||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JONATHAN KAPLAN, PORTLAND PRESS HERALD - Come May 11, Maine residents
might not be able to use their driver's licenses to board an airplane or
enter a federal building unless the state acknowledges federal Homeland
Security rules for standardizing licenses. Maine became the first state
in the nation last year to opt out of the REAL ID law, which requires
states to reissue driver's licenses that meet federal standards.
Sixteen other states, including New Hampshire, have since passed
legislation or resolutions objecting to the law, which is opposed by
civil liberties groups concerned about privacy.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday that if Maine
and the other states want current licenses to remain valid for air
travel after May 11, they must seek a waiver indicating they need more
time to comply with the law. . .
If Maine does not join the program, the state's residents will have to
present a passport or another form of federally issued identification to
board an airplane or enter a federal facility. . .
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story_pf.php?id=161788&ac=PHnws
MONTANA SENATORS MAX BAUCUS AND JON TESTER have reaffirmed their
opposition to the national identification system. The federal Real ID
Act calls for drivers' licenses to be used as a national identification
networking system, requiring extensive private information from all U.S.
citizens. It would also require states to standardize their drivers'
licenses at their own expense.
Baucus and Tester noted that Montana motorists would have their privacy
endangered by having a central database of sensitive, confidential
information that may be stolen by identity thieves. Moreover, the cost
of implementation of the Act - which some estimates have placed as high
as $23 billion - would fall on state and local governments.
Tester, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said Real ID
isn't needed to toughen national security.
"From the start the Real ID Act has been a fancy way of saying 'national
identification cards' and it's a textbook Washington boondoggle," Tester
said. "The people of Montana have spoken. They don't want a Big
Brother program that will infringe on their privacy and they certainly
don't want to foot the bill.”
In April, the Montana legislature passed legislation opting out of the
federal Real ID Act. The bill, which passed the legislature
unanimously, was signed into law by Governor Schweitzer and made Montana
one of 17 states opposing the Act.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JONATHAN KAPLAN, PORTLAND PRESS HERALD - Come May 11, Maine residents
might not be able to use their driver's licenses to board an airplane or
enter a federal building unless the state acknowledges federal Homeland
Security rules for standardizing licenses. Maine became the first state
in the nation last year to opt out of the REAL ID law, which requires
states to reissue driver's licenses that meet federal standards.
Sixteen other states, including New Hampshire, have since passed
legislation or resolutions objecting to the law, which is opposed by
civil liberties groups concerned about privacy.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday that if Maine
and the other states want current licenses to remain valid for air
travel after May 11, they must seek a waiver indicating they need more
time to comply with the law. . .
If Maine does not join the program, the state's residents will have to
present a passport or another form of federally issued identification to
board an airplane or enter a federal facility. . .
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story_pf.php?id=161788&ac=PHnws
MONTANA SENATORS MAX BAUCUS AND JON TESTER have reaffirmed their
opposition to the national identification system. The federal Real ID
Act calls for drivers' licenses to be used as a national identification
networking system, requiring extensive private information from all U.S.
citizens. It would also require states to standardize their drivers'
licenses at their own expense.
Baucus and Tester noted that Montana motorists would have their privacy
endangered by having a central database of sensitive, confidential
information that may be stolen by identity thieves. Moreover, the cost
of implementation of the Act - which some estimates have placed as high
as $23 billion - would fall on state and local governments.
Tester, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said Real ID
isn't needed to toughen national security.
"From the start the Real ID Act has been a fancy way of saying 'national
identification cards' and it's a textbook Washington boondoggle," Tester
said. "The people of Montana have spoken. They don't want a Big
Brother program that will infringe on their privacy and they certainly
don't want to foot the bill.”
In April, the Montana legislature passed legislation opting out of the
federal Real ID Act. The bill, which passed the legislature
unanimously, was signed into law by Governor Schweitzer and made Montana
one of 17 states opposing the Act.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No comments:
Post a Comment