Real ID Act

All but six states have complied with federal requirements to seek an extension of the deadline they face for implementing more secure driver licenses for U.S. citizens or legal residents only under the REAL ID Act.

Who Loves Real ID? AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo Do.: "The federal Real ID Act doesn’t have many friends these days. Eighteen states have passed legislation rejecting the law, Congress has refused to put any money into implementing it, and just this week New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer announced he, not the Feds, would determine New York’s drivers license policy, with officials in his administration indicating the state might opt out of the Real ID program altogether.

The civil war in Iraq has stranded 2 million Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries - and Washington says that up to 7,000 of them may be resettled in the United States this year. But which ones? During a recent trip to the Middle East, I talked with many refugees who seemed to deserve resettlement in the United States, but may never get it. Even though they have been brutalized by the factional fighting in Iraq, the U.S. government might label them "supporters of terrorism."

All this trouble over the need for a passport for Canadians to enter the US. So much inconvenience and of course economic ruin. No need to worry. The government has a great solution to the problem they created. New high-tech drivers licences. Complete with all your personal information and fingerprints and a fancy new proximity RFID chip. Convenient. Exciting! Safe?

Maine overwhelmingly rejected federal requirements for national identification cards on Thursday, marking the first formal state opposition to controversial legislation scheduled to go in effect for Americans next year.

Both chambers of the Maine legislature approved a resolution saying the state flatly "refuses" to force its citizens to use driver's licenses that comply with digital ID standards, which were established under the 2005 Real ID Act. It asks the U.S. Congress to repeal the law.

The vote represents a political setback for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Republicans in Washington, D.C., which have argued that nationalized ID cards for all Americans would help in the fight against terrorists.

The Real ID Act was passed in the House of Representatives on Feb 10, 2005. It will require all citizens to prove their own identity in May of 2008. You must supply your birth certificate, photo id, verified social security number and identification that notes your full home address. It puts the burden on each state for licensing and other requirements, which according to the latest numbers will cost each state at least 11 billion dollars.