The original May 11 deadline for Real ID compliance has come and gone, but not a single state has implemented the program, which calls for uniform standards for state-issued ID cards and a system that would provide the federal government with broad access to state identification records.

The Real ID Act, which was squeezed into a 2005 military spending bill and passed with virtually no discussion or debate in Congress, has met with heavy resistance from civil liberties advocates and state governments. The implementation costs have far exceeded the original meager estimates and the federal government is providing virtually no cash to support the initiative. A growing number of states are determined to defy Congress and have passed bills rejecting Real ID implementation.

All 50 states have been granted extensions from the Department of Homeland Security, ensuring that their citizens will still be permitted to board planes and enter government buildings. Given the nature of the extended deadlines, some speculate that the Bush administration wants to avoid a direct confrontation with the states and that the next president could pressure Congress to institute some changes to the Real ID program.

"By granting all 50 states waivers, the current administration has handed off the issue to the next administration," Center for Democracy and Technology director Jim Dempsey told the Washington Independent.

In addition to serious cost issues, the Real ID Act also raises valid privacy concerns. Although it does not technically create a centralized database, the program would make an enormous amount of widely distributed identity information accessible to the federal government in a manner that security experts say heightens the risk of identity theft—a highly counterproductive outcome for a plan that is touted as a means of reducing risks to national security.

It seems apparent now that the Real ID Act was fundamentally misguided, but an acceptable resolution to the problem isn't immediately apparent. Additional extensions only delay the inevitable and don't change the realities of inadequate funding and unreasonable expectations.

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