Comments Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
(Chief Sponsor Of The Leahy-Stevens Amendment)
On The State Department’s Proposed Rule, Issued Tuesday,
To Implement The PASS Card Border ID System,
Part Of The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)
Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2006

“It’s depressing to see that the Administration is still stumbling toward a debacle with the PASS Card system.  Earlier this month Congress prescribed repairs to fix PASS Card’s worst problems, but so far these agencies have blithely ignored the help.  That has to change, and we will push to make sure that it does change.

“This draft rule shows the importance of our reforms to improve the PASS Card system and to make these agencies more accountable.  Though our amendment has been moving toward enactment for most of this year, the Administration has failed to incorporate most of these improvements into their plan.  Without even testing the technology for use as a passport or personal ID, they have chosen a weaker security standard that would make our borders less secure and that would risk the personal information of millions of Americans.  But this draft rule isn’t the last word.  Under our new law, the security issue will be revisited when the National Institute of Standards and Technology is required to certify whether it would protect Americans’ personal identification.”

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