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Rules Finalized for National ID
The Associated Press
Friday 11 January 2008
The secure driver's licenses would be required
to enter a federal building or board a plane within the next 10 years.
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 to be unveiled today by federal officials.
The Homeland Security Department has spent years crafting 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 hope of winning over skeptical
state officials.
Even with more time 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, Homeland Security plans
a key deadline in 2011, with further measures to be enacted later.
Without discussing details, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff promoted
the final rules for Real ID during a meeting Thursday 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.
In order to make the plan more appealing to states, federal authorities drastically
reduced the expected cost, according to Homeland Security officials.
The American Civil Liberties Union has fiercely objected to the effort, particularly
the sharing of personal data among government agencies.
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 older than 50, Homeland Security officials said.
The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone
new licenses. By 2017, even those older than 50 must have a Real ID-compliant
card to board a plane.
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