Driver's license rules tightened for millions
All born after Dec. 1, 1964, are affected. The goal: Foiling terror and crime. But concerns are raised.
WASHINGTON - 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 that federal officials are set to announce today.
The new license stems from the REAL ID Act, a 2005 law designed to make it harder for terrorists, illegal immigrants and con artists to obtain government-issued identification.
The Department of Homeland Security has spent years crafting the final regulations to implement the law, slowed by civil-liberties concerns and opposition from state officials fearful of its cost.
The law was once envisioned to take effect this year. To address the various concerns, the department now is planning to phase in the security measures by 2014, according to congressional staffers who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not been officially announced.
The staffers were briefed yesterday by Homeland Security officials.
Without discussing details, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff promoted the final rules for REAL ID during a meeting with an advisory council.
"We worked very closely with the states in terms of developing a plan that I think will be inexpensive, reasonable to implement, and produce the results," he said.
"This is a win-win," Chertoff added. "As long as people use driver's licenses to identify themselves for whatever reason, there's no reason for those licenses to be easily counterfeited or tampered with."
To make the plan more appealing to cost-conscious states, federal authorities have drastically reduced the expected cost, from $14.6 billion to $3.9 billion, according to Homeland Security officials familiar with the plan.
The American Civil Liberties Union has fiercely objected to the effort, particularly the sharing of personal data among government agencies.
In its written objection to the law, the ACLU says REAL ID amounts to the "first-ever national identity card system," which "would irreparably damage the fabric of American life."
Homeland Security and other officials say the only way to make sure an ID is safe is to check it against secure government data. The ACLU and other critics say this will create a system that is more likely to attract infiltration by wrongdoers intent on pilfering personal data.
The Sept. 11 attacks have been the main motivation for the changes.
The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had four driver's licenses and ID cards from three states. The Department of Homeland Security, which was created in response to the attacks, has created a slogan for REAL ID: "One driver, one license."
Under the plan, by 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building will have to present a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, with the notable exception of those more than 50 years old.
The exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say there is less risk that someone over 50 would be a terrorist.
But by 2017, even those over 50 will be required to have a REAL ID-compliant card to board a plane.
Among other details of the REAL ID plan:
The photograph for the driver's license would be taken at the beginning of the application process instead of at the end, so that, should someone be rejected for failure to prove identity or citizenship status, the applicant's photo could be kept on file to foil future attempts to obtain a license.
The license cards will have three layers of security measures but will not contain microchips as some had expected.
States will be able to choose from a menu of security measures that they can put in their cards.
