Posted on 01/12/2008 5:42:02 AM PST by kellynla
Millions of air travelers may find going through airport security much more complicated this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11 rules for new driver's licenses.
By May, the dispute could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes, but privacy advocates called that a hollow threat by federal officials.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who was unveiling final details of the REAL ID Act's rules on Friday, said that if states want their licenses to remain valid for air travel after May 2008, those states must seek a waiver indicating they want more time to comply with the legislation.
Chertoff said that for any state which doesn't seek such a waiver by May, residents of that state will have to use a passport or certain types of federal border-crossing cards if they want to avoid a vigorous secondary screening at airport security.
"The last thing I want to do is punish citizens of a state who would love to have a REAL ID license but can't get one," Chertoff said. "But in the end, the rule is the rule as passed by Congress."
The plan's chief critic, the American Civil Liberties Union, called Chertoff's deadline a bluff — and urged state governments to call him on it.
"Are they really prepared to shut those airports down? Which is what effectively would happen if the residents of those states are going to have to go through secondary scrutiny," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's technology and liberty program. "This is a scare tactic."
So far, 17 states have passed legislation or resolutions objecting to the REAL ID Act's provisions, many due to concerns it will cost them too much to comply. The 17, according to the ACLU, are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.
Maine officials said Friday they were unsure if their own state law even allows them to ask for a waiver.
"It certainly seems to be an effort by the federal government to create compliance with REAL ID whether states have an interest in doing so or not," said Don Cookson, spokesman for the Maine secretary of state's office.
The Sept. 11 attacks were the main motivation for the changes: The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had four driver's licenses and ID cards from three states.
The Homeland Security Department and other officials say the only way to ensure an ID is safe is to check it against secure government data; critics such as the ACLU say that creates a system that is more likely to be infiltrated and have its personal data pilfered.
Congress passed the REAL ID law in 2005, but the effort has been delayed by opposition from states worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset about what they believe are invasions of privacy.
Under the rules announced Friday, Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years, over which time the new requirements would gradually be phased in.
A key deadline would come in 2011, when federal authorities hope all states will be in compliance, and the regulations would not take full effect for all Americans until 2017.
To make the plan more appealing to cost-conscious states, federal authorities drastically reduced the expected cost from $14.6 billion to $3.9 billion, a 73 percent decline, said Homeland Security officials familiar with the plan.
By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant card, with the notable exception of those older than 50, Homeland Security officials said.
The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 must have a REAL ID-compliant card to board a plane.
Among other details of the REAL ID plan:
_The traditional driver's license photograph would be taken at the beginning of the application instead of the end so that if someone is rejected for failure to prove identity and citizenship, the applicant's photo would be kept on file and checked if that person tried to con the system again.
_The cards will have three layers of security measures but will not contain microchips as some had expected. States will be able to choose from a menu which security measures they will put in their cards.
_After Social Security and immigration status checks become nationwide practice, officials plan to move on to more expansive security checks. State DMV offices would be required to verify birth certificates; check with other states to ensure an applicant doesn't have more than one license; and check with the State Department to verify applicants who use passports to get a driver's license.
The company also announced that it secured $7 million in venture capital funding led by SOFTBANK Venture Capital and Trinity Ventures. These funds have fueled on-going product development and the formation of a team with over 200 years of industry experience.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_August_15/ai_64192825
Gus Tai is a general partner in Trinity Ventures, Gus funded money for Amalfi Semiconductor.
The ACLU opposes this sort of ID. No surprise. The ACLU favors terrorists and seeks to bring about the destruction of the United States.
Cinali Named Hughes Corporate Vice President for Strategic Planning
and Business Development Business Wire, May 12, 1999
Prior to joining AT&T in 1995, Cinali managed mergers and acquisitions for GE Capital's commercial sector and served as vice president in GE Capital's Equity Group. Before his service with GE Capital, Cinali was a strategy consultant with Bain and Company of Boston, where he provided advice and expertise to help Bain clients pursue their strategy development, business restructuring and cost and productivity improvements.
Mr. Cinali co-founded Springwell Capital Partners in April 2001 after leaving Hughes Electronics, where, as Corporate Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, he oversaw all of Hughes’ strategic investment activities. At Hughes, Mr. Cinali formulated the strategy to divest manufacturing operations while focusing on higher growth services businesses. He also established the Technology and Ventures Group to make early stage equity investments. Prior to Hughes, Mr. Cinali spent four years as head of Mergers & Acquisitions at AT&T Corp. where he and his team successfully developed and executed over $90 billion in transactions including wireline, wireless, cable, broadband services and Internet transactions as well as the sale of non-strategic assets. Mr. Cinali also spent six years at GE Capital and completed several corporate mergers and acquisitions, equity and leveraged financing transactions. Prior to GE Capital, he was at Bain & Co. as a strategy consultant.
Gus had worked in Bain & Company's technology practice, consulting to both software and hardware companies. Prior to Bain, Gus held management and technical positions within Digital Equipment's Microprocessor Division. Previously, he had worked in the Fixed Income Division of Goldman Sachs. Gus is a Harvard Graduate and has Master's degrees from both MIT's Sloan School of Management and the Department of Materials Science. FOCUS: Computer software, Internet software, data communications.
Looks like Gus has lots of money to fund out.
Also looks like this Cinali guy does too.
Well, well well. No I haven’t. Look at all the connections to Bain’s. Mitts darlin’.
More money than they know what to do with it.
Well...one name will lead to others. We shall see if any important names end up crossing over into other important areas/companies.
We are just scratching the surface....it seems.
No, they know what to do with.....undermine America.
Just scratching the surface, I agree. I start out on Able Danger and end up with Read ID.
And it appears they are becoming very successful at it.
lolol!
After graduation, Romney went to work for the Boston Consulting Group, where he had interned during the summer of 1974. From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president of Bain & Company, Inc., another management consulting firm based in Boston. In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found a spin-off private equity investment firm, Bain Capital. During the 14 years he headed the company, Bain Capital's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent, making money primarily through leveraged buyouts. He invested in or bought many well-known companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy Corporation and Sports Authority.In 1990, Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse. As CEO, Romney managed an effort to restructure the firm's employee stock-ownership plan, real-estate deals and bank loans, while increasing fiscal transparency. Within a year, he had led Bain & Company through a highly successful turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without layoffs or partner defections.
Romney left Bain Capital in 1998 to head the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee. He and his wife have a net worth of between 190 and 250 million USD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney
I don't know that there is a list so much as a criteria. Which, AFAIK, is a government issued photo ID. I use my CAC card.(DoD "smart card" ID, mine is a contractor version). Which is appropriate because I haven't flown on personal business in decades, except for a one way flight after delivering a car to Boston for my daughter.
The clintons. If Able Danger was ever truly investigated as it should be, this country would be in a revolution because of dirty, corrupt, power hungry and money greedy politicians. Selling us and our country out for profit and power.
I agree. That’s why the coverup...thanks to Bush.
Can you see him as president of this great country?
State government's doing it on their own hook is one thing, but in this case they are being forced by the federales.
However, traveling interstate is a from of interstate commerce, so it probably actually is within the Constitutional mandate of the feds. But, IMHO, they should provide the ID, not force the states to do it. This way you have to get the super ID even if you never intend to fly, take a bus, or a train. You can can't avoid it, unless you also don't want to drive, even intrastate.
We're soooo freakin' screwed. How do we fight the movers and shakers with the money and power when the ordinary Americans are trying to work and keep a roof over their head and food on the table?
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