WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2007

Feds Try To Tighten Driver's License Rules

Post-9/11 Security Regulations Meant To Deter Terrorists, Illegal Immigrants Face Opposition

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(AP)  Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years under ambitious post-9/11 security rules to be unveiled Friday by federal officials.

The Homeland Security Department has spent years crafting the final regulations for the REAL ID Act, a law designed to make it harder for terrorists, illegal immigrants and con artists to get government-issued identification. The effort once envisioned to take effect in 2008 has been pushed back in the hopes of winning over skeptical state officials.

Even with more time, more federal help, and technical advances, REAL ID still faces stiff opposition from civil liberties groups.

To address some of those concerns, the government now plans to phase in a secure ID initiative that Congress passed into law in 2005. Now, DHS plans a key deadline in 2011, and then further measures to be enacted three years later, according to congressional staffers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not yet been made. DHS officials briefed legislative aides on the details late Thursday.

The Sept. 11 attacks were the main motivation for the changes.

The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had a total of four driver's licenses and ID cards from three states. The DHS, which was created in response to the attacks, has created a slogan for REAL ID: "One driver, one license."

By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, with the notable exception of those more than 50 years old, Homeland Security officials said.

The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less.



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Add a Comment See all 57 Comments
by silentmale January 10, 2008 7:47 PM PST
All politics aside, how exactly is having a driver''s license a civil right? Last I heard, there was not a single person (citizen or not) living in the United States who has the "right" to a driver''s license. I think having a license is a privilege and the federal government and states regulate that privilege in the interest of safety for all citizens.
Makes me wish they would adopt a lot stronger standards so that a lot of people''s lives and health could be spared from drivers who should have never had a driver''s license in the first place.
For now I can handle toughening up the standards for this privilege in order to stop people from getting licenses illegally and getting multiple licenses.
Reply to this comment
by keithle1 January 10, 2008 8:01 PM PST
"One driver, one license." Makes sense.
Reply to this comment
by keithle1 January 10, 2008 8:05 PM PST
Maybe they could come up with a national ID card for people to use as a photo ID who don''t have a driver''s licence or who don''t drive period. Probably be too huge an undertaking to be practical. I think Panama has a national ID card.
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 January 10, 2008 8:29 PM PST
Welcome to the fascist police state of the evangelical christian conservative-

The evangelical war against humanity has only now begun, defend yourselves while you have time
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 January 10, 2008 8:31 PM PST
tuckererndfw

what a lie, what planet are you from?, un-american holes like you are whats wrong with our country,

fascist pigs
Reply to this comment
by finewoven January 10, 2008 8:42 PM PST
"The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less."

I thought 50 was the new 30. Given that the program is ten years after 9/11, you''d think that other measures taken to prevent terrorism that were substantially more successful. Who knows, maybe after December 2012 we''ll have world peace.
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 January 10, 2008 8:46 PM PST
you are a liar, if the dems controlled congress we would not be in Iraq, and we would have health care like the rest of the world and just like congress,

my point is quite exact, conservatives like you lie, cheat and steal their way to a platform,
saying that the dems control anything when they don''t have the votes is lying, do you get it now?

PS: After the next election you can sing your little song it will be true then
Reply to this comment
by nativewoman January 10, 2008 8:54 PM PST
If this wasn''t so sad it would be laughable.

The DHS, which was created in response to the attacks, has created a slogan for REAL ID: "One driver, one license."

I wonder how long it took the DHS brain trust to come up with that slogan!

And the exemption for those 50 years of age and up! Because nobody 50 years and above would be of a terrorist bent now would they?

And still very few of the containers entering our ports are inspected.

Phone companies cut the FBI wiretaps due to unpaid bills.

Six years and gazillions of tax dollars later, airport security routinely fails to find bomb components during testing of check-in procedures.

REAL ID is just another way to throw away our tax dollars while pretending to do something regarding our security.

All this does is make life harder for the regular every day citizen while doing nothing to make us safer.

As always, the criminals will find a way to get around this be it falsified documents to get the REAL ID or some way to counterfeit the REAL ID itself.
Reply to this comment
by kaelinda January 10, 2008 9:02 PM PST
What''s wrong with "one driver, one license?" I have always assumed that, since in most states you have to turn in your previous license in order to get a new one - or take the driver''s test for the new state. I have always thought that "one driver, one license" was the law, therefore I don''t feel any distress over the new law. What I *would* like to see, though, are all the earmarks added as amendments to the bill before it passes.
Reply to this comment
by michellem99-2009 January 10, 2008 9:15 PM PST
Each state should there OWN ID/Driver''s license. It is Bush who what all this cr@p.
Reply to this comment
by lemonskink January 10, 2008 9:18 PM PST
Citizen! Show your papers.


ronnierayjenkins.com

Where Freedom is still free.+
Reply to this comment
by rowdytexan2 January 10, 2008 9:29 PM PST
Nawww, Tucker...it''s republicans and the Patriot Act ***...remember what Perry did? When Texans voted against having a chip in their car tags? Perry had them put in a bunch of ''em anyway.
Reply to this comment
by tburzio January 10, 2008 9:34 PM PST
"The evangelical war against humanity has only now begun"

Huh? Wrong religion. You meant "Islam" which means "submission", and Jihad is "combat in the way of God". Christians tell you you are wrong and ask you to repent. Muslims cut your hands off (Iran 2007).

