Weekly Column: Real ID Act is an Invasion of Privacy

January 31, 2007

Over the years, Congress has developed quite a reputation for adding “special spending projects” into bills. We all remember hearing about how Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska tucked $320 million into a bill for his “Bridge to Nowhere.” Bridges are always costly to repair or build, but Senator Stevens’ brand new bridge connecting a small Alaskan island of 50 people to the mainland seemed a little ridiculous and a colossal waste of taxpayer money.

In addition to “earmarks” like the bridge to nowhere, some federal lawmakers also sneak major policy changes into bills that are often unrelated to the major issue at hand. For example, two years ago during negotiations on a major spending bill designed to provide new funding for the Iraq War and relief funds for tsunami victims in Asia and Africa, a little known policy change called the Real ID Act was tucked into the same bill. While many lawmakers focused on supporting our troops and aiding tsunami victims, others were more interested in making massive changes to the privacy rights of every American.

Since the Real ID Act was not a stand-alone bill and not debated thoroughly, it quietly became law. The Real ID Act now mandates that by 2008 Maine turn its driver's license into a national ID card that will be part of a 50-state shared database.

As the shock and impact of the law sinks in, many people in Maine and around the country are speaking up. Democratic and Republican Lawmakers in Maine recently became the first state in the country to tell the federal government that the Real ID Act is a flat out invasion of our privacy. In a joint resolution I sponsored with Representative Scott Lansley, nearly every lawmaker in the Maine Legislature voted unanimously to urge Congress and the President of the United States to repeal Real ID.

Our justification for urging the repeal was two-fold. First, Real ID is an unfunded federal mandate by the federal government that will cost Maine taxpayers $185 million to implement. More importantly beyond the problem of how to pay for Real ID, Maine lawmakers have serious reservations about an id card that will track nearly everything you do. This includes id checks at airports, use of your id at the supermarket or a retail store, or going to a federal building. If Real ID comes to fruition, all those examples and more would ultimately be stored in a special federal database. In my opinion, this is essentially like having a handful of keys on your key chain. You may have one for your car, one for your house, and maybe one for your office. Now, imagine just having one key. One key means that if someone is successful hacking your id information, then they have complete access to nearly everything there is to know about you from your social security information, birth records, spending habits, nearly everything you do.

Prior to the resolution’s passage, the federal government informed Secretary of State Dunlap that if we do not comply with the Real ID Act, then Maine citizens might not be able to fly on an airplane or enter a government building when the Real ID Act takes effect in 2008. Speaking for most Maine lawmakers, we believe we have to stand up for our rights and are confident that the federal government will hear us. We are also certain because we know we are not alone in our beliefs. Already, at least twelve states are debating legislation similar to Maine’s including Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.

Maine may have been the first to act, but we certainly are not the last. As more and more states urge Congress to repeal to the Act, they will have to listen. In fact, we have recently learned that our own Congressional Delegation is currently looking into legislation that would dramatically alter the Real ID Act or eliminate the most dangerous provisions.

In the coming weeks, the Maine Legislature will vote on another bill, sponsored by Rep. Lansley and me, which will further cement our state’s position on the matter. The bill directs our Secretary of State not to spend any money on the Real ID Act. This issue clearly has a long way to go before it is resolved, but Maine and State Legislatures across the country are working hard to tell the federal government that our privacy is important to us, and we are not got going to give it up without a fight.

If you would like to learn more information about the Real ID Act, go online to www.mainesenate.org/realid.

Libby Mitchell is the Senate Majority Leader in the Maine Senate. She represents the communities of Augusta, Vassalboro, China, Oakland, and Sidney for District 24.