Congress Considering Rolling back 9/11 Commission Recommendation
After the tragic events of eight years ago, the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission recommended changes to our nation's faulty immigration system that allowed terrorists to obtain identification and board planes. It was the one recommendation that Congress acted on, passing the REAL ID Act of 2005. But Congress, as recommended by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, is now considering a repeal of REAL ID.
The REAL ID Act established new national standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards, including requirements for identity verification, card security, and data privacy. States are required to verify an applicant's citizenship status before issuing a REAL ID compliant card, which would be required to board a commercial aircraft or to fill out an I-9 at a new job.
States have complained that it's too expensive to become compliant so lawmakers have introduced PASS ID, which would repeal many of the security measures established by REAL ID. The 9/11 Commission recommended the sharing of information between states and a standard ID needed for boarding planes. PASS ID would rollback both of these recommendations and extend the time line for states to become compliant.
Instead of weakening the recommendations, Congress should fully fund REAL ID and assist states in their movement towards the more secure IDs. REAL ID not only increases national security, but also reduces the number of driver's licenses issued to illegal aliens.
Click here to read more about the PASS ID hearings from the summer, click here to read how REAL ID could have prevented the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and click here to read a Heritage Foundation backgrounder on the PASS Act.