Reply to this comment
by feelfree1 January 10, 2008 9:49 PM PST

Re: "The Homeland Security Department has spent years crafting the final regulations for the REAL ID Act..."

When they finally slap a microchip in your skull, this process will be a breeze.
Reply to this comment
by scully152 January 10, 2008 9:52 PM PST
I have my State issued drivers license. I had a passport which I have to get renewed since I only used it once over 10 years ago in high school. I also have my State Issued LTC. WHEN they pass this REAL ID act what will happen? Will I have to get a Federal Drivers license? Will the state issued drivers license be extinct? What does this all mean?
Reply to this comment
by rowdytexan2 January 10, 2008 9:59 PM PST
Oh shoot...we get that employee list from the Texas AG all the time. I just file it. It''s none of their business. If they want to find someone they can go to TWC and look it up on the payroll tax roster...that''s a bunch of krap.
Reply to this comment
by excoachken January 10, 2008 10:01 PM PST
This is what Elliot Spitzer took so much heat for, and now it is supposed to be a good idea!
Reply to this comment
by joesrc1 January 10, 2008 10:49 PM PST
BY NOW ALL INFORMATION INCLUDING BIO-INFO SHOULD BE UNIFORM THROUGHOUT THIS COUNTRY ON ALL FIFTY STATES DATABASES.WE HAD THIS TECH TWENTY YEARS AGO.NO EXECUSES JUST POLITICAL ONES.
Reply to this comment
by ucallitme January 10, 2008 10:56 PM PST
The Real Id Act is only one; of many freedoms the feds/our government plan to take from us, with or without our permission. Do you know what the North American Union, Amero, RFID chip, etc are? Do a Google search for zeitgeistmovie and you will learn just how much, you don''t know.
Reply to this comment
by ucallitme January 10, 2008 10:58 PM PST
The Real Id Act is only one; of many freedoms the feds/our government plan to take from us, with or without our permission. Do you know what the North American Union, Amero, RFID chip, etc are? Do a Google search for zeitgeistmovie and you will learn just how much, you don''t know.
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan January 10, 2008 10:58 PM PST
"Today we need a nation of minute men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.
The cause of liberty, the cause of American, cannot succeed with any lesser effort."
- President John F. Kennedy, January 29, 1961
www.a-human-right.com
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan January 10, 2008 11:04 PM PST
If we are forced to get a national ID card, there will be police checkpoints all over America to check for your "papers" - just like in Nazi Germany.
This is not a joke.
Reply to this comment
by richnj1 January 10, 2008 11:21 PM PST
"The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less."

Osama Bin Laden is just over 50. I guess he isn''t a terrorist.
Reply to this comment
by libsluvsuvs January 11, 2008 12:09 AM PST
this is the bitter side effect of political correctness..


JUST DEPORT THESE ILLEGALS..INSTEAD OF TRYING TO ACCOMMODATE THEM..
Reply to this comment
by drivelphobe January 11, 2008 12:26 AM PST
If it''s okay to check everyone out at the airport, what''s wrong with having to prove one''s legal status and identity whenever asked? Only the guilty would object to this.

Everyone should have to have and carry, proof of identity, citizenship, and health status, presentable upon demand to authorities.

I don''t care how many times I get asked if it stops one more illegal in his tracks. I''m all for Real ID.
Reply to this comment
by ucallitme January 11, 2008 12:49 AM PST
The Real Id Act is only one; of many freedoms the feds/our government plan to take from us, with or without our permission. Do you know what the North American Union, Amero, RFID chip, etc are? Do a Google search for zeitgeistmovie and you will learn just how much, you don''t know.
Reply to this comment
by incog-nito January 11, 2008 12:55 AM PST
So much for states'' rights.
Reply to this comment
by michellem99-2009 January 11, 2008 1:48 AM PST
Yer a bloody fool . THE REAL ID..IT IS WRONG..
Reply to this comment
by michellem99-2009 January 11, 2008 1:54 AM PST
tucker yer got yer head in that cop stuff can''t ye retire..It sounds like yer want a police state I don''t.I WANT THE OLD AMERICA..
Reply to this comment
by searingtruth January 11, 2008 3:12 AM PST
One more step to solidify tyranny.
ST


