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McDermott opposes the Real ID Act
For Immediate Release - Febuary 10, 2005

On February 10th, the House passed H.R. 418, the "Real ID Act " by a vote of 261 to 161. Congressman McDermott opposes the Real ID Act because it imposes tremendous, unfunded burdens on states, and contains a number of unreasonable provisions.

• The bill places undue burdens on people applying for asylum, requiring them to provide "corroborating evidence" for their persecution. Many refugees applying for asylum fled their homes and are not able to produce witnesses or documentation.

• It allows the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to waive "all laws" to expedite construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, including all laws designed to protect the environment and Native American cultural sites.

• Creates unprecedented federal standards for state-issued driver's licenses while providing for no funding to states to implement the new provisions.

What the act did not do was provide effective ways to protect the American public, like improving port security so that more than the current 2% of cargo coming into our nation's ports are actually inspected.