[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 123 (Monday, July 30, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10307-S10309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS
Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, last week when the Senate considered the
Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, I offered an amendment, numbered
2406, with my good friend and partner from Montana, Jon Tester. Our
amendment would bar funds appropriated in the Homeland Security
appropriations bill from being used to establish a national ID card.
Benjamin Franklin once said, ``They that can give up essential
liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety.''
Generations of Americans have fought for both our liberty and safety.
America's Founders sought the freedom to lead their lives as they
chose--freedom of religion, speech, and assembly. Freedom, above all
other motives, led them to cross the ocean find a new home in America.
Whether defending our liberty from British colonial governors, Nazi
aggression, or today's Islamic radicals, Americans have never tired in
their effort to stand up in defense of our liberty.
But sometimes the threat to liberty is not as obvious as a red-coated
army or a German panzer division. Sometimes, the threat is much harder
to see but just as dangerous.
The threat I speak of today is a national ID card.
A national ID card may sound harmless to some. Indeed, a number of
politicians have called for giving every citizen a national ID card.
They argue that a national identification card would make it harder for
terrorists to use fake identification to enter the country.
But a national ID card has the potential to be abused. Such a card
could become a system of identity papers, databases, status and
identity checks, and Federal surveillance used to track and control
individuals' movements and activities. It could, in effect, create an
internal U.S. passport.
Some have argued that a national ID is essential to protecting
Americans from terrorism. I strongly disagree.
In response to the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, Congress passed
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. This act
provided a number of improvements to our Nation's driver's licenses.
I support these reasonable efforts to secure our State driver's
licenses from terrorists. However, a national ID card would just give
Government bureaucrats another chance to meddle in the private lives of
regular law-abiding Americans.
Just to get on a plane, go in a Federal building, or drive down the
road, you would have to have the permission of some bureaucrat in
Washington.
If a national ID card were established, we would be right back here
on the Senate floor debating whether citizens would be required to
carry them at all times or pondering what citizens are allowed to do
without a national ID card.
A National ID card would be a terrible loss of freedom in this
country.
Foreign countries with the worst civil liberties records in the world
require their citizens to carry a national ID at all times. They have
legal punishments for people caught without their IDs.
Take Zimbabwe, for example. They passed a law in November which
required all citizens to carry a national ID. Citizens face a fine or
imprisonment if they refuse to carry the ID.
History has taught us that national ID cards can lead to dangerous
and destructive government policies. National ID cards played important
roles in the genocides of both Nazi Germany and Rwanda.
The apartheid-era Government of South Africa used national
identification documents as internal passports to oppress the country's
native population.
Clearly, a national ID would be wrong for the United States. I am
proud to say my home State of Montana would be the first to reject any
effort to impose this sort of system.
Montana's leadership has spoken, and I have heard them loud and
clear; get the Federal Government out of the business of telling the
States how to produce driver's licenses and ID cards.
My friend, Montana's Governor Brian Schweitzer, signed a law in April
that bans Montana's Department of Motor Vehicles from enforcing the
requirements of the Real ID act. Republicans and Democrats alike in
Montana's Legislature have voted unanimously to reject Real ID. I am
proud of Montana's vigilant stand against the Federal Government's
encroachment.
It is wrong for politicians in Washington to burden State authorities
with excessive regulations. We must allow our States to take
initiatives as well. We should never try to micromanage them. They know
how to do their job.
Mr. President this is not a partisan issue. Organizations from the
left, the ACLU, join hands with groups from the right, the NRA, and
raise serious concerns about the establishment of a national ID card.
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I urge my colleagues to join the chorus of Americans and support this
amendment.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I wish to amplify my brief earlier
statement regarding my vote against the DeMint amendment No. 2481 to
the fiscal year 2008 Homeland Security Appropriations Act.
On February 28, 2007, during Senate consideration of the Improving
America's Security by Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/
11 Commission Act of 2007, there were two side-by-side votes on
amendments related to criminal offenses which disqualify an applicant
from receiving a transportation worker identification credential.
The first vote was on an amendment offered by Senator Inouye. This
amendment, amendment No. 285, specified certain criminal offenses which
would disqualify an applicant from receiving the transportation worker
identification credential but gave the U.S. Secretary of Homeland
Security the authority to add to or modify the listed offenses in a
rulemaking. I voted in favor of this amendment because I believe the
Secretary ought to have the authority to modify the existing list of
crimes when circumstances warrant a regulatory change, and the
amendment was adopted by a vote of 58 to 37.
The second vote was on an amendment offered by Senator DeMint. This
amendment, amendment No. 279, was identical to the previous amendment
offered by Senator Inouye aside from its omission of Secretarial
authority to modify the list of existing offenses. Since these
amendments were in direct contradiction with one another over the issue
of granting the Secretary authority to modify the existing list, I
voted against the DeMint amendment. Nevertheless, it was adopted by a
vote of 94 to 2, with 56 Senators voting to contradict the position
they had taken on the previous amendment.
