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Resolution Number 20 passed at the North Dakota Republican State Convention March 28-30, 2008
Resolution Number 20: NO NATIONAL OR REAL ID CARDS
WHEREAS: The House of Representatives has approved an $82 billion military spending bill with an attachment that would mandate electronically readable identity cards for United States Citizens, and President Bush is expected to sign the bill; and
WHEREAS: Starting May 11, 2008, if you live or work in the United States, you will need a federally approved identity 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 re reissued to meet federal standards; and
WHEREAS: The Real ID Act would establish what amounts to a national identity card. State drivers' licenses and other such documents would have to meet federal identity standards established by the Department of Homeland Security; and
WHEREAS: Homeland Security is permitted to add additional requirements - such as a fingerprint or retinal scan - on top of those. We don't know what these additional requirements will be; and
WHEREAS: The REAL ID Act hands the Department of Homeland Security the power to set these standards and determine whether state drivers' licenses and other identity cards pass muster; and
WHEREAS: Only identity cards approved by Homeland Security can be accepted "for any official purpose" by the federal authorities: and
WHEREAS: The state of North Dakota is a sovereign state and that the powers of the federal government and the state government are clearly regulated in the United States Constitution;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the North Dakota Republican Party urges the State of North Dakota and all other states to act quickly in overturning this bill; and to take action to further limit the federal government's right to demand this with an amendment to the North Dakota Constitution.
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Real ID Act a real intrusion on rights, privacy
By BOB BARR | Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 07:30 AM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the announcement last month by Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff of the final implementing regulations for the much-delayed Real ID Act, the debate over this thinly veiled national identification card project moved into high gear.
The federal government for several years now has been fighting a guerrilla action with citizen groups and a number of state legislatures over imposing on the states and the citizenry this privacy-intrusive and costly mandate. With the announcement Jan. 11 of the final regulations, the debate is fully joined and pits those who support the principle of states’ rights against the legions of Big Government advocates.
Big Government advocates are personified by the current Bush administration, favoring central control of virtually every facet of activity in our society, from education to transportation and from the plumbing in our bathrooms to the bulbs in our lamps. While the Real ID debate shares some elements with its sister debate concerning voter ID, mixing the two as if two sides of the same coin dilutes the host of fundamental constitutional concerns and responsibilities affected by the Real ID Act program now being forced down the throats of the states.
Let’s leave aside for the moment the underlying federalism question — where does the federal government get the power to dictate to the states who can get a driver’s license? — to focus on civil liberties that would be undercut by the Real ID Act.
If, as proposed in the law, a person must have a Real ID Act-compliant card in order to access a federal building, access any regulated or interstate mode of transportation, or obtain any federal benefit, then we have surrendered to the federal government (that is, federal bureaucrats) the power to deny citizens all manner of activities guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Consider:
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A person not possessing a Real ID Act-compliant identification card could not enter any federal building, or an office of his or her congressman or senator or the U.S. Capitol. This effectively denies that person their fundamental rights to assembly and to petition the government as guaranteed in the First Amendment.
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A person seeking to exercise their right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment could henceforth be denied that ability if they do not possess a precious Real ID card, because the federal bureaucracy known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives probably will decree that such a form of identification is necessary to meet federal requirements for purchasing a firearm.
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Very possibly the Real ID card will be required in order to vote in any election for federal office.
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A veteran may be denied access to a VA hospital because he or she lacks the requisite Real ID card, perhaps because they did not have the money required to purchase it or because they could not locate the background forms the Department of Homeland Security required to obtain one.
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A business traveler, unable to afford to travel by private jet, is denied the ability to make a living because their job requires air travel and they do not have a Real ID card — even though they demonstrably pose no danger whatsoever to their fellow travelers.
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Even though individual states, such as Georgia, may provide greater legal protection for private information of its residents than other states or the federal government, this will mean nothing in the Real ID Act world, because all the data under that law will be subject to the lower federal standards, thereby subjecting residents to a higher likelihood of identity theft than they would risk under the laws of their state.
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And, they would have no recourse to correct erroneous data, or prevent identity theft pursuant to the Real ID regulations.
On the other side of the ledger, arguing in favor of this intrusive and expensive federal mandate, are hollow promises of “security” — not freedom or liberty — but “safety,” the promise of which trumps all else in this post-9/11 world, at least for this Congress and this administration. I, for one, commend the state of Georgia and those other states that are standing against this assault on states’ rights and the Bill of Rights.
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Montana Governor Foments Real ID Rebellion
By Ryan Singel January 18, 2008
Montana governor Brian Schweitzer (D) declared independence Friday from federal identification rules and called on governors of 17 other states to join him in forcing a showdown with the federal government which says it will not accept the driver's licenses of rebel states' citizens starting May 11.
