(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) Vice President for Policy David Williams will today speak at a seminar of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) about the costs and privacy dangers of embedding “smart cards” in state-issued drivers’ licenses.  Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): A Policymaker’s Guide, sponsored by the ID Systems Partners Project and the NCSL Communications, Technology and Interstate Commerce Committee, focuses on wireless tracking technology, which is being considered by the Department of Homeland Security as a possible option for implementing the Real ID Act. 

Passed in May 2005, the Real ID Act for the first time set federal standards for authenticating and securing state-issued driver’s licenses.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon issue specific guidelines to implement the new requirements.  Contact-less integrated circuits such as RFID technology is one of two main forms of protection being considered.  In October 2005, CAGW released Real ID: Big Brother Could Cost Big Money, which concluded that implementing RFID technology on a national scale could cost $17.4 billion and could push the cost of a drivers’ license from $10 to $25 to $93.  Furthermore, RFID chips have the memory to store every detail about the person, including health records, family history, bank and credit card transactions.  RFID chips can also be remotely accessed by unauthorized persons, raising the risk of identity theft.    

The other option for implementing Real ID is magnetic stripes or two-dimensional (2-D) barcodes.  Currently, 49 states use either magnetic stripes or 2-D technology on drivers’ licenses and have had minimal identity theft problems.  No state currently uses chips in its licenses.  Other innovations being used at the state level include ghost photos, holograms, and digital watermarks, which make counterfeiting extremely difficult and ensure that information printed on the license has been authenticated.  RFID chips would force some states to shelve millions of dollars of investment into their own security solutions and start from scratch.  The NCSL estimates that it will cost $9-$13 billion over six years for every state to comply with the Real ID Act regulations using current license issuing techniques.  Using NCSL’s conservative figure, U.S. drivers can expect to pay an average of $47 for a new license if DHS regulations conform to existing standards.  This is about half the cost of chip technology.

CAGW has collected more than 5,000 letters from its members urging DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff to reject the use of RFID chips in state-issued drivers’ licenses. 

“It was Congress’s intent that DHS model Real ID regulations on existing state standards,” Williams says.  “DHS must work with state governments to issue regulations that do not overburden states and taxpayers or invade citizens’ privacy.” 

David Williams is part of the panel Case Studies: RFID at Work in Government and Business, 8:30 – 11:15 AM at the Hilton Chicago. 

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement, and abuse in government.