Editorial: ID act should not be tied to emergency spending bill

By the time you read this editorial, your driver’s license
may be obsolete ““ replaced by a new, federally standardized
identification card that would deny illegal immigrants the right to
drive and jeopardize the personal privacy of all Americans.

The House has tagged the Real ID Act onto an emergency $82
billion military-spending bill in a manipulative attempt to force
the bill’s passage without any real debate. The bill is up
for vote today.

Because of that manipulation, a vote against the Real ID Act
would also count as a vote against supplies for troops in Iraq as
well as health and death benefits for soldiers and their families.
Few senators have the courage to vote against such a spending bill,
and it is very likely the Real ID Act will pass.

The act would have the primary effect of denying driver’s
licenses to illegal immigrants. But it completely ignores the fact
that millions of illegal immigrants are already in this country
““ and many already drive illegally, without training or
insurance. If anything, the bill would make America’s streets
less safe.

In addition, the act would require all states to create
electronic databases of their citizens and share that information
via special Web sites. And within three years, it could be required
that new ID cards include radio beacons that could be read
electronically from across the street. Big Brother?

Congress should not pass controversial legislation by tying it
to emergency spending bills. President Bush should have the guts to
veto the bill and send the entire package back to Congress for an
honest debate.