If that showdown comes to pass, a resident of a non-complying state could not use a driver's license to enter a federal courthouse or a Social Security Administration building nor could he board a plane without undergoing a pat-down search, possibly creating massive backlogs at the nation's airports and almost certainly leading to a flurry of federal lawsuits.
States have until May 11 to request extensions to the Real ID rules that were released last Friday. They requires states to make all current identification holders under the age of 50 to apply again with certified birth and marriage certificates. The rules also standardize license formats, require states to interlink their DMV databases and require DMV employee to undergo background checks.
Extensions push back the 2008 deadline for compliance as far as out 2014 if states apply and promise to start work on making the necessary changes, which will cost cash-strapped states billions with only a pittance in federal funding to offset the costs.
Last year Montana passed a law saying it would not comply, citing privacy, states' rights and fiscal issues.
In his letter (.pdf) to other governors, Schweitzer makes clear he's not going to ask for an extension.
"Today, I am asking you to join with me in resisting the DHS coercion to comply with the provisions of REAL ID, " Schweitzer wrote. "If we stand together either DHS will blink or Congress will have to act to avoid havoc at our nation's airports and federal courthouses."
But Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner says DHS has no intention of blinking.
"That will mean real consequences for their citizens starting in may if their leadership chooses not to comply," Keehner said. "That includes getting on an airplane or entering a federal building, so they will need to get passports."
Keehner says DHS's policy won't change even if Georgia -- one of the 17 states that has signaled strong opposition to the rules -- declines to apply for an extension.
If that scenario came to pass, every Georgian who flies out through the nation's busiest airport -- Atlanta-Hartsfield International -- would have to be patted down by Homeland Security agents and have his carry-on bag hand-screened, likely resulting in massive delays.
Keehner also suggests that patted-down citizens will turn their wrath not on the feds but on their state government.
For his part, Schweitzer wants Congress to step up and pass alternative legislation that would stop Real ID and re-instate a commission that was working on driver's license rules before the REAL ID Act was slipped into must-pass defense legislation in 2005. That legislation assigned DHS the task of setting the rules single-handedly.
Keehner is adamant that the rules will make the country safer and that the price tag is not too high.
"The ability to get false identification must end, and Real ID is that step," Keehner said.
Privacy groups counter that the rules create a de-facto national identification card and won't stop terrorism or identity theft.
For his part, Schweitzer struck back at DHS statements he obviously considers arrogant.
"I take great offense at this notion we should all simply 'grow up'," Schweitzer wrote, referring to Thursday remarks from DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff about border rules regarding Canada. Schweitzer says those remarks "reflect DHS (sic) continued disrespect for the serious and legitimate concerns of our citizens."
A DHS policy maker suggested earlier this week that Real IDs could also be required to buy cold medicine and to prove employment eligibility.
Schweitzer's letter went out to the governors of Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington.
See Also:
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Why states are resisting U.S. on plan for REAL I.D.
Concerns among critics of the identification plan include its hefty price tag and privacy issues.
By Alexandra Marks | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the November 5, 2007 edition
New York - The federal government's efforts to create a standardized, secure driver's license that would also serve as a national ID card have hit some significant stumbling blocks.
Chief among them: Eight states have voted in the past year not to participate in the program. Nine others are on the record opposing the proposal. In total, legislation opposing the plan has been introduced in 38 states.
Behind much of the state legislative opposition to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plan is Missouri state Rep. Jim Guest, a conservative Republican. His primary concern: REAL ID, as DHS has dubbed the initiative, would not deter terrorists. Instead, he believes, it would be an unprecedented invasion of individual privacy, creating a databank of personal information to which officials on the local, state, and federal levels would have access.
"I love my freedom, I love my country, and we're heading down a road here that would take away many of the things we take for granted," says Representative Guest. "If we had to start carrying a card around – if we lost our freedom not to – I don't think we could ever get that back." rest of story click here
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Status of Anti-Real ID Legislation in the States
Following is a list of states where legislation against Real ID is currently active, with links to the relevant legislation and, where available, its status. More information about Real ID in each state is available by clicking on the state name. This list will be constantly changing as more states act, and it will be updated as quickly as possible. View the video short, "Real ID: A Real Nightmare," here.
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Real ID Funding Amendment Killed in Senate!The Senate voted 48-46 to kill a proposal to fund the Real ID Act. This means no money will be provided by the Senate to pay for Real ID, and the program is likely to face even stronger opposition from the states.
Read ACLU press release here.
"Senate Rejects Extra $300 million for Real ID," CNET, July 27, 2007.
U.S. Senate Takes Stance Against Real IDIn a surprising rebuke to Real ID supporters, the Senate voted 52-45 against killing an amendment to the Immigration Reform Bill, that would have removed Real ID from the bill. A motion to end debate on the bill was also defeated, prompting Majority Leader Harry Reid to pull the bill from the floor.
