[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 19 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          REAL ID ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 10, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 418) to 
     establish and rapidly implement regulations for State 
     driver's license and identification document security 
     standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws 
     of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for 
     inadmissibility and removal, and to ensure expeditious 
     construction of the San Diego border fence.

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 
418, the REAL ID Act of 2005.
  As a member of the 9/11 Commission Caucus, I strongly supported 
passage on December 7, 2004, of S. 2845, the National Intelligence 
Reform Act of 2004. That legislation took some much-needed and long-
overdue steps toward strengthening the system of intelligence sharing 
and analysis in the United States. The bill implemented the 
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report, a comprehensive 
collection of analyses and suggestions for improving the Nation's 
intelligence system, in order that we might never experience another 9/
11.
  H.R. 418, if enacted, would repeal some provisions of the National 
Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. It would rob States of the ability to 
issue driver's licenses and identification cards as they see fit, and 
further subjects the States to unfunded mandates to conform their 
driver's licenses and identification cards to federal standards.
  Police forces around the Nation are notably opposed to H.R. 418. They 
have grave security concerns surrounding the driver's license 
provisions of this legislation; the job of law enforcement is made 
easier when the state Department of Motor Vehicles database contains 
information on undocumented immigrants. As a former district attorney, 
I place a high priority on assisting law enforcement however possible.
  The asylum provisions included in this legislation are unnecessary, 
and will not enhance our national security. The provisions needlessly 
restrict the standards by which motives for persecution would qualify 
for asylum. I believe such a move could potentially exacerbate and 
multiply human rights abuses around the world by making it more 
difficult for victims of such abuses to seek refuge in the United 
States.
  Opposition to H.R. 418 includes a vast array of organizations, from 
the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to the American 
Conservative Union to the National Council of State Legislatures.
  I believe strongly in protecting our great Nation from whatever 
threats exist to it. I do not believe, however, that H.R. 418 is a step 
in the direction of improving national security.

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