Almost two years ago, I was invited to speak before a group of state legislators from many states, tasked with considering what steps the individual states should take concerning national security. The main thing I stressed was drivers' licenses. As I pointed out, the national system was -- for the 9/11 hijackers -- and will remain as weak as the weakest state DMV. That's because the 50 states and D.C. routinely issue a new local license to anyone who comes in and plunks down a valid license from somewhere else.
Neither terrorists nor illegal aliens are bone stupid. They go to where the pickings are easiest. Both in bribes for fraud at the DMV, or simply the sloppiest state in accepting false information, that's where the people who want to develop a pocket of false ID and credit cards, go first.
I told those legislators then that they either would develop among themselves a minimum level of ID and information for a drivers license, or the federal government would do it for them. Some of the states have acted, some have not. But the key item is enforcement. None of the states have conditioned the acceptance of a license swap from another state on the adoption of minimum ID standards in such other states.
If the states cannot and do not act, it then becomes the business of the federal government to force the issue, using the availability of federal transportation funds to assure that the states line up and say yes, sir. (It worked like a champ on the issue of 55 MPH speed limits.)
Lastly, I don't think the destruction of a building or a mall, filed with 10,000 Americans, by subhumans operating with false ID easily achieved, is a fair price to pay for federal inaction based on state inaction. It is long since time for the feds to force this issue.
Congressman Billybob
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