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By NORMA LOVE
The Associated Press June 28, 2007
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New Hampshire joined five other states yesterday in rejecting the federal Real ID Act as tantamount to requiring a national ID card.
"Here in New Hampshire, we pride ourselves on being frugal, and here in New Hampshire, we pride ourselves on respecting the privacy of our neighbors," Gov. John Lynch said at a bill signing.
South Carolina, Montana, Washington, Oklahoma and Maine also have rejected the federal act.
New Hampshire's law calls the act "repugnant" to the state and federal constitutions.
The law prohibits the state from complying with the act, which sets standards for state-issued driver's licenses.
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Ron Paul Attacks Giuliani's Support Of National ID Card
Texas Congressman spotlights true agenda to make every American carry their papers, not just immigrants
Prison Planet | June 7, 2007 Paul Joseph Watson
During an appearance on MSNBC last night, presidential candidate Ron Paul attacked Rudy Giuliani's support of a national ID card, pointing out that its true agenda was not to keep track of illegal aliens, but to force American citizens to carry their papers and have their privacy invaded by the government.
The Texas Congressman joined Tucker Carlson for an eight minute interview. Watch the video. "They should have a tamper-proof I.D. card. It should be in a database that allows you to figure out who they are, why they're here, make sure they're not illegal immigrants coming here for a bad purpose, and then to be able to throw out the ones who are not in that database," Giuliani stated during the debate on Tuesday night.
Mitt Romney also parroted Giuliani's call for a national ID card, before Giuliani backpedaled and claimed he only supported a national ID card for immigrants and not all American citizens. But since illegal immigrants by their very nature are elusive to track such a distinction is impossible to make without forcing everyone living in the United States to accept an ID card and metering out punishments for those who refuse. If an ID card is introduced, it will be forced upon American citizens as well as immigrants.
Asked if he echoed Giuliani's support of a national ID card and a database, the Texas Congressman responded, "Absolutely not - I voted against the Real ID, I think the Real ID is the national ID card, it's introducing the notion that we will be carrying our papers.".
Paul added that it was impossible to restrict a national ID card solely to illegal aliens or hispanics and that the idea made no sense.
"The (dangers) should never be bad enough to sacrifice liberty and there's no reason to sacrifice liberty in thinking that you're going to be safer," said Paul.
Giuliani cited credit card companies as an example of how large amounts of information can be stored safely without a violation of privacy.
In the Carlson interview, Ron Paul outlines the clear difference between the private and government sector holding information on an individual. If the private sector invades an individual's privacy, they can turn to the government to enforce the rule of law for a redress but no such opportunity exists if the government invades privacy, such as in the case of the warrantless wiretapping scandal, where the only recourse is to cite the Constitution.
In addition, there have been numerous cases where the databases of credit card companies have been hacked and the information of millions of consumers has been exposed to criminals, so how can we expect the government to safeguard our information to any greater degree, especially in light of the fact that many ID schemes across the world are financed by means of the government selling our information to all manner of corporations and private business interests in the first place?
Ron Paul's opposition to the introduction of a national ID, like every other issue he stands for, has remained steadfast and unwavering.
Shortly after the introduction of the Real ID legislation in January 2005, Dr. Paul denounced the national ID as "Not proper in a free society," adding, "This is America, not Soviet Russia. The federal government should never be allowed to demand papers from American citizens, and it certainly has no constitutional authority to do so."
“History shows that governments inevitably use such power in harmful ways. The 9-11 commission, whose recommendations underlie this bill, has called for internal screening points where identification will be demanded. Domestic travel restrictions are the hallmark of authoritarian states, not free nations. It is just a matter of time until those who refuse to carry the new licenses will be denied the ability to drive or board an airplane," Paul concluded.
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North Dakota urges the Congress of the United States to repeal the REAL ID Act of 2005
Sixtieth Legislative Assembly of North Dakota
Adopted 4/20/07
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4040
(Senators Stenehjem, O'Connell)
(Representatives Berg, Boucher)
(Approved by the Delayed Bills Committee)
A concurrent resolution urging Congress to repeal the REAL ID Act of 2005.
WHEREAS , the federal REAL ID Act of 2005 mandates an unfunded national driver's license in
the state of North Dakota; and
WHEREAS , implementation of the REAL ID Act may cost this state an estimated $14,000,000;
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WHEREAS , the REAL ID national data base will invite identity theft and invasion of privacy; and
WHEREAS , the REAL ID Act will cost and inconvenience the people of North Dakota without
the proffered attendant benefit of protection from terrorism;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF NORTH DAKOTA, THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN:
That the Sixtieth Legislative Assembly urges the Congress of the United States to repeal the
REAL ID Act of 2005; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , that the Secretary of State forward copies of this resolution to
the President of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of the
Department of Transportation, and to each member of the North Dakota Congressional Delegation.
