I don't think that's a good idea. However, will they stop there? From another FR article:
The Senate version would allow the Homeland Security secretary to decide what data should be provided on driver's licenses -- that could include fingerprints and iris scans. (From U.S. National ID Card May Become Reality.)
Why should all of that be required on a document that gives one the privilege of driving?
What they're doing is overloading the driver's license with other identifying information, presumably because the license is a document that many people already have and seek. However, the personal identification information will be required for more and more things, and by bundling it all on a driver's license will only put pressure on issuing the license to more and more people (which is bad).
What they really need to do is issue a separate ID from the driver's license that can be used for all national and international identification purposes. We already have that -- the passport. It has a barcode for scanning. We can build cross-reference databases linking driver's licenses to passports. It can have smart chips added when people renew their passports. We do not need a new document with another government bureauracracy to manage it.
-PJ