Concerns about "Real ID" bill
Chris previously posted here about the "Real ID" bill, sponsored by our own Rep. Sensenbrenner, that recently passed the House and was sent to the Senate for a vote sometime soon.
Chris wondered whether this bill was a good idea or not: were we headed toward a national ID card, with a federal abuse of privacy soon to follow? Or is this truly just a good way to tighten up security for drivers' licenses and disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel around the country, as Sensenbrenner claims?
Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is adamantly opposed, saying that this is a Trojan horse bill that will do nothing to enhance national security, but will only erode personal liberties.
Others, including Rep. Sensenbrenner, believe we must do this at the federal level because some states have very lax drivers' license laws, which the 9/11 terrorists took advantage of. A bill will soon be introduced in the Wisconsin state legislature dealing with this same issue, according to State Rep. Mark Gundrum's office (Wisconsin is one of 10 states that allows illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses).
Like Chris, I also wondered about the wisdom of this bill.
My brother has warned about the dangers of having a national ID card.
At the same time, it seems crazy to allow illegal immigrants to get drivers' licenses.
So, I called Rep. Sensenbrenner's office last week to ask some questions about the bill. Would the database really be shared with Mexico and Canada? Would it potentially contain RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips? What limits would be placed on the date that could go into the data base and be coded on the card?
And here's the thing that's really bothering me right now:
I couldn't get any answers.
The man I spoke with didn't know. He said there wasn't anyone else available in the office who would know, either. Finally, he took my address and said that Rep. Sensenbrenner would write to me, "In about two weeks or so".
I told him that was too long, since I wanted to blog about it before a vote comes up in the Senate. He gave me a couple links to find the bill online, but then suggested I not blog about the issue until I got the letter from Rep. Sensenbrenner. (I guess that's not going to happen.)
So, now I have to ask: if the people working in the governmental office of a bill's sponsor don't know the answers to basic questions about the bill, who does know?
And how is an average citizen supposed to find out?
And until I can do that, I'm opposed to this bill.
UPDATE: Just today, about two weeks after this was posted (better late than never) I discovered a typo in the post. I had said "My brother has been warned about the dangers of a national ID" when I meant, "My brother has warned" He's warned about National IDs based on his experiences in dictator-controlled Paraguay for a couple decades. Anyway, I fixed the post.
Chris wondered whether this bill was a good idea or not: were we headed toward a national ID card, with a federal abuse of privacy soon to follow? Or is this truly just a good way to tighten up security for drivers' licenses and disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel around the country, as Sensenbrenner claims?
Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is adamantly opposed, saying that this is a Trojan horse bill that will do nothing to enhance national security, but will only erode personal liberties.
Others, including Rep. Sensenbrenner, believe we must do this at the federal level because some states have very lax drivers' license laws, which the 9/11 terrorists took advantage of. A bill will soon be introduced in the Wisconsin state legislature dealing with this same issue, according to State Rep. Mark Gundrum's office (Wisconsin is one of 10 states that allows illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses).
Like Chris, I also wondered about the wisdom of this bill.
My brother has warned about the dangers of having a national ID card.
At the same time, it seems crazy to allow illegal immigrants to get drivers' licenses.
So, I called Rep. Sensenbrenner's office last week to ask some questions about the bill. Would the database really be shared with Mexico and Canada? Would it potentially contain RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips? What limits would be placed on the date that could go into the data base and be coded on the card?
And here's the thing that's really bothering me right now:
I couldn't get any answers.
The man I spoke with didn't know. He said there wasn't anyone else available in the office who would know, either. Finally, he took my address and said that Rep. Sensenbrenner would write to me, "In about two weeks or so".
I told him that was too long, since I wanted to blog about it before a vote comes up in the Senate. He gave me a couple links to find the bill online, but then suggested I not blog about the issue until I got the letter from Rep. Sensenbrenner. (I guess that's not going to happen.)
So, now I have to ask: if the people working in the governmental office of a bill's sponsor don't know the answers to basic questions about the bill, who does know?
And how is an average citizen supposed to find out?
And until I can do that, I'm opposed to this bill.
UPDATE: Just today, about two weeks after this was posted (better late than never) I discovered a typo in the post. I had said "My brother has been warned about the dangers of a national ID" when I meant, "My brother has warned" He's warned about National IDs based on his experiences in dictator-controlled Paraguay for a couple decades. Anyway, I fixed the post.
posted by M.E. @ 7:29 PM
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