Larry Pressler: “I rise to explain the false ID amendment I have proposed to S. 735, the Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act.…”

“I rise to explain the false ID amendment I have proposed to S. 735, the Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act. According to several national news sources, Timothy McVeigh, the primary suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing, allegedly used a false South Dakota driver's license to rent the Ryder truck which exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building on April 19 of this year. Again, the driver's license used by McVeigh was a fake. Timothy McVeigh is not a resident of South Dakota, nor do I believe he ever has been a resident of my State. My understanding is the fake license contained his picture, but a different name. To add insult to injury, the birthdate listed on the license was April 19, the same date as the bombing. This example illustrates how easily a terrorist can obtain an authentic-looking driver's license, and operate in our society under an assumed name. It is not clear at this point exactly how McVeigh obtained the false South Dakota driver's license. However, the sad fact is, false identification documents [ID's] are easy and cheap to obtain given the advanced state of computer technology today. Counterfeiting a driver's license is child's play for sophisticated computer users. Modern color printers can produce stunningly accurate reproductions of driver's licenses, Social Security cards, and other ID's. Even anticounterfeiting measures, such as holographic images and magnetic strips, are being duplicated with relative ease.”