Davis Statement on Release of Proposed REAL ID Regulations

March 01, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued the following statement today on the Department of Homeland Security's proposed regulations to establish minimum standards for state-issued drivers' licenses and identification cards in compliance with the REAL ID Act of 2005:

"The proposed rules set the technical, physical, and operational standards essential to address gaping vulnerabilities in identity security -- vulnerabilities exploited by the 9/11 terrorists. These regulations would implement basic, common sense principles to establish and protect the integrity of information on drivers' licenses and ID cards. There should be little dispute about the need to meet these essential minimum security standards.

"There is legitimate debate, however, about when, how, and who pays to implement the REAL ID Act. The regulations come almost two years after the law was passed and not much more than one year before the May, 2008 deadline for state-issued document to meet the more stringent standards. Some states will need more time to reconfigure their systems, and many will need help meeting the start-up costs attributable to REAL ID implementation. I've asked Chairman Waxman to convene an Oversight Committee hearing to assess what states have already done to strengthen identity documents, and to discuss how to meet the Act's security mandates in effective but cost-effective ways.

"Given the delay in issuing the regulation, DHS wisely offers states reasonable waivers to delay full implementation. But we shouldn't allow the difficulty of the task to distract us for long from the urgency of the mission. Weaknesses in drivers' licenses are still being exploited every day by illegal immigrants, identity thieves, and terrorists. Perhaps Secretary Chertoff should grant REAL ID Act extensions only until September 11, 2009, to keep our focus on just why strengthened ID standards remain an urgent national security priority."