March 13, 2009

SABOTAGING REAL ID
A legislative column by state Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin)

Who can forget the morning of September 11, 2001?  Terrorists hijacked commercial passenger jet airliners and crashed two of them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.

During the summer of 2006, I had a moving and powerful experience at a tour of the World Trade Center site where 2,749 innocent people were slaughtered and murdered by cowardly terrorists. I will always remember the words of the tour guide, retired New York City Fire Department Lieutenant Paul McFadden:

“This was an act of war. It was not a tsunami. It was not an earthquake. It was nothing in nature. It was not an act of God; it was an act of war. And, if you think that it is over, you’re naïve, because they are out there, and they are still plotting against us.”

The murders of 9/11 led Wisconsin Congressman James Sensenbrenner to author the Real ID bill. Sensenbrenner wrote the following in an editorial published in the USA TODAY on May 9, 2005: 

“On Sept. 11, 2001, 18 of the 19 hijackers deliberately used valid driver's licenses and state IDs — as opposed to their passports — as their document of choice to board the airplanes. Why? Because state IDs allowed the hijackers to avoid suspicion. A driver's license allows freedom of movement and conveys credibility.”

Real ID requires all states to confirm identities of license applicants, confirm that visas are valid for foreign visitors, keep accurate records, and make driver's licenses and ID cards difficult to counterfeit. Improved, complete records should ease the license renewal process and keep lines shorter.

Sensenbrenner’s contention and I would agree is that if Real ID had been in place before 9/11/01, terrorists would have been unable to board the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

States need to comply with Real ID that was approved by Congress and signed into law so that their residents can board airplanes and gain entry to federal courthouses. The state of Wisconsin for more than a year has been collecting $10 per driver’s license fee in order to comply with Real ID. However, Governor Doyle’s 2009-11 state budget proposal refrains from putting any funding toward compliance. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports over $12.5 million has been collected from motorists that was supposed to go toward compliance with the federal law.

I agree with Congressman Sensenbrenner.  He says, "If he (Governor Doyle) keeps the fee that was collected for Real ID and doesn't use it for that purpose, then he's stealing money from people who got licenses or renewed licenses since the fee went up."

Real ID is necessary for homeland security. The money state residents have already paid for Real ID should be used by Governor Doyle exclusively for that program.

If you have comments on this or any other issue, please contact me at Sen.Lazich@legis.wisconsin.gov, www.SenatorLazich.com, Senator Mary Lazich, State Capitol, P.O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707 or 1-800-334-1442.