Congress passed the Real ID Act in May 2005 when the Republican leadership slipped the legislation into a “must pass” Iraq War/Tsunami Relief appropriations bill.  Congress did not hold a single hearing on the Act. 

The Real ID Act attempts to federalize state driver’s licenses by imposing a broad array of regulations on how they are issued and verified—turning them into America’s first national identity cards.  New York is not required to implement the Real ID Act—Congress has left it up to each state to decide for itself.  Governor Paterson must reject the Real ID Act.

• The Real ID Act will be a REAL internal passport.  The Real ID Act will violate New Yorkers’ privacy rights as it will create, for the first time in the nation’s history, a national ID card.  National IDs facilitate government tracking of citizens’ movements through a network of identity papers, databases, identity checks, and access points. New Yorkers must reserve the right to come and go when and where they please without the fear that their government is watching over their every move.  A massive web of identity databases and security checkpoints shared between the private and public sectors is a powder keg for abuse.

• A Real ID will become a REAL part of everyday life.  The use of a Real ID license will not be limited to boarding an airplane or entering a federal building.  The Bush Administration has already stated that a Real ID card will become necessary for “everyday transactions,” such as receiving government benefits or when applying for a job, and will become a necessity for Americans.  The private sector will also begin mandating a Real ID card for everyday purposes. Each swipe of the card will leave a digital fingerprint that can be centralized into one national database to track Americans’ activities. Coming from the administration that brought us the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretapping, the possibilities are endless, as is the potential for abuse.

• The Real ID Act is a REAL dream for identity thieves.  The creation of a single interlinked national database as well as the requirement that each DMV store copies of every birth certificate, Social Security card, passport and personal document presented will create a one-stop shop for identity thieves. The risk of identity theft would be higher under the Real ID database scheme because there will be more access points around the country for thieves to exploit. The requirement for all Real IDs to contain machine-readable barcodes will also make it easy for the private sector to snap up the data contained in Real ID. 

• The Real ID Act is a REAL fiscal nightmare.  Paying for the Real ID Act falls squarely on the shoulders of New York State taxpayers.  The federal government has left states with the burden of bearing most of the implementation costs of the Real ID Act, which the Department of Homeland Security estimates will exceed $23 billion.  DHS Secretary Chertoff has stated that the cost of implementing the Real ID Act will be borne by state residents through higher driver's license fees.
  

• The Real ID Act will be a REAL bureaucratic nightmare for citizens.  For everyday New Yorkers, the Real ID Act will mean higher fees, greater inconveniences and logistical nightmares.  All citizens who will want to use a Real ID driver’s license will have to go in person to the DMV to prove his or her identity and citizenship.  Because of the new demands on DMV staff, New Yorkers will confront much slower service, longer lines, vastly increased number of technical glitches, and the likely need for repeat visits to the DMV.  Moreover, thousands of unlucky citizens will undoubtedly find themselves caught in a bureaucratic mess as they may not have the proper documentation needed to obtain a Real ID.

• The nation agrees: the Real ID Act is a REAL nightmare.  The Real ID Act contains so many threats to our privacy, security and pocketbooks, that many states have rejected it.  Seventeen states have already passed legislation critical of the federal law.  Ten of those states—GA, ME, NH, MT, OK, SC, WA, AK, AZ, and ID —have passed binding statutes against implementing the Act. The movement against Real ID Act implementation has been bipartisan, as Republicans from Missouri, Utah and New Hampshire have joined Democrats from Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Mexico in opposing the Act. Organizations opposing implemenation of the Real ID Act range from the American Conservative Union and Gun Owners of America, to t he Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the National Organization for Women.