WASHINGTON 鈥� Virginia is among dozens of states failing to comply with federal rules that the federal government describes as critical to securing America by preventing terrorists from getting state IDs.
Under the聽, those states鈥櫬營Ds could聽be rejected for use at airports in 2016 without an acceptable second form of ID. The Department of Homeland Security still is working to set a date for when it聽will enforce the rule.
When REAL ID was passed by Congress in 2005,聽states were given three years to comply, but multiple deadline extensions and adjustments have been made since then.
Virginia has proposed 鈥渟everal alternative processes to meet the intent and spirit of REAL ID regulations which are currently being reviewed by DHS,鈥� says Brandy Brubaker, of Virginia鈥檚 DMV, in a statement. The Commonwealth has been given an extension until Oct. 10, and that she鈥檚 confident they鈥檒l get another one 鈥� last year, she says, they got the present extension in late September, 鈥渟o we anticipate a response from DHS any day now.鈥�
Brubaker says that 鈥淰irginia has one of the most secure credentials in the country,鈥� and that to conform to the letter of the REAL ID Act would cause 鈥済reat disruption to customers鈥� and 鈥済reat expense to taxpayers.鈥�
Virginia鈥檚 concerns with the REAL ID requirements include the mandate that 鈥渆ach applicant鈥檚 Social Security number (SSN) not only be verified upon original application but also re-verified during each subsequent issuance, which includes duplicates, reissues and renewals,鈥� Brubaker says.
鈥淪ince we have already verified every SSN in our active records with the Social Security Administration, we feel that performing this re-verification adds no value to the security of our credentials and is an unnecessary use of resources and taxpayer dollars. 鈥� Essentially, these customers would need to start from scratch as though they had never had a Virginia license before.鈥�
The DMV also believes the requirement to electronically capture the images of every proof document would be costly to the department, and therefore taxpayers.
The regulations also require each drier to present their Social Security card for each driver鈥檚 license transaction, Brubaker says; 鈥淗owever, technology has advanced since the Act was passed in 2005 and agencies are now able to electronically verify Social Security numbers. This electronic process is just as secure, but also makes the transaction simpler for customers as it allows them to provide their Social Security number in a variety of methods, such as a pay stub.鈥�
A聽senior fellow at the聽 says in聽a blog post that Americans have nothing to worry about if their states aren’t in compliance.
Jim Harper predicts no one will be denied passage through airport security for not carrying a nationally endorsed聽ID.
“The lawsuits that follow such an action will make their heads spin. And it will all be focused at the federal government: the TSA, the DHS, and the U.S. Congress with its flaccid oversight of the security bureaucracy,” Harper writes.
State identification issued by Maryland and the District of Columbia comply with REAL ID standards.
