Post by Israelite Resistance on Aug 30, 2005 23:34:03 GMT -5
2008 Recieve this Mark to buy or sell Test Probably!!!
www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/08/12/ramasastry.ids/
(FindLaw) -- In May 2005, Congress passed the "Real
ID" Act, which requires states - starting in May 2008
-- to issue federally approved driver's licenses or
identification (ID) cards to te who live and work
in the United States.
Unlike the USA Patriot Act and other politically
sensitive pieces of legislation, Real ID has not made
many headlines. Last fall, it was voted down. But then
it was reintroduced, and tacked onto the 2005
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, the
Global War on Terror and Tsunami Relief. (Real ID
hence superseded conflicting portions of the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
2004.)
It would have been a serious political liability for a
congressperson to vote against funding for the war on
terror and tsunami relief. So it is not surprising
that there were no debates, hearings or public
vettings of the act.
Hearings might have revealed that Real ID is going to
create many headaches and nightmares for U.S.
citizens, lawful permanent residents and state
governments, which already labor under an unfunded
mandate.
More than 600 organizations have expressed concern
over the Real ID Act. Organizations such as the
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators,
the American Library Association the Association for
Computing Machinery, the National Council of State
Legislatures, the American Immigration Lawyers
Association and the National Governors Association are
among them.
'Real' requirements
The Real ID Act's identity cards will be required if
one wants to drive, visit a federal government
building, collect Social Security, access a federal
government service or use the services of a private
entity (such as a bank or an airline) that is required
under federal law to verify customer identity.
It will be nearly impossible to live without such an
ID. That creates a huge incentive for citizens and
residents to get IDs and for states to comply with
this unfunded mandate: If they didn't, their citizens
and residents wouldn't be able to get access to any of
the services or benefits listed above. Estimates of
the cost of compliance range from $80 to $100 million
-- and states will have to pay.
To get a new approved license, or conform an old one
to Real ID, people will have to produce several types
of documentation. Te records must prove their name,
date of birth, Social Security number, principal
residence and that they are lawfully in the United
States.
Addresses cannot be P.O. boxes. That will predictably
cause problems for people who may fear for their
personal safety -- including judges, police officers
or domestic violence victims -- or people who may not
have a permanent home, such as the homeless, who may
be urgently in need of Medicare or other benefits.
There needs to be a procedure to ensure these persons'
safety and welfare. The Real ID Act has none.
States will be responsible for verifying these
documents. That means that, when it comes to birth
certificates and other documents, they probably will
have to make numerous, onerous confirming calls to
state and municipal officials or companies to verify
the documents authenticity since it's easy to fake
paperwork. In addition, they will have to cross-check
Social Security numbers, birthdates,and more against
federal databases.
Once created, the IDs must include the information
that appears on state-issued driver's licenses and
non-driver ID cards -- name, sex, addresses and
driver's license or other ID number and a photo.
The act requires photos to be digital so authorities
can include them in the multi-state database, which I
discuss below. But the IDs must also include
additional features that drivers' licenses and
non-driver ID cards do not incorporate.
For instance, the ID must include features designed to
thwart counterfeiting and identity theft.
Unfortunately, while including such features may sound
appealing, on the whole, these IDs may make our
identities less safe.
Once Real ID is in effect, all 50 states' DMVs will
share information in a common database and may also
verify information given to them against various
federal databases. In addition, it's very possible
that such data will be sold to commercial entities:
Some states already allow driver's license data to be
sold to third parties.
Even with current, unlinked databases, thieves
increasingly have turned their attention to DMVs. Once
databases are linked, access to the all-state database
may turn out to be a bonanza for identity thieves.
Finally, the IDs must include a "common
machine-readable technology" that must meet
requirements set out by the Department of Homeland
Security. And, somewhat ominously, Homeland Security
is permitted to add additional requirements -- which
could include "biometric identifiers" such as our
fingerprints or a retinal scan.