"The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live - did live, from habit that became instinct - in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and except in darkness, every movement scrutinised."
George Orwell, 1984


"The Republican and Democratic parties have delivered us into the hands of darkness."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
Reply to this comment
by rudy654-2009 January 11, 2008 3:34 AM PST
Oh, the Nazis had something like that. It was perfect for spotting those evil Jews. They put on their new identity cards an "I" initial for men (Israel) and an "S" initial for women (Sarah). That way no Jew could escape the massacre. I''m sure the evangelicals will be worried about this card and the numbers 666.
Reply to this comment
by smirk5 January 11, 2008 4:42 AM PST
Most Cons are for this now. But, if the same thing were being implemented under Hillary, they''d be pooping themselves right now.
Reply to this comment
by searingtruth January 11, 2008 5:10 AM PST
"But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. %u2026 voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, the Nuremberg Diary

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
Reply to this comment
by sassy7nla January 11, 2008 5:16 AM PST
MY son died feb.2 ,2007 in a suv rollover accident.he was heading eastbound on interstate 20
when he rearended a vehicle ,even tho he tried to avoid the IMPACT . his right front hit the left rear of the other
driver his jeep cherokee rolled 5 to 6 times across the median and then he was ejected on the north shoulder of the
west bound lane Timothy was dead at the scene WAS ALSO TOLD BY 2 OFFICERS THAT IN ALL THE YEARS THEY HAD BEEN ON THE FORCE THEY HAD NEVER SEEN AN ACCIDENT LIKE
MY SONS. .. THIS WAS A FATALITY ....
I WAS TOLD THE OTHER DRIVER HAD AN INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS LICENSE, WHEN I ASKED WHAT THAT MEANT.THE ANSWER WAS THAT THE
STATE POLICE COMPUTERS CAN NOT PULL UP INTERNATIONAL.I JUST SPOKE WITH ANOTHER TROOPER SUNDAY JAN.6,2007 HE TOLD ME THEIR
IS NO SUCH THING AS A INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS LICENSE THAT ALL IT IS ,IS A I.D.LEGALLY HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ON THE ROADTHE OTHER DRIVER SHOULD NOT HAVE
B EEN ON LA.HIWAY WITH AN INTERNATIONAL LICENSE .HE IS A RESIDENT in la...HE WORKS in la. IT IS THE LAW TO YOUR CHANGE LICENSE IF YOU LIVE HERE MORE THAN 90 DAYS..
I ALSO SPOKE WITH ANOTHER TROOPER THIS IS THE EMAIL HE SENT TO ME (An international drivers license does not allow a person
to drive in Louisiana.
I EVEN CONTACTED THE DMV THEY ALSO TOLD ME international drivers license does not exist.
AND HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DRIVING IN THE U.S.
MY SON WOULD BE ALIVE TODAY IF THIS SO CALLED INTERNATIONAL DRIVER HAD NOT BEEN ON THE ROAD
Reply to this comment
by searingtruth January 11, 2008 5:32 AM PST
"MY son died feb.2 ,2007 ..."
sassy7nla


I am so very sorry fellow citizen. I will not use such tragedy for debate, and will simply let your comments stand out of respect for you and your beloved son.
ST


"Children should not know fear, or death, or suffering, for it is not their lot to know. Theirs is a time for joy, and wonder, and a time of great discovery. Let them never despair, or hurt, or want. This should be our highest calling, and our most sincere dedication."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
Reply to this comment
by zootallures2 January 11, 2008 7:50 AM PST
"The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had a total of four driver''s licenses and ID cards from three states."

Amazing what you can get working for the CIA and Mossad.
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan January 11, 2008 7:56 AM PST
"Today we need a nation of minute men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.
The cause of liberty, the cause of American, cannot succeed with any lesser effort."
- President John F. Kennedy, January 29, 1961
Reply to this comment
by liberalme January 11, 2008 9:29 AM PST
If this weren''t so pitiful it would be funny!

After spending all that money--they still won''t know how to keep up with whatever they think it will do.

The FBI has 800,000 names on the terror watch list they don''t know what to do with.

The eavesdropping of Americans by this illustrious government hasn''t paid their "wiretapping" bill.

Ok, just one more thing to drop the ball on!
Reply to this comment
by ioweign January 11, 2008 9:45 AM PST
If this weren''''t so pitiful it would be funny!

After spending all that money--they still won''''t know how to keep up with whatever they think it will do.

The FBI has 800,000 names on the terror watch list they don''''t know what to do with.

