plan


By Associated Press



HONOLULU (AP) _ Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann told a U-S Senate panel yesterday his city can't afford to implement a new program that would provide a national driver's license to Hawaii residents.

Known as the Real I-D Act of 2005, the federal law sets a national standard for driver's licenses and requires states to link their record-keeping systems to national databases. The law's supporters say it is needed to prevent terrorists and illegal immigrants from getting fake identification cards.

In Washintgon, Hannemann told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee he agreed that the security standards for identification cards should be tightened. But he says the federal plan would cost Honolulu more than 25 (m) million dollars over five years to implement.

Hannemann asked that those costs be paid by the federal government instead.

http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=11098

Real ID Act hopes to microchip Americans' ID cards, privacy advocates oppose
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 by: Christian Evans

By the year 2013, nearly every American will be outfitted with a new digital ID card, according to a recent Bush administration announcement. Opponents of this legislation have been advising states to publicly oppose a system that is insufficient in protecting privacy and strips people of their identity.

Jump directly to: conventional view | resources | bottom line


What you need to know - Conventional View
• The Real ID Act is controversial legislation intended to deter terrorism by establishing national standards for state-issued identification cards.

• The Bush administration is expected to sign an $82 billion military spending bill that will, in part, create electronically readable, federally approved ID cards for all Americans.

• The U.S. State Department soon will begin issuing passports with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded in them.

• This announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers a five-year extension to the deadline for states to issue these ID cards.

• Homeland Security plans to issue RFID devices to foreign visitors who enter the country through Canada or Mexico.

• Homeland Security is considering standardizing a "unique design or color for Real ID licenses" in order to create a uniform national ID card, according to CNET News.

• A national database of digital ID cards is being proposed to include the details of all 240 million drivers' licenses in the U.S.

• Real IDs will include the driver's home address and other personal information printed on the front, and in a two-dimensional bar code on the back.

• States must submit a plan on how they'll comply with the Real ID Act by October 2007, or their residents will not be able to board planes or enter federal buildings starting in May 2008.
• Some state governments have stated their opposition to the Real ID Act, with at least eight states (including Arizona, Georgia, and Vermont) approving anti-Real ID bills by one or both chambers of the legislature.


Resources you need to know

• The Identity Project: http://papersplease.org/wp/

Bottom line
• New digital ID cards are being opposed for failing to protect personal privacy.
###


http://www.newstarget.com/021744.html