Madam President. I rise today in support of the BaucusTesterSununuLeahyAkakaCollins amendment to strip the references to the problematic REAL ID program from the underlying immigration bill. We may agree or disagree about the merits of the actual REAL ID program. but as hearings in the Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee have shown. REAL ID is far from being ready for primetime. In fact. the Department of Homeland Security has not even released final regulations directing the States on REAL ID implementation. With 260 million drivers in this country. I do not see how we could have the massive national databases required by REAL ID and this immigration bill up and running by the 2013 deadline set in this bill. In addition to numerous privacy and civil liberties concerns. REAL ID is an unfunded mandate that could cost the States in excess of $23 billion.
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immigration