Real ID smear campaign

The misinformation being spread on the Real ID Act the last minute is stunning.

For example, see the ACLU statement,

The rise in identity theft has put many people’s personal information at risk. Now, legislation passed by Congress will create a ripe target for identity thieves by allowing the government to compile your most personal information -- such as your name, address, photo, birth certificate, social security number and perhaps even your DNA -- into a national database. Thousands of government employees will have access to this giant network, dramatically increasing the risk of your personal information being stolen.

Faced with the outcry from concerned activists like you, supporters of this legislation -- the REAL ID Act -- were only able to pass it by attaching it to an unrelated emergency appropriations bill. This bill will soon be signed into law by President Bush. We need to reach out to our Members of Congress today to express our profound disappointment that they did not remove the REAL ID bill from the unrelated appropriations bill.

This is a complete red herring.

State employee's already have this informtion as part of the normal licensing process. The Real ID act just ensures that this information is accurate. That in no ways increases your exposure to identity theft.

And if the law succeeds in keeping criminals out of the US then many cases of identity theft may be prevented.