Pennsylvania legislators ask Trump to Reevaluate REAL ID implementation
116 Pennsylvania lawmakers are asking President Donald Trump to protect their residents by intervening in REAL ID implementation.
As Alpha News reported, the federal government passed the REAL ID act in 2005 to strengthen airline travel security and tighten access to federal buildings. As a result, the federal government is requiring states to upgrade their state driver’s licenses so they can comply with the stricter standards. A bill to implement REAL ID at the Minnesota State Legislature has caused controversy across the political spectrum, and other states appear to be facing similar issues.
In their letter written to the President, the Pennsylvania lawmakers make their plea to Trump, “we are respectfully asking you to work with the states and the U.S. Congress to resolve the constitutional issues that this law has raised and relieve the states of the massive cost that this law has burdened taxpayers with throughout our nation.” penned the legislators.
ABC News in Pennsylvania further reports lawmakers are saying REAL ID imposes a significant unfunded mandate and usurps the states’ power to institute their own driver license regulations, reporting, “The legislators add that because the law requires a registry with personal data, it increases the potential for fraud and identity theft.”
Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF), a national health freedom and patient advocacy organization, staunchly opposes the push to implement a national ID card and has been advocating against it at the Minnesota State Legislature. President of CCHF Twila Brase applauds the action of the Pennsylvania lawmakers, stating, “The states that refuse to conform to REAL ID are not only well aware of the dangers of the law, but also of the serious violation REAL ID is of states’ rights and the 10th Amendment. REAL ID is a direct attack on state sovereignty.”
Brase added that besides the letter from Pennsylvania, another letter is in the works in South Carolina, and U.S. Senators from Montana have a bill to repeal REAL ID. Five states have not conformed to REAL ID—Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana and Washington—and many non-conforming states have been granted an extension to the conformance deadline, including Pennsylvania.
The REAL ID bill has a two day hearing in the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 PM.
Subscribe to Alpha News for continuous coverage of the REAL ID battle in Minnesota.
