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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