All U.S. Citizens Must Have National I.D.

Last week I reported to you about the brand new National I.D. cards which few of us knew Congress approved in early May of this year. Tennessee Dept. of Safety Commissioner Fred Phillips spoke about it in Greeneville recently and kudos to the Greeneville Sun newspaper for reporting this story. Also thanks goes to the State Dept. of Safety who quickly replied to my requests to gain more info on this story.

What will your new National I.D. Card mean?

The Real Identity Act was added on quietly to a bill for Tsunami Relief and War Budget increases, and without an I.D., you will face serious restrictions as a citizen of the United States. The Real I.D. Act states these identity cards will be required not only if one wants to drive, but also if you wish to visit a federal government building, collect Social Security, access a federal government service, or use the services of a private entity, such as a bank or an airline. Every state must have this new data and Congress also told states to figure out their own way to pay for the new programs, whose costs will easily be in the huundreds of millions.

There is a fine article at Find Law here by Anita Ramasastry. She is a professor at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle and director of the Shidler Center for Law, Commerce and Technology. The nation's governors are only one of many groups who voice complaints about the program.

First District Congressman Bill Jenkins voted Yes on this bill, and only two members of the TN delegation voted No -- Congressmen John Duncan and Bart Gordon. On the bill which could have provided for budget dollars to the states, First District Congressman Bill Jenkins voted No, let the states pay for it. Other no votes came from Congressmen Duncan, Wamp, and Blackburn, while the rest of TN's congressmen voted Yes, to provide federal dollars. Now each state is responsible for this new unprecedented change to life in America.

By placing this bill inside the bill for supplement funding for victims of the January Tsunami in Asia and more money for the Iraqi war, members of Congress gave themselves places to hide and plead "but there were good things in this bill." Senators Alexander and Frist both voted for the new I.D.s and against providing budget monies to the states.