His [Congressman Sensenbrenner’s] solution is to force states to issue federally approved drivers licenses with digital photographs and "machine-readable technology." It's not hard to imagine these de facto national ID cards turning into a kind of domestic passport that U.S. citizens would be asked to produce for everyday commercial and financial tasks.

-- Wall Street Journal, “National ID Party,” Feb. 19, 2005

By now, the nation's lawmakers could have had a long and serious discussion about how to create a sensible national ID that would provide identification and security while protecting privacy. This is, after all, a critical issue in terms of both safety and civil liberties.

Too bad. What Congress is doing instead is to ram through a bill that turns state-issued driver's licenses into a kind of phony national identity card through the mislabeled "Real ID" provision. And in order to make absolutely sure there's no genuine debate, the sponsors have tied it to a crucial bill providing funds for American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, argued in The Washington Post that the bill was not only another unfunded mandate, but would also turn "state driver's license examiners into C.I.A. agents."

-- New York Times, “An Unrealistic 'Real ID,'” May 4, 2005

State Sen. Michael Balboni (R-East Williston), who is fighting the [Real ID] act as a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures, makes another point: The issuance of a driver's license is maybe the most basic interaction between a state and its citizens. The feds would rudely intrude on this relationship with a hopelessly complex set of (unfunded) mandates and one-size-fits-all strictures. They could turn a routine process for all Americans into an intractable mess.

-- Newsday, “Wrong way to ID immigrants,” April 28, 2005

It is disturbing that the governor has committed New York to this path so hastily, with so little public input, and in an apparent attempt to extract himself from a political quandary.

-- Syracuse Post-Standard, “Spitzer Drives Deeper into the Morass” Oct. 31, 2007

The new Spitzer licensing proposal also raises another serious concern. The governor could be turning his constituents into the nation’s guinea pigs for the controversial Real ID, a kind of national identification card. Already, a number of states have declared they will not comply with the act — citing expense or privacy concerns. Some have said that a “gold standard” security card would brand those who don’t have it as suspicious. Others question what happens when somebody creates a fraudulent Real ID.

-- New York Times, “Governor Spitzer Retreats,” Oct. 30, 2007

When Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005, no hearings were held to weigh the implications of this measure. That`s why the Act remains a national headache.

There’s also anxiety about the unaddressed vulnerabilities attached to storing personal data, like social security numbers and photos. Privacy advocates maintain that the REAL ID leaves open ground for both identify theft and government misuse.

-- El Diario, “A Real Mess,” March 5, 2007