Achtung! Your papers, please?

Posted: Aug 18, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. --Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called on state lawmakers to embrace new federal driver's license guidelines that he said will enhance the country's security.

In a speech Thursday at the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Chertoff sought to allay privacy concerns about the federal Real ID Act, saying there are no plans to create a federal database of drivers' personal information.

"We don't want to have that kind of big-brother, federal-government-owns-it approach," he said.

The program envisions state-to-state information sharing capabilities, he said.

The goal of the Real ID Act -- which was motivated by the Sept. 11 terrorists who used legitimate driver's licenses -- is to unify the disparate licensing rules and make it harder to obtain a card fraudulently.

"We've got literally hundreds of kinds of identification that we now allow people to use to cross borders, or get into federal buildings, or get on airplanes," he said.

The new rules are scheduled to go into effect in 2008, but Chertoff did not address one of the biggest concerns raised in state legislatures about the Real ID requirements: the cost.

NCSL members later voted to approve a resolution to demand Congress either find a way to pay for the Real ID Act -- or to repeal it by the end of 2007.

Chertoff said the department will continue to work with the states to help establish better communication capabilities between emergency responders.

"You will all remember the terrible circumstance faced by police and fire fighters who were tackling the challenge of rescuing people in the World Trade Center on 9-11 when they couldn't speak to each other because they had different radio frequencies," he said.

The ability of emergency responders from different units to talk to one another -- known as interoperability -- was a serious problem after Sept. 11 and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Homeland Security has a plan for 75 states and large urban areas to have "clear command-level interoperability" by the end of the year. That will involve significant training among state and local responders, he said.

"If you have the equipment, but the responders don't know how to work it, it's like not having it at all," Chertoff said.

The federal government has spent more than $2 billion on interoperability since Sept. 11, and will continue to funnel money to states and cities working to improve their communications, he said.

Chertoff said the administration is also retooling FEMA to make it more capable of helping states with disaster management.

"But I also want to assure you of one thing: It is not the intention of the federal government to supplant state and local government in managing disasters," Chertoff said to applause from lawmakers.

Chertoff also praised the Transportation Security Administration for quickly setting up tough security measures after British law enforcement broke up a terrorist plot involving as many as 10 trans-Atlantic flights.

"Not knowing until six hours before the takedown that we were going to be called upon to make very serious adjustments to our security posture, these dedicated men and women turned that light on and flipped that switch and got us fully engaged and operational," he said.

Airline passengers can no longer carry most liquids and gels into airline passenger cabins since the plot apparently involved using fluids to make and detonate bombs aboard planes.

"We recognize we've got some special security measures," Chertoff said. "And these will remain in place until we're confident we have reverse-engineered the design of this plot and can make necessary adjustments in our security posture."

Chertoff acknowledged that the increased security can be a hassle for travelers.

"But what would be worse than inconvenience would be successful terrorist attack," he said.