Congressman Lamar Smith, Twenty First Congressional
District of Texas
WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Lamar Smith (TX-21) issued the following statement today after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passage of the PASS ID act, which repeals key provisions of the REAL ID Act.
Ranking Member Smith: “Today’s vote to weaken the REAL ID Act will harm national security and endanger American lives. Senators Lieberman and Collins deserve credit for their revisions, which represent moderate improvements to the original bill with regard to security of birth certificates, but their changes simply do not go far enough.
“America was attacked by foreign nationals who were able to exploit U.S. laws to live unnoticed in the United States. The 9/11 hijackers obtained 17 driver licenses from Arizona, California and Florida and 13 state –issued IDs from Florida, Virginia and Maryland. The hijackers misused federal immigration laws to enter the United States, and once here, obtained the drivers’ licenses that allowed them to board the aircraft with which they subsequently murdered over 3,000 innocent Americans.
“It is a shame that some people have such short memories. Rather than undoing REAL ID, we should remember the lessons of 9/11. Congress should take a pass on the PASS ID Act.”
