April 15, 2002Senator Richard J. Durbin, Chairman
Subcommittee On Oversight Of Government Management,
Restructuring And The District of Columbia
332 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Fax: (202) 228-0400Senator George Voinovich, Ranking Member
Subcommittee On Oversight Of Government Management,
Restructuring And The District of Columbia
317 Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510
Fax: (202) 228-1382Re: April 16, 2002 Subcommittee Hearing on Standardizing State Driver’s Licenses
Dear Senators Durbin and Voinovich,
We are writing to draw your attention to the significant opposition to the proposed establishment of a system of national identification. Enclosed is the EPIC report Your Papers, Please: From the State Drivers License to a National Identification System, which details the serious risk to privacy and security if proposals to standardize the state driver’s license are adopted. Also enclosed is the executive summary from a new National Research Council report, IDs--Not That Easy: Questions About Nationwide Identity Systems, which similarly cautions against expanding the purpose of the state driver’s licenses.
Recent polling data highlights the public’s growing reluctance to establish a national identity system based on the state driver’s license. Support for a national ID card has fallen over the last several months. A recent poll conducted by Gartner, Inc. reveals that only 26% of the population supports a card, while 41% are opposed to it. The poll also shows that the state motor vehicle departments, along with the IRS, are seen by the public to be among the least trustworthy government agencies to administer such a system if it were developed. Another poll by the Washington Post found that 44% of Americans think that a national identification card, even if it is voluntary, is “a way to keep track of people and is an invasion of people’s civil liberties and privacy.”
Further, a broad coalition of organizations across the political spectrum has expressed opposition to the proposal. Enclosed is the coalition letter to President Bush and Secretary Mineta encouraging them to reject proposals to create a national ID card.
Identity theft, expanded information gathering and sharing by commercial and government authorities, and the availability and use of fake or fraudulently issued driver's licenses are all significant issues that you have raised. There are a number of steps that could be taken to improve the security of the driver’s license issuing system without creating a national identification system. Such steps might include better internal audits of state DMV employees and encouraging research into printing technologies that make it harder to produce fraudulent cards. The “one identity-one card” concept touted by AAMVA is the basis for a national identification scheme that will only serve to exacerbate the problem of identity theft and facilitate much greater information gathering and sharing.
Since the creation of the Social Security Number in the 1930s, the United States has remained firmly opposed to the establishment of a national ID card. Your committee is considering a serious and lasting change to America’s constitutional values and tradition. We urge you to examine this proposal carefully to determine whether it is an effective response to public concerns and whether the unintended consequences have been adequately considered.
We request that this letter and its attachments be placed in the hearing record.
Sincerely yours,
Marc Rotenberg
Executive DirectorMihir Kshirsagar
IPIOP Fellow