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Washington Legislature Votes to Oppose Real ID ImplementationThe Washington House voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill to block state implementation of the Real ID Act unless the federal government offers full funding and privacy protections for Washington residents. The bill was sent to the Governor's desk, who has said she will sign it. This action makes Washington the fourth state, following Maine, Idaho and Arkansas, to reject Real ID.
Bill information is available here.
Jennifer Byrd, "Legislators Challenge Bush on Driver's Licenses," Associated Press, April 6, 2007.
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Subject: Ethnic IDNo one intended it to happen. It was a small thing -- just a few letters printed on identity cards. Certainly no one in the Belgian colonial government of Rwanda had any idea that the words "Hutu" and "Tutsi," printed on pieces of paper, would later enable the murder of between half a million and a million people.
Click here for story
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Arkansas Becomes Third State to Reject Real IDThe state of Arkansas became the third state today to pass anti-Real ID legislation out of both chambers, with the House giving approval to two Senate resolutions, one calling on Congress to repeal the Real ID Act, and another "urging Congress to add critical privacy and civil liberty safeguards to the Real ID Act of 2005 and to fully fund or suspend implementation of the Real ID Act."
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'Real ID' threatens everyone's privacy
"We are, after all, for the first time in the history of a
liberty-loving nation, creating a national identification card with
all the ramifications of that. Real ID was stuffed into the
supplemental appropriations bill for Hurricane Katrina and the
troops in Iraq, so of course, we had to vote for the bill, but we
had no chance to amend it " no debate, no hearing, and no
consideration of other alternatives, And now we impose on the states
an $11 billion unfunded mandate. I would say we wouldn't be doing
our job if we didn't stop and think about what we've done."
Sen. Lamar Alexander's recent comments about the Real ID Act echo
the widespread bipartisan resistance to this new law.
In 2005, Congress passed the Real ID Act, a law that proposed a sea
change in how states issue driver's licenses. In essence, the law
would federalize all state departments of motor vehicles and turn
our driver's licenses into national identity cards. The burdens of
compliance are onerous and guarantee longer lines, higher fees and
huge bureaucratic and financial nightmares for state government.
However, the real nightmare of Real ID is the law's assault on our
privacy rights. The law mandates a central, interlinked database
containing a wealth of personal information, including name,
address, date of birth, biometric information and an assigned
identification number. Over time, the database will inevitably
become the repository for more and more of citizens' personal data
and will be used for an ever-wider set of purposes, moving us closer
to a surveillance society.
Vulnerable to thieves
Linking the Real ID information to a central database makes our
private information vulnerable to identity thieves. Real ID
requires the DMV to store scanned copies of all documents presented
as part of the application process. A single break in the security
of this system at any of the thousands of DMV offices across the
country could potentially compromise the personal information and
documents of millions of Americans.
It's not often that the ACLU agrees with Sen. Alexander, but he got
it right when he said that the two-year delay could be used to
re-examine Real ID, explaining "It's not insignificant that there
are privacy concerns. Big Brother government is a big problem."
In addition, Real ID remains an unfunded federal mandate. The
federal government estimates the cost of implementing Real ID at
over $11 billion. Yet the government has pledged only $130 million
toward the states to comply with that effort.
Concerns about privacy, security, cost and implementation are
fueling a growing national revolt against Real ID. In January,
Maine became the first state to pass a resolution rejecting
participation in the Real ID scheme. Idaho passed a
resolution to opt out of Real ID.
Real ID is built on the false premise that this attack on privacy
and security will make our nation more secure. But the truth is
that Real ID does little to make us safer. North Dakotans must join
the rebellion now and call on their elected officials to end the
real nightmare that is Real ID.
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Legislative Chambers in 8 States Vote to Reject Real ID
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The Real ID Act of 2005 would turn our state driver’s licenses into a genuine national identity card and impose numerous new burdens on taxpayers, citizens, immigrants, and state governments – while doing nothing to protect against terrorism. As a result, it is stirring intense opposition from many groups across the political spectrum.
From Georgia to Wyoming, Utah to Vermont, states are following Maine's lead and demanding Congress to repeal Real ID.In Feb 06 and Apr 06 City Watch newsletters we addressed this topic.Click here for more information on why you should be concerned about this.
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Idaho Becomes Second State to Reject Real ID
The Idaho state Senate approved a memorial (resolution) rejecting Real ID by a vote of 19-14. The Idaho House had previously passed it unanimously. Maine opted out in January, and numerous other states are moving in the same direction.
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