Privacy violations risks
It's that "machine-readable technology" requirement,
along with the possibility of Homeland Security
add-ons, that raises the most serious risk that the
Real ID Act will cause privacy violations. (The fact
that the technology must be "common" also raises the
already-high risk of identity theft.)
Many commentators predict that radio frequency
identification (RFID) tags will be placed in our
licenses. (Other alternatives include a magnetic strip
or enhanced bar code). In the past, the Department of
Homeland Security has indicated it likes the concept
of RFID chips.
RFID tags emit radio frequency signals. Significantly,
te signals would allow the government to track the
movement of our cards and us.
Private businesses may be able to use remote scanners
to read RFID tags too, and add to the digital dossiers
they may already be compiling. If different merchants
combine their data -- you can imagine the sorts of
profiles that will develop. And unlike with a grocery
store checkout, we may have no idea the scan is even
occurring; no telltale beep will alert us.
The State Department -- which is going to be use RFID
devices in our passports -- is including some
safeguards, but the Real ID Act requires none. At a
minimum, the Real ID Act ought to be amended to ensure
that -- as will be the case with passports -- national
IDs have covers that will prevent them from being
scanned when closed, and that the data inside will be
encrypted so that it cannot be read until, and unless,
it has been swiped and activated through a reader.
Act amendments
The Real ID Act ought to include the same privacy
measures -- encryption, and some sort of metallic
covers -- that the State Department uses to protect
the privacy of passports.
And the Real ID Act ought to be amended to allow
persons in danger to give only a P.O. box address; to
accommodate the reality that homeless people may have
neither an address nor a P.O. box.
In addition, Congress should appropriate funding to
help the states in what will be a massive compliance
effort -- rather than leaving them with this
expensive, unfunded mandate. Lack of funding will only
encourage the states to cut corners, defeating the
act's purpose.
Finally, states should be able to choose to provide
licenses to undocumented immigrants. Otherwise, such
immigrants may end up driving without licenses or
insurance. If they have accidents, their victims will
have no recourse. And it's likely they will have
accidents -- for there will be no reason for them to
take driving lessons or tests, since a license will be
out of the question.
www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/08/12/ramasastry.ids/
(FindLaw) -- In May 2005, Congress passed the "Real
ID" Act, which requires states - starting in May 2008
-- to issue federally approved driver's licenses or
identification (ID) cards to te who live and work
in the United States.
Unlike the USA Patriot Act and other politically
sensitive pieces of legislation, Real ID has not made
many headlines. Last fall, it was voted down. But then
it was reintroduced, and tacked onto the 2005
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, the
Global War on Terror and Tsunami Relief. (Real ID
hence superseded conflicting portions of the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
2004.)
It would have been a serious political liability for a
congressperson to vote against funding for the war on
terror and tsunami relief. So it is not surprising
that there were no debates, hearings or public
vettings of the act.
Hearings might have revealed that Real ID is going to
create many headaches and nightmares for U.S.
citizens, lawful permanent residents and state
governments, which already labor under an unfunded
mandate.
More than 600 organizations have expressed concern
over the Real ID Act. Organizations such as the
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators,
the American Library Association the Association for
Computing Machinery, the National Council of State
Legislatures, the American Immigration Lawyers
Association and the National Governors Association are
among them.
'Real' requirements
The Real ID Act's identity cards will be required if
one wants to drive, visit a federal government
building, collect Social Security, access a federal
government service or use the services of a private
entity (such as a bank or an airline) that is required
under federal law to verify customer identity.
It will be nearly impossible to live without such an
ID. That creates a huge incentive for citizens and
residents to get IDs and for states to comply with
this unfunded mandate: If they didn't, their citizens
and residents wouldn't be able to get access to any of
the services or benefits listed above. Estimates of
the cost of compliance range from $80 to $100 million
-- and states will have to pay.
To get a new approved license, or conform an old one
to Real ID, people will have to produce several types
of documentation. Te records must prove their name,
date of birth, Social Security number, principal
residence and that they are lawfully in the United
States.