The eavesdropping of Americans by this illustrious government hasn''''t paid their "wiretapping" bill.

Ok, just one more thing to drop the ball on!



Posted by liberalme at 09:29 AM : Jan 11, 2008

#######


And you thought Republicans wanted "smaller government" !!


Where is that "gut feeling" procedure that was being advertised ??


Reply to this comment
by hwy71so January 11, 2008 10:56 AM PST
I think its a good idea.

I think its rediculous for the states to have different driving standards, yet we are allowed to drive across statelines. When we violate a state driving regulation, ignorance is NOT an excuse. For a person to travel from California to Georgia look how many states that person would cross. If we had a standardized driving test and identification nationwide, I''d imagine more folks would know to yield to vehicles exiting a freeway and they''d know to merge into traffic entering a freeway rather than cutting people off. People would also know to wear their seat belts so they won''t get ejected in roll overs. I''m sorry for her loss, but when someone rear ends me, I would hardly consider that MY fault.

tucker and rowdy, y''all know that Perry also wants that big division down the middle of the state so Mexicans can better travel to DFW and on to Canada and Canadians can do the same on their way to Mexico, don''t you?

Yep, I''m more Republican than Democrat, but I surely do NOT support Perry on the transpecos corridor.

I will support the national drivers license though. I think its about the best idea the politicians have come up with in several years.
Reply to this comment
by oldpilot954 January 11, 2008 11:19 AM PST
richnj1 -- Bin Laden is over 50 but he has proved repeatedly that he is not going to personally get hurt -- he just wants other younger men and women to blow themselves up in his cause!
I guess I see both sides of the picture on this issue. I do not like the idea of a police state but I already have to show my driver''s license when asked by a cop, to write a check, to get on an airliner, etc. I do not know what is in that law so I don''t know what the states are required to do to comply with it. On the other hand, why do I need driver''s licenses from multiple states if I am an honest citizen? What honest citizen of the United States really needs a false I.D.? I see a potiential for abuse of this system but I also see some positive things about it in denying I.D.s to people who do not deserve them.
Reply to this comment
by hwy71so January 11, 2008 11:32 AM PST
I stand corrected. For once, tucker, I admit you are right where I am mistaken. lol Anyway, look at Texas. I sure have to adjust my driving tactics when I leave and enter Arkansas or Oklahoma.
Reply to this comment
by hwy71so January 11, 2008 11:35 AM PST
I just think that folks knowing it as a national DL, will be less likely to try to get away with bad driving because, "that''s how it is in _____(insert state)_____".
Reply to this comment
by hwy71so January 11, 2008 11:38 AM PST
I also think it would be a good idea to install a chip in a car''s computer that would disable cell phones while the vehicle is in gear. This miniature transmitter could be activated by pressing the "talk" button on the cell phone.
Reply to this comment
by oldpilot954 January 11, 2008 11:38 AM PST
In one sense anyone who travels outside the country already has a national ID -- a passport. My newest one does indeed have a smart chip imbedded in it just like the ones I hear rumored to be in the new Driver''s licenses.
I live in the Lone Star state too and, be it known, that I am against building a super-highway for the drug and people smugglers convenience. I certainly am against allowing them to enter the state before clearing U.S.customs. I have also learned that governors generally don''t give a rip what I want. If Mexican truckers are allowed to drive through they need to speak english (same as airline pilots who fly in) and they need to meet the same driver''s and equipment requirements as the US truckers. If they get caught lacking in any of these, they should be black-listed from crossing the border and their company should be fined about a year''s profit.
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan January 11, 2008 12:06 PM PST
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
-- James Madison

"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."
-- James Madison

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
-- James Madison

"As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air - however slight - lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
-- Justice William O. Douglas

"Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifist for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country."
-- Hermann Goering, Adolf Hitler''s Reich-Marshall
at the Nuremberg Trials after WWII
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan January 11, 2008 12:15 PM PST
With national ID cards will come police checkpoints all across America to check for your "papers".
It''s easy to forget that Adolf Hitler did the same thing in Nazi Germany.
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan January 11, 2008 12:17 PM PST
tuckerndfw,
Get rid of all illegals? That''s impossible and it would require a fascist military police-state.
Calling for the arrest and deportation of all 15 million "illegals" is liek what the Nazis tried to do in Germany but instead of hating "jews" you hate "illegals".
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan January 11, 2008 12:22 PM PST
If you are a white person, why shouldn''t the Native Americans call YOU an "illegal" or even a "terrorist"?
Reply to this comment
by gunownerdan January 11, 2008 12:26 PM PST
If you do not accept your new "RealID" national ID card, will you be thrown into one of the new concentration camps Halliburton built around America?
Who knows.
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