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2005 Ron Paul Chapter 19
Ron Paul’s Congressional website
... Cached
Congressional Record [.PDF]
HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS
BEFORE THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 9, 2005
HR 418- A National ID Bill Masquerading as Immigration Reform
2005 Ron Paul 19:1
Mr. Speaker:
I rise in strong opposition to
HR 418,
the REAL ID Act. This bill purports to make us safer from terrorists
who may
sneak into the United States, and from other illegal immigrants. While
I agree
that these issues are of vital importance, this bill will do very
little to make
us more secure. It will not address our real vulnerabilities. It will,
however,
make us much less free. In reality, this bill is a Trojan horse. It
pretends to
offer desperately needed border control in order to stampede Americans
into
sacrificing what is uniquely American: our constitutionally protected
liberty.
2005 Ron Paul 19:2
What is wrong with this bill?
2005 Ron Paul 19:3
The REAL ID Act establishes a
national
ID card by mandating that states include certain minimum identification
standards on driver’s licenses. It contains no limits on the
government’s
power to impose additional standards. Indeed, it gives authority to the
Secretary of Homeland Security to unilaterally add requirements as he
sees fit.
2005 Ron Paul 19:4
Supporters claim it is not a
national
ID because it is voluntary. However, any state that opts out will
automatically
make non-persons out of its citizens. The citizens of that state will
be unable
to have any dealings with the federal government because their ID will
not be
accepted. They will not be able to fly or to take a train. In essence,
in the
eyes of the federal government they will cease to exist. It is absurd
to call
this voluntary.
2005 Ron Paul 19:5
Republican Party talking
points on this
bill, which claim that this is not a national ID card, nevertheless
endorse the
idea that “the federal government should set standards for the issuance
of
birth certificates and sources of identification such as driver’s
licenses.”
So they admit that they want a national ID but at the same time pretend
that
this is not a national ID.
2005 Ron Paul 19:6
This bill establishes a
massive,
centrally-coordinated database of highly personal information about
American
citizens: at a minimum their name, date of birth, place of residence,
Social
Security number, and physical and possibly other characteristics. What
is even
more disturbing is that, by mandating that states participate in the
“Drivers
License Agreement,” this bill creates a massive database of sensitive
information on American citizens that will be shared with Canada and
Mexico!
2005 Ron Paul 19:7
This bill could have a
chilling effect
on the exercise of our constitutionally guaranteed rights. It
re-defines
“terrorism” in broad new terms that could well include members of
firearms rights and anti-abortion groups, or other such groups as
determined by
whoever is in power at the time. There are no prohibitions against
including
such information in the database as information about a person’s
exercise of
First Amendment rights or about a person’s appearance on a registry of
firearms owners.
2005 Ron Paul 19:8
This legislation gives
authority to the
Secretary of Homeland Security to expand required information on
driver’s
licenses, potentially including such biometric information as retina
scans,
finger prints, DNA information, and even Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID)
radio tracking technology. Including such technology as RFID would mean
that the
federal government, as well as the governments of Canada and Mexico,
would know
where Americans are at all time of the day and night.
2005 Ron Paul 19:9
There are no limits on what
happens to
the database of sensitive information on Americans once it leaves the
United
States for Canada and Mexico - or perhaps other countries. Who is to
stop a
corrupt foreign government official from selling or giving this
information to
human traffickers or even terrorists? Will this uncertainty make us
feel safer?
2005 Ron Paul 19:10
What will all of this mean for
us? When
this new program is implemented, every time we are required to show our
driver’s
license we will, in fact, be showing a national identification card. We
will be
handing over a card that includes our personal and likely biometric
information,
information which is connected to a national and international database.
2005 Ron Paul 19:11
H.R. 418 does nothing to solve
the
growing threat to national security posed by people who are already in
the U.S.
illegally. Instead, H.R. 418 states what we already know: that certain
people
here illegally are “deportable.” But it does nothing to mandate
deportation.
2005 Ron Paul 19:12
Although Congress funded an
additional
2,000 border guards last year, the administration has announced that it
will
only ask for an additional 210 guards. Why are we not pursuing these
avenues as
a way of safeguarding our country? Why are we punishing Americans by
taking away
their freedoms instead of making life more difficult for those who
would enter
our country illegally?
2005 Ron Paul 19:13
H.R. 418 does what legislation
restricting firearm ownership does. It punishes law-abiding citizens.
Criminals
will ignore it. H.R. 418 offers us a false sense of greater security at
the cost
of taking a gigantic step toward making America a police state.
2005 Ron Paul 19:14
I urge my colleagues to vote
“NO”
on the REAL ID Act of 2005.
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