Lack of REAL ID Won't Keep Us Grounded; Feds' No Fly Threat is Empty

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Proponents of REAL ID, a national federal identification card that patient advocates say could turn into a National Patient ID, are using threats of being grounded from flying to force the REAL ID concept on Americans.

But Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, http://HamiltonStrategiesLLC.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d%3f.%3c2%3e%26JDG%3c939397%3f%26SDG%3c90%3a.&RE=MC&RI=3634351&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=28944&Action=Follow+Link), which opposes the Obama administration’s new push to implement a national ID card, says the threats about the inability to fly without a REAL ID card are not only unfounded, but also untrue.

CCHF, a national patient-centered health freedom organization existing to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights, says the federal government has been issuing empty threats regarding REAL ID. Even though there are no penalties or enforcement procedures to secure REAL ID compliance, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a warning last year stating that non-compliant drivers’ licenses would no longer be accepted for domestic air travel starting in January 2016.

“The federal government wants to scare the public into accepting REAL ID,” said Twila Brase, co-founder and president of CCHF. “But when state legislators didn’t jump into conforming activities, DHS extended the deadline to two years later—Jan. 22, 2018—with a stated prohibition on flying in 2020. This is their fourth delay. They know that under the Tenth Amendment, the federal government can’t force or commandeer states to comply. The federal government must implement and fund its own laws. But if they can get the state legislatures to implement and fund it, they can keep the American public unaware and uninformed that they’re getting a federal ID card under federal control.”

So if REAL ID is not required to fly, what’s so bad about a national identification card?

“Besides the blatant violation of states’ rights, the federal government would take control of all Americans’ identification documents and, under the REAL ID Act, could require REAL ID to be used for all sorts of purposes beyond access to federal buildings and commercial flights without further authority from Congress,” Brase said. “Imagine the federal government requiring the REAL ID card for renting a car, going through a toll booth, buying wine and beer and guns, and so much more, including access to medical care. It could become the National Patient ID that was stopped in 1999 by prohibiting any funding for its development, but is still law. Furthermore, data for REAL ID will be held in the federal data verification ‘hub’ built with a $17 million DHS grant.”

CCHF also shares “17 Facts About REAL ID” on its website, which include:

1. DHS and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confirm: all state-issued IDs will be accepted at airports at least until Jan. 22, 2018, and IDs from states with extensions until Oct. 1, 2020. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an ID is not required to fly.

2. TSA acknowledges Americans can still fly without identification. TSA has other ways to confirm identity and acknowledges at least 15 valid IDs for confirming identity to fly.

3. “Storing personal information in a uniform and standardized manner, such as the information on individuals possessing REAL ID credentials, poses a significant security risk given the value of this collection of information.”—DHS Privacy Office

And for those asking questions about REAL ID, CCHF provides three interesting facts:

1. At least seven states currently have laws prohibiting REAL ID, and yet they are currently operating under an extension.

2. Former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano signed a REAL ID prohibition as governor of Arizona. She said she opposed the bill because it is an unfunded federal mandate. Then, as Secretary of Homeland Security, she discussed ways to repeal the REAL ID Act.

3. 28 states and five territories are not compliant with the REAL ID Act.

Furthermore, Brase added, the misconception that Americans, for example, won’t be able to fly on airlines without a REAL ID is put to rest with a list of identifications that are fully compliant with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These include:

• Driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)

• U.S. passport or U.S. passport card

• DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)

“There are at least 15 items people can use as valid identification when traveling,” Brase said. “So the lies that proponents are telling Americans in order to push their agenda of REAL ID are just that—lies. With summer on the horizon, people are asking if a new ID requirement will prevent them from traveling. This should be the least of their worries, as REAL ID has much more frightening and worrisome implications.”

For more information about CCHF, visit its web site at http://HamiltonStrategiesLLC.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d%3f.%3c2%3e%26JDG%3c939397%3f%26SDG%3c90%3a.&RE=MC&RI=3634351&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=28944&Action=Follow+Link, its Facebook page at http://HamiltonStrategiesLLC.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d%3f.%3c2%3e%26JDG%3c939397%3f%26SDG%3c90%3a.&RE=MC&RI=3634351&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=28943&Action=Follow+Link or its Twitter feed, @CCHFreedom.

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom, a patient-centered national health freedom organization based in St. Paul, Minn., exists to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights. CCHF sponsors the daily, 60-second radio feature, Health Freedom Minute, which airs on more than 400 stations nationwide, including nearly 200 on the American Family Radio Network and 100 on the Bott Radio Network. Listeners can learn more about the agenda behind health care initiatives and steps they can take to protect their health care choices, rights and privacy. For information on how to add “Health Freedom Minute” to a station lineup, contact Michael Hamilton at mhamilton@hamiltonstrategies.com, (610) 584-1096 or (215) 519-4838.