Addresses cannot be P.O. boxes. That will predictably
cause problems for people who may fear for their
personal safety -- including judges, police officers
or domestic violence victims -- or people who may not
have a permanent home, such as the homeless, who may
be urgently in need of Medicare or other benefits.
There needs to be a procedure to ensure these persons'
safety and welfare. The Real ID Act has none.
States will be responsible for verifying these
documents. That means that, when it comes to birth
certificates and other documents, they probably will
have to make numerous, onerous confirming calls to
state and municipal officials or companies to verify
the documents authenticity since it's easy to fake
paperwork. In addition, they will have to cross-check
Social Security numbers, birthdates,and more against
federal databases.
Once created, the IDs must include the information
that appears on state-issued driver's licenses and
non-driver ID cards -- name, sex, addresses and
driver's license or other ID number and a photo.
The act requires photos to be digital so authorities
can include them in the multi-state database, which I
discuss below. But the IDs must also include
additional features that drivers' licenses and
non-driver ID cards do not incorporate.
For instance, the ID must include features designed to
thwart counterfeiting and identity theft.
Unfortunately, while including such features may sound
appealing, on the whole, these IDs may make our
identities less safe.
Once Real ID is in effect, all 50 states' DMVs will
share information in a common database and may also
verify information given to them against various
federal databases. In addition, it's very possible
that such data will be sold to commercial entities:
Some states already allow driver's license data to be
sold to third parties.
Even with current, unlinked databases, thieves
increasingly have turned their attention to DMVs. Once
databases are linked, access to the all-state database
may turn out to be a bonanza for identity thieves.
Finally, the IDs must include a "common
machine-readable technology" that must meet
requirements set out by the Department of Homeland
Security. And, somewhat ominously, Homeland Security
is permitted to add additional requirements -- which
could include "biometric identifiers" such as our
fingerprints or a retinal scan.
Privacy violations risks
It's that "machine-readable technology" requirement,
along with the possibility of Homeland Security
add-ons, that raises the most serious risk that the
Real ID Act will cause privacy violations. (The fact
that the technology must be "common" also raises the
already-high risk of identity theft.)
Many commentators predict that radio frequency
identification (RFID) tags will be placed in our
licenses. (Other alternatives include a magnetic strip
or enhanced bar code). In the past, the Department of
Homeland Security has indicated it likes the concept
of RFID chips.
RFID tags emit radio frequency signals. Significantly,
te signals would allow the government to track the
movement of our cards and us.
Private businesses may be able to use remote scanners
to read RFID tags too, and add to the digital dossiers
they may already be compiling. If different merchants
combine their data -- you can imagine the sorts of
profiles that will develop. And unlike with a grocery
store checkout, we may have no idea the scan is even
occurring; no telltale beep will alert us.
The State Department -- which is going to be use RFID
devices in our passports -- is including some
safeguards, but the Real ID Act requires none. At a
minimum, the Real ID Act ought to be amended to ensure
that -- as will be the case with passports -- national
IDs have covers that will prevent them from being
scanned when closed, and that the data inside will be
encrypted so that it cannot be read until, and unless,
it has been swiped and activated through a reader.
Act amendments
The Real ID Act ought to include the same privacy
measures -- encryption, and some sort of metallic
covers -- that the State Department uses to protect
the privacy of passports.
And the Real ID Act ought to be amended to allow
persons in danger to give only a P.O. box address; to
accommodate the reality that homeless people may have
neither an address nor a P.O. box.
In addition, Congress should appropriate funding to
help the states in what will be a massive compliance
effort -- rather than leaving them with this
expensive, unfunded mandate. Lack of funding will only
encourage the states to cut corners, defeating the
act's purpose.
Finally, states should be able to choose to provide
licenses to undocumented immigrants. Otherwise, such
immigrants may end up driving without licenses or
insurance. If they have accidents, their victims will
have no recourse. And it's likely they will have
accidents -- for there will be no reason for them to
take driving lessons or tests, since a license will be
out of the question.