Real ID Act

The Real National ID Act was voted on in the Senate and passed Tuesday, May 10th, 2005. Without DEBATE, because it was included in the package of $82 billion, for the military spending bill. Starting three years from now, if you live or work in the United States, you'll need a federally approved ID card to travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security payments, or take advantage of nearly any government service. Practically speaking, your driver's license likely will have to be reissued to meet federal standards The problem I see with these cards is that they must be electronically readable which means all the information on them will be easily readable. Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's technology and liberty program, says: "It's going to result in everyone, from the 7-Eleven store to the bank and airlines, demanding to see the ID card. They're going to scan it in. They're going to have all the data on it from the front of the card...It's going to be not just a national ID card but a national database." "We're exploring whether there are any litigation possibilities here," says the ACLU's Steinhardt The reason it was attached to the military spending bill is because it probably would have had trouble passing in the Senate, especially if there was a debate if it was not attach to the military bill which almost everybody wanted passed. The Real ID Act takes effect "three years after the date of the enactment" of the legislation. So if the Bush gives it the thumbs-up this month, its effective date would be sometime in May 2008