Dollars and Sense

Today we announced nearly $80 million in grants that will help states and territories strengthen the security of their driver’s licenses and identification cards. This allocation brings the total amount we’ve provided for REAL ID implementation to more than $361 million; and, if Congress approves our budget request for next year, that number will grow to $511 million.

I think you’ll agree that more than half a billion dollars is a significant investment and is indicative of our pledge to help states implement this important security measure. Of course, this is in addition to our regulatory changes that reduced state implementation costs by roughly 73 percent. But, instead of discussing dollars and cents, I want to focus on the big picture and share with you some reasons why secure identification is so imperative in the 21st century.

First, I’m sure we can all agree that in our post-9/11 world, it’s vital to keep identity documents out of the hand of terrorists. (In case you’re wondering, 18 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 had U.S. licenses or IDs – many of them easily obtained through fraudulent means).

Second, speaking on behalf of identity theft victims, I think we can also agree that there’s a growing need to address the ease with which anyone can obtain a driver’s license or create a fake one, rob someone of their identity, and disrupt their life for years.

And third, when you board an airplane, wouldn’t it be comforting to know that your fellow passengers are, in fact, who they say they are, and their actual identities match what is listed on their IDs?

Of course.

The arguments for having secure identification speak for themselves. That’s why the 9/11 Commission recommended closing this glaring security loophole, and that’s why Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005.

Since then, we’ve been working with states to implement these minimum security standards in a balanced, sensible fashion. Part of this involves providing funds, maintaining flexible deadlines, and partnering with states on a host of technical issues that will bring our long-neglected identification system into the 21st century.

The bottom line is that this is a shared responsibility--not a federal mandate or a national ID--but a collective response to an obvious problem. Secure identification makes it much more difficult for identity thieves, criminals, and potential terrorists to harm us. At DHS, we’re continuing to work with states and territories to do everything we can to close this gap and protect our citizens.

Stewart Baker
Assistant Secretary for Policy