Christopher Shays: “welcome to the world of Mohammed Atta: Legal visa to come in, 6 months; driver's license from Florida, 6 years. Like…”

“welcome to the world of Mohammed Atta: Legal visa to come in, 6 months; driver's license from Florida, 6 years. Like many in this Chamber, I was a strong supporter of the intelligence reform legislation passed last year, but when I voted for it, I believed we needed to go further in several areas, including strengthening driver's license guidelines. In my home State of Connecticut, we take strong steps to ensure the integrity of our identification cards, but we are not perfect. To receive a driver's license in Connecticut, you must prove you are a legal resident of the State, and you are not a legal resident of the State if you are not legally present in the United States, period. This is common sense to me. Driver's licenses are verifiable forms of identification in the United States. Providing such identification cards to people who are illegally present in our country presents serious concerns. The problem, however, is that not all States maintain this high standard. That means that someone who is illegally present in the United States and takes advantage of a weak law in another State can obtain a driver's license and use the document to identify him or herself in the State of Connecticut. They can also use that document to access Federal buildings, rent a vehicle or get on a plane. Tightening access to State-issued identification cards is an important and necessary improvement for our homeland security.”