Posted on 07/19/2005 6:44:01 AM PDT by Happy2BMe
Governors say ID to obtain drivers license too expensive
Tuesday, Jul 19, 2005
By Rob Moritz
Arkansas News Bureau
DES MOINES - A new federal law requiring that drivers license applicants provide proof they are American citizens or legal residents drew criticism from Gov. Mike Huckabee and some of his peers at the National Governors Association meeting here.
Huckabee and other governors who attended a closed-door security briefing Monday with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said they appreciated his comments but don't like the new requirement because it will create monetary and other problems for individual states.
Huckabee, who was named chairman of NGA on Monday, said the so-called REAL ID Act was an "ill-conceived and hastily developed approach that will prove disastrous."
Congress passed the bill and President Bush made it a law in June.
The Arkansas governor said it is a policy problem because "states are essentially being asked to do a federal responsibility because the federal government doesn't have the courage to do what they think must be done."
"It's going to cause states to incur enormous costs without reimbursement or consideration," he said, adding that the cost of getting a drivers license would increase "threefold."
Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, outgoing chairman of the NGA, said the $100 million Congress has allocated to states to pay for the identification cards is what it would cost for just Virginia alone.
"Are Americans really ready to pay $50 to $100 for one of these identification cards and stand in lines for hours?" Warner asked.
Huckabee said he didn't hold Chertoff responsible for the REAL ID Act.
"The secretary is certainly not responsible; it's a congressional action," Huckabee said, adding that the new law actually was tacked on to an overall spending bill for the military earlier this year.
He said most lawmakers probably didn't support the identification proposal but didn't want to vote against military funding.
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen also said he had real concerns about the new law and said he and other governors attending the briefing believe it's an unfunded mandate.
"The REAL ID concept has raised a lot of eyebrows, including mine," he said.
"There were a couple of governors who expressed the opinion that if you want to have a national ID that's fine, but you need to issue it and not try to get it done in 50 states," Bredesen said.
After the briefing, Chertoff said he appreciated all of the concerns raised by the governors and pledged he would work with them to make sure that those questions are answered.
"Our priority going forward is to effectively work with the governors," he said.
Along with the national identification card, other issues discussed included border issues, and security concerns, Chertoff said.
"We are obviously parties with state and local governments," he said.
Huckabee is a liar. What he really wants is to let all the illegals in. Then what? Will he give people like my mom a job when she can't get work anymore because Mexican women will be home aides for five dollars an hour and she won't?
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A new federal law requiring that drivers license applicants provide proof they are American citizens or legal residents drew criticism from Gov. Mike Huckabee and some of his peers at the National Governors Association meeting here.
Yup!
The only money I see it costing is the fact that the states wont get as much in licensing fees, exam fees, or whatever else it costs a person to get a license.
Well boo F'in hoo
The point of "motor voter" was to sign up illegals at the motor vehicle office. They don't verify citizenship.
Not really, governor. Citizenship is rightfully a state issue.
"It's going to cause states to incur enormous costs without reimbursement or consideration," he said, adding that the cost of getting a drivers license would increase "threefold."
Translation: You mean you aren't going to give us money for this?
Certainly the security issues are important, but the people issuing DLs can not enforce rules about them, it seems to me we need a different group of people issuing DLs. If they can not determine citizenship, how can they possibly determine age or eye sight? A bureaucrat is certainly better equipped to check your paperwork than your eyesight but somehow that became part of their job?
Why don't they convert the SS card to an ID? It's already used as defacto ID anyway.
Listen, this is being overblown. Alabama does this already, and Alabama does not have lots of money invested in this. They ask to see a valid (embossed) birth certificate and a valid Social Security card. You have to have a street address too. They will put the SS number on the license if you don't request that it not be used. (Not a good idea to leave your SS number on a certificate like a license.) The Alabama law requires the license to be shown in order to register to vote, hence a low incidence of illegals voting in Alabama.
Now this is a problem for the individual, (it took me a second trip, because I had lost my SS card and had to go to the SS office then back to the DMV. But I was glad to do it because of the knowledge that everyone else had to do it too.
"Please fog this mirror, senor..."
Watch out, you might get ex-communicated and burn in the barrio.
Hell you have to show id to get a video, checkout out a book or board a plane....but it costs too much???????????? Hell make it free for legal citizens then - we still save money in the long run. Make no mistake the RINOs are taking us to hell just as fast as the Libs - and yes this includes Bush, McCain, Spector and the rest of them.
So, let's look at the lies and misrepresentations presented here.
The law doesn't force States to make their driver's licenses meet the requirements, it merely stipulates the requirements for a ID that will be accepted as valid by the federal government.
If Ohio chooses not to make our DLs conform, I'll have to use my passport to board a plane rather than my DL. That's perfectly fine by me, and surprisingly enough I think Congress actually didn't overstep their authority for once.
""It's going to cause states to incur enormous costs without reimbursement or consideration," he said, adding that the cost of getting a drivers license would increase "threefold.""
Complet bull crap.
""Are Americans really ready to pay $50 to $100 for one of these identification cards and stand in lines for hours?""
A passport doesn't cost $100. Why would someone have to stand in lin significantly longer? Requiring better documents for identification doesn't really take more time. Neither does creating the new DL.
""There were a couple of governors who expressed the opinion that if you want to have a national ID that's fine, but you need to issue it and not try to get it done in 50 states," Bredesen said."
Well, that's already in place. A passport works just fine as a national ID. If the States don't want to update their DLs, they aren't required to do so.
The States don't have to implement new DLs. If they want to show the federal government that they won't be forced into this all they have to do is nothing. That's something most people can accomplish with very little effort.
Instead the Governments whine about needing more than 100 Million to fund this.
The States should either assert their right not to participate in the program, or if they determine that it's beneficial to the State, they should sign on and meet their commitments under the program.
It's not about driver's license fees or motor-voter registration. It's not about passports or birth certificates. It's not even about checking for legal citizenship or a national ID system.
It's much bigger than all of that, and that is what you are not being told.
Anybody got it yet?
(HINT: It is not a State's issue.)
I'm really not interested in reading idiotic comments like that. Unless you want to argue intelligently...take a hike!
:^)
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