Lamar Alexander: Much as I Hate It, We Need a National ID

[R.A. Hettinga]

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A11307-2005Mar29?language=printer>

The Washington Post
washingtonpost.com
Much as I Hate It, We Need a National ID


By Lamar Alexander

 Wednesday, March 30, 2005; Page A15

 The House recently passed legislation requiring states to turn 190 million
driver's licenses into national ID cards, with state taxpayers paying most
of the cost.

 The first thing wrong here is that the House stuck the ID card proposal on
the appropriations bill that supports troops in Iraq and sent it over to
the Senate. We should not slow down money for our troops while we debate ID
cards.

 The second problem is that states not only get to create these ID cards,
they'll likely end up paying the bill. This is one more of the unfunded
federal mandates that we Republicans promised to stop.

 Supporters argue that this is no mandate because states have a choice.
True, states may refuse to conform to the proposed federal standards and
issue licenses to whomever they choose, including illegal immigrants -- but
if they do, that state's licenses will not be accepted for "federal
purposes," such as boarding an airplane. Some choice. What governor will
deny his or her citizens the identification they need to travel by air and
cash Social Security checks, or for "other federal purposes?"

Of course, the ID card may still backfire on Congress. Some feisty governor
may say, "Who are these people in Washington telling us what to do with our
drivers' licenses and making us pay for them, too? California will use its
licenses for certifying drivers, and Congress can create its own ID card
for people who want to fly and do other federally regulated things -- and
if they do not, I will put on the Internet the home telephone numbers of
all the congressmen."

 If just one state refused to do the federal government's ID work, Congress
would be forced to create what it claims to oppose -- a federal ID card for
citizens of that state.

 Finally, if we must have a better ID card for some federal purposes, then
there are better ideas than turning state driver's license examiners into
CIA agents. Congress might create an airline traveler's card. Or there
could be an expanded use of U.S. passports. Since a motive here is to
discourage illegal immigration, probably the most logical idea is to
upgrade the Social Security card, which directly relates to the reason most
immigrants come to the United States: to work.

I have fought government ID cards as long and as hard as anyone. In 1983,
when I was governor of Tennessee, our legislature voted to put photographs
on driver's licenses. Merchants and policemen wanted a state ID card to
discourage check fraud and teenage drinking. I vetoed this photo driver's
license bill twice because I believed driver's licenses should be about
driving and that state ID cards infringed on civil liberties.

 That same year, on a visit to the White House, when a guard asked for my
photo ID, I said, "We don't have them in Tennessee. I vetoed them." The
guard said, "You can't get in without one." The governor of Georgia, who
had his photo ID driver's license, vouched for me. I was admitted to the
White House, the legislature at home overrode my veto and I gave up my
fight against a state ID card.

 For years state driver's licenses have served as de facto national ID
cards. They have been unreliable. All but one of the Sept. 11 terrorists
had a valid driver's license. Even today, when I board an airplane,
security officials look at the front of my driver's license, which expired
in 2000, and rarely turn it over to verify that it has been extended until
2005.

 I still detest the idea of a government ID card. South Africa's experience
is a grim reminder of how such documents can be abused. But I'm afraid this
is one of the ways Sept. 11 has changed our lives. Instead of pretending we
are not creating national ID cards when we obviously are, Congress should
carefully create an effective federal document that helps prevent terrorism
-- with as much respect for privacy as possible.

The writer is a Republican senator from Tennessee. He was chairman of the
National Governors Association in 1985-86.

-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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