Chairman Sensenbrenner stated:

"The goal of the Real ID Act is straightforward: It seeks to prevent another 9/11-type attack by disrupting terrorist travel. First, this legislation does not try to set state policy for who may or may not drive a car, but it does address the use of a driver's license as a form of identification to a federal official. American citizens have the right to know who is in their country, that people are who they say they are, and that the name on a driver's license is the holder's real name, not some alias.

"The 9/11 hijackers could have used their passports to board the planes, but only one did. Why? Those murderers chose our driver's licenses and state IDs as their forms of identification because these documents allowed them to blend in and not raise suspicion or concern. Mohamed Atta received a six-month visa to stay in the U.S. yet received a Florida driver's license good for six years!

"The Real ID Act will end this by establishing a uniform rule for all states that temporary driver's licenses for foreign visitors expire when their visa terms expire, and establishing tough rules for confirming identity before temporary driver's licenses are issued.

"The Real ID Act tightens our asylum system that has been abused by terrorists with deadly consequences. It will finish the three-mile hole in the fortified U.S.-Mexico fence near San Diego. And it will protect the American people by ensuring that all terrorism-related grounds for inadmissability are also grounds for deportation.

"I believe these commonsense provisions that enjoy such strong support among House members and the American people will receive similar levels of support from the Senate and White House. Consequently, I have resisted requests to load up the Real ID Act with other provisions so that it will be ready for inclusion in the first must-pass legislation this year and can be enacted in the next few months."

The Real ID Act has 115 co-sponsors, including House Chief Deputy Majority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va.; House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif.; House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.; House International Relations Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill.; House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich.; House Judiciary Immigration, Border Security, and Claims Subcommittee Chairman John Hostettler, R-Ind.; House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Chris Cox, R-Calif.; and House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va.

Highlights of Real ID:

1. Strengthen security standards for the issuance of driver's licenses.

• Proof of lawful presence in the U.S. must be given.

• All states must comply, to eliminate weak links in domestic identity security.

• Tough physical security requirements will reduce counterfeiting.

• Driver's license expires when an alien's visa expires.

2. Tighten the asylum system, which is abused by terrorists.

• Allow immigration judges to determine witness credibility in asylum cases.

3. Close the three-mile hole in the fortified U.S.-Mexico border fence near San Diego.

4. Keep terrorists out of the U.S. by ensuring that all terrorism-related grounds of inadmissability are grounds for deportation.

(U.S. Newswire)

Editor's note: