In this Emerging Issues Analysis, Janice L. Kephart, former counsel to the 9/11 Commission, discusses proposed amendments to the REAL ID Acts provisions on drivers licenses and other state-issued identification. The proposed Providing Additional Security in States Identification (PASS ID) Act of 2009 was introduced as S. 1261. Sponsors claimed support of the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislators, and privacy and civil-liberties groups.
“The Obama Administration is supporting a handful of members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in their attempt to repeal the driver's-license provisions of the REAL ID Act of 2005,” Janice Kephart writes. “On June 15, 2009, the Providing for Additional Security in States' Identification Act of 2009 was introduced. The bill's provisions repeal the key substantive provisions regarding drivers' licenses aimed at fulfilling 9/11 Commission recommendations that ensure all states meet minimum security standards in issuing drivers' licenses and other identification documents (IDs).”
“REAL ID was enacted in 2005 in direct response to factual findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The Commission found that eighteen of the nineteen hijackers obtained seventeen drivers' licenses and thirteen state IDs, including at least seven obtained by fraud in Virginia. Evidence showed that at least six of these IDs were used to help the hijackers board planes on the morning of 9/11.”
“Of the legally obtained IDs, many were duplicates, with some states issuing the same hijacker multiple licenses over a period of several months. For example, airline ticket personnel recalled that at least four hijackers at Logan International Airport in Boston and two hijackers at Dulles International Airport in Virginia used state-issued drivers' licenses as their ID to board, with at least two of these IDs obtained by fraud. Pentagon pilot Hani Hanjour had four IDs, all from different states, with at least one obtained by fraud. The Pennsylvania pilot, Ziad Jarrah, was likely carrying his two drivers' licenses from Florida and a fraudulently obtained Virginia ID when pulled over for speeding two days prior to 9/11,” Janice Kephart explains.
This Emerging Issues Analysis sets forth the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and the 2004 Security Framework drafted by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The author lists the compliance requirements and benchmarks of the REAL ID Act in 2005. She then explains what the PASS ID law will attempt to do if enacted. Janice Kephart concludes that “PASS ID is not security for the nation or the consumer. It is putting the brakes on in an era when national security, identity theft, and illegal immigration are all high-priority policy issues.”