Swiped away
State’s opposition to national ID means loss of business for local ID cardmakers
By MATTHEW L. BROWN
Security and identification executives in Massachusetts say the state and its U.S. Congressional delegation’s bid to repeal the federal Real ID Act lacks any sense of practicality.
The act, which introduces a national identification card for U.S. citizens, was penned in 2006, and states would have had until May 11, 2008 to comply.
But last week, the Bush administration agreed to postpone the launch of the Real ID program amid complaints from states that the $11 billion program would be too costly.
Massachusetts is one of several states proposing legislation against the Real ID Act, leaving firms like Northboro-based Plastic Card Systems and Billerica-based Viisage in the lurch.
"Those of us in the industry are very concerned," says Robert Axline, CEO of Plastic Card Systems.
States that have at least considered starting to solicit bids from firms to produce the national ID cards, install equipment, train workers, and run the system, will be in a better position to comply with the law by the May 11 deadline.
Massachusetts is not one of those states.
Plastic Card Systems was involved with the new ID cards for military personnel and the White House. Axline says the U.S. needs a dependable, secure, uniform identification system. "But there’s a strong lobby against a national ID," he says.
"They say it’s an attempt to stop fraudulent production," Axline said, "but somebody pulled that out of someplace."
Massachusetts driver’s licenses already have some features of the national ID card, Axline says. Also, organizations like the American Association of Motor Vehicle Admin-istrators and the Document Security Alliance have been working on a driver’s license system for a decade.
"It’s strange that all of a sudden,
the legislature thought this was a
problem," he says.
"We care about privacy," Axline says. "The fact of the matter is you can go on the internet and find out more about yourself. This whole TJX thing is a lot bigger problem; these companies have no responsibility."
In January, TJX Cos Inc., operator of the TJ Maxx and Marshalls chains, admitted that the credit and debit card information of thousands of customers had been stolen from the company’s computer system.
"I was on committee with the Secret Service, and the worry was unless we carry passports, we don’t have real ID," Axline says.
Instead, U.S. security officials deal with a hodgepodge of cheap plastic cards that wouldn’t pass quality control at Fisher Price, and state identification systems that practically invite fraud.
"In Ohio, you just send 20 bucks, and they’ll send you a birth certificate. People can generate a whole new identity that way. What’s the good in showing an ID at the airport if it’s a phony?" Axline wonders.
Like other state and federal legislators, state Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Worcester, doubts the federal government has the money to pay for the new Real ID system.
It doesn’t matter that organizations like the AAMV have been working on the development of a national ID for years, or that companies in Massachusetts would at least bid on the federal contracts to produce the cards and related systems, Moore says, because the government can’t afford it.
Besides, "there’s some discussion that the feds might be identifying specific products they’re interested in," says Moore, so whether Massachusetts companies get any work related to the Real ID could be moot.
"I think most of the state legislators around the country I’ve spoken to say that at least it gets delayed so the federal government can come up with the money to implement it," Moore says.
Since before 2005, Viisage has said it’s unlikely there would be one national ID with one national database. Instead, it’s more likely that states would maintain their own driver’s licenses, but work on a way to share data nationwide, and on ways to make such a national information-sharing system more secure.
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