Douglas Alexander: “Seventeen State legislatures, including Tennessee, have passed legislation against REAL ID. We do not want it. We want…”

“Seventeen State legislatures, including Tennessee, have passed legislation against REAL ID. We do not want it. We want something else. But for those who do have it, they have to get cracking because it says here: States have to be ready to comply with these new measures by May of next year. The Department of Homeland Security has not even issued final regulations about what the compliance must be. But the Department, thanks to the good work of Senator Collins and others with an amendment we had earlier this year, has agreed to grant waivers to States for delayed implementation. So States have a little bit of time to work on this, if they choose to. But 17 States do not want to. However, we have a principle here called federalism. Much of it is incorporated in the 10th amendment to the Constitution. I see our constitutional expert, the Senator from West Virginia, on the floor. When I was Governor, I said on the floor many times, nothing made me madder than when some Congressman or Senator would stand up with a big idea, pass it, hold a press conference taking credit for it, and send the bill to me.”