Janice Kephart Director of National Security

Policy, Center for Immigration Studies

Heritage FoundationJuly 14, 2009

REAL ID Driver License provisions derive from: 9/11 Commission recommendations (2004)

Federal standards to be set for secure driver license and birth record issuance

Travel documents are as important as weapons to a terrorist– essential to assure people are who they say they are

AAMVA Security Framework (2004) To assure people are who they say they are

requires identity verification and document authentication including date of birth, passport info, legal status

REAL ID PASS ID

Identity Verification / Document Authentication.

Verify Identity by requiring States to digitize birth records and provide connectivity so any vital record can be checked by any State

Authenticate information provided to obtain a license, including:

Social Security information Immigration or lawful

presence Passport numbers and

photos Multiple proof of principal

place of residence.

Identity Verification / Document Authentication.

Validate identity by checking paper provided by applicant. Eliminates birth record digitization and connectivity.

Authenticate information provided to obtain a license, including:

Social Security information, but State can resolve mismatches as like

Immigration or lawful presence Eliminates passport numbers

and photos Eliminates mulitple proof of

identity, such as principal place of residence.

REAL ID PASS ID

"Official Purposes" Requirement:

REAL IDs will be required to board a commercial aircraft or enter a federal building and for other uses for "official purposes.”

"Official Purposes" Requirement:

Eliminated.

REAL ID PASS ID

Security Plans.

To ensure states meet security and privacy standards and to hold them accountable, REAL ID requires states to submit detailed security plans.

Security Plans.

Eliminated.

REAL ID PASS ID

One Driver, One License.

REAL ID requires creation of a network of state databases to enable states to verify that applicants do not hold multiple licenses in multiple states.

One Driver, One License.

Eliminated.

Enhanced Driver Licenses. PASS ID does enable the Secretary of Homeland Security to certify EDL as REAL ID compliant. With EDLs in PASS ID, EDL states would have

access to REAL ID monies. Encourages other border States to produce

them. Welcome amendment to current REAL

ID.

New Grants and No Fees. New Grant program created by PASS ID to

replace the current REAL ID grant program. Eliminates requirement that States account for monies received.

No fees. PASS ID assures free access to any federally maintained database such as

the legal presence database SAVE or those used to verify Social Security numbers. (Current practice charges a fee… best result: at cost.)

REAL ID requires birth record digitization and passport verification.

PASS ID eliminates both, even though both are in process of

being integrated into State systems today.

Proponents claim PASS ID adheres to 9/11 Commission recommendations and Will promote secure driver license issuance Yet elimination of birth record verification negates PASS ID

proponents’ claims.

Why is this so important? No matter what other documents or information an applicant for a

driver license submits, everyone submits a birth date. Verifying date of birth is thus absolutely VITAL to a secure driver license issuance process.

Current Status of States’ birth record digitization effort: 3 years ago, only 3 States had digitized and

created connectivity to access vital records in other States.

Today,15 States and New York City have digitized and or “cleaned up” their birth records.

Five more to be completed by end of 2009. All States will be compliant by the last REAL ID

deadline of May 2011, according to the non-profit implementing this program.

Total cost of connecting all States and territories vital records:

$3.8 million, already provided for in prior fiscal years and being used now.

Total cost of digitizing and cleaning up e-records in all States:

less than $102.5 million (probably about $75 million) estimated by the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) upon completion of a survey of the States three years ago.

Senator Kyl offered an amendment last week for $30 million towards funding digitization in the FY 2010 Homeland Security budget.

Kentucky: Example of Time/Cost Constraints of Clean-up Kentucky had a poor electronic database of birth

records. In 2008, the cleanup took about three months for

three to four staff to clean up errors and physically pull the original copy of the Certificate of Live Birth to determine if a keying error was made and subsequently manually update these files.

In the end a massive data migration and clean up took place to migrate over six million birth records dating back to 1911.

After arrival of the new dedicated server from NAPHSIS, Kentucky Registrar of Vital Events noted that to get the program, called EVVE, up and running took about two days.

Experiencing about an 85 percent match rate. No matches are resolved in about 30 minutes.

PASS ID is unnecessary; REAL ID is a better, stronger law that at least 16 states openly support.

PASS ID eliminates key elements of security called on by AAMVA’s Security Framework and does not live up to 9/11 Commission recommendations.

Eliminating birth record digitization and interstate connectivity is perhaps the single most negative aspect of PASS ID.

202.466.8185 (w)

jlk@cis.org