Federal Computer Week reports on the anemic funding for REAL ID in the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bills that spend money on DHS for fiscal year 2008, which begins October 1st. This is a reflection of the lacking enthusiasm for a national ID in Congress (as in the Administration, which also underfunded REAL ID in its budget).
The House bill has only $50 million in it for REAL ID, and the Senate bill has no money at all. But the Information Technology Association of America is on the case.
That’s not much, but at least it’s a start, said Jennifer Kerber, senior director of homeland security programs at the Information Technology Association of America, whose members are high-tech companies. Many states look at Real ID as an unfunded mandate from the federal government, which could undermine the program, she added.
“If the federal government doesn’t come up with funding, then some states will not implement Real ID,” Kerber said. “We’ve already seen some cases where [state departments of motor vehicles] have asked for money to improve their processes, but the state legislatures have turned them down because they don’t see anything coming from the feds.”
Without doubt, Jennifer and her colleagues are up on Capitol Hill warning of this awful fate. ITAA issued a shabby “white paper” in May arguing for full funding of REAL ID and saying that it would “enhance” privacy. Embarassing.
It’s unfortunate to see an otherwise solid trade association acting as a government supplicant and working to undermine freedom, supposedly on behalf of the information technology industry.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.