Therefore, when the question came up on the DeMint amendment No. 2481
to the fiscal year 2008 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, which
would have prohibited funds provided in the act from being expended by
the Secretary to remove offenses from the list of criminal offenses
disqualifying individuals from receiving a transportation worker
identification credential, I voted against it, not only because I
believe it is sound public policy to require flexibility on such
matters but also because it was consistent with my position on the
Inouye amendment to the Improving America's Security by Implementing
Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. The
DeMint amendment No. 2481 was adopted by a vote of 93 to 1 even though
it was again in direct contradiction to the position taken by the
Senate when it adopted the Inouye amendment to the Improving America's
Security by Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11
Commission Act of 2007.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, I was pleased to support the fiscal
year 2008 Homeland Security appropriations bill. Our national security
strategy needs to adapt in order to meet new and emerging threats while
ensuring those in charge of protecting us have the resources they need.
I am pleased to support the current Homeland Security appropriations
bill which includes many important measures to keep our communities
safe.
The Senate unanimously accepted my amendment to improve the Safe
Skies program that I established a few years ago. The amendment will
encourage the Transportation Security Administration and the airlines
to better implement legislation I authored that allows first responders
to volunteer to help flight crews in the event of an onboard emergency.
The bill would increase funding for State fire fighter and emergency
management grants. Along with a bipartisan coalition of Senators, I
wrote to Senate appropriators earlier in the year asking that they
increase funding for these important grants. The appropriators agreed
with our recommendations and recommended $700,000,000 for fire fighter
grants and $300,000,000 for emergency management performance grants.
These funds will help State and local agencies obtain the equipment and
training they need to protect us against terrorist incidents and
natural disasters.
I was disappointed that an amendment I cosponsored to fund
decontamination units for the National Guard's Weapons of Mass
Destruction Civil Support Teams, WMD-CST, did not receive a vote. As a
result of legislation I authored, every State in this Nation now has a
functional WMD-CST. The Department of Defense recently announced that
it will soon finalize the certifications of all of these teams. I will
continue to work to ensure that the National Guard receives the funds
it needs to perform its homeland security operations.
The bill would appropriate the funds needed to hire 3,000 additional
border patrol agents. This important provision will help us secure our
borders and restore credibility to our immigration system. While I was
deeply disappointed that the Senate was unable to reach a bipartisan
compromise to implement comprehensive immigration reform, I am pleased
that the bill will help improve our border security. I also supported
an amendment offered by Senator Graham to appropriate an additional $3
billion for additional border agents, infrastructure and technology. I
was concerned that the amendment was not offset and that it authorized
building 700 miles of fencing, which has not been demonstrated to be a
realistic or cost-effective method of securing the border. However, I
supported the amendment because the personnel, infrastructure, and
technology provisions represent important steps toward border security,
which is one of our top homeland security priorities.
The bill would permit States to enact chemical security regulations
that are stronger than Federal regulations. Chemical security
regulations are an urgent homeland security priority, and I support the
ability of the States to set tougher standards.
Wisconsin residents and Americans across the country are concerned
about the serious backlog in passport application process. This bill
would delay the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative to keep the backlog from increasing until we have a chance
to resolve this issue.
I voted to table an amendment offered by Senator Alexander that would
have reduced funding for border, port and air security in order to
provide increased funding for implementation of the REAL ID Act. That
act is deeply flawed. While I am concerned that it remains an unfunded
priority, I am also concerned that, if we head down the road of funding
this misguided policy, the Senate will not take the necessary steps to
reform the REAL ID Act. Moreover, the National Governors Association
has estimated that the cost of implementing the REAL ID Act could reach
$11 billion, which means that the increased funding provided by this
amendment, $400 million, would do little to address the unfunded
mandate of REAL ID while taking away money for pressing homeland
security priorities. I will continue to push for reform of the REAL ID
Act, to provide for proper funding of any Federal mandate in the
reformed act, and to ensure that the implementation of the act is not
rushed.
We are still spending almost twice as much on Iraq as is allocated
for homeland security, diplomacy, and international assistance
combined. The billions we spend each month in Iraq could be better
invested in the protection of critical infrastructure and our system of
national preparedness and response that failed in the wake of Hurricane
Katrina. As we consider the defense appropriation this fall, I
encourage my colleagues to take a broader view when it comes to our
national security priorities and make the tradeoffs that must be made.
This bill would significantly increase spending on homeland security.
I do not take lightly a decision to vote in favor of spending the
taxpayers' money. Fiscal responsibility is one of my highest
priorities, but it is imperative that we provide the resources needed
to combat al-Qaida and its affiliates and protect the country.
I am pleased that the bill would appropriate funds to double the
frequency of spot checks at regulated port facilities across the
country, to conduct vulnerability assessments at 10 high risk ports, to
create a radiation detection test center to help scan cargo and to
purchase and install explosives detection equipment at airports. Much
more remains to be done. I will continue to work to ensure that our
national security strategies address the range of
[[Page S10309]]
threats we face and properly prioritizes homeland security.
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