{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gimenez.house.gov/2023/12/chairman-carlos-gimenez-questions-witnesses-on-implementation-of-real-id-act", "Chairman Carlos Gimenez Questions Witnesses on Implementation of REAL ID Act", "2023-12-05", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Carlos A. Gimenez", "G000593", "gimenez.house.gov", "gimenez", "https://gimenez.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Carlos A. Gim\u00e9nez (FL-28) chaired a Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security hearing entitled Identity Management Innovation: Looking Beyond Real ID, that examined the status and challenges of identity management, with a focus on the implementation of the REAL ID Act of 2005.\n\nThe REAL ID Act of 2005 established security standards that driver licenses and identification cards must satisfy in order to be accepted by federal agencies and to board airline flights in the United States. This hearing explored best practices for improving digital identity adoption and strengthening the security and convenience of identity management for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).\n\n\u201cCustomer service and safety should be an absolute priority for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As Chairman of the Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee, I have spearheaded initiatives to provide for a safe, secure, and speedy airport experience for all traveling Americans,\u201d said Chairman Gimenez. \u201cCongress passed REAL ID over 18 years ago and it was imperative to hear from witnesses who could speak to the ongoing challenges the program is facing.\u201d\n\nWITNESSES\n\nIan Grossman\n\nPresident & CEO, The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators\n\nJeremy Grant\n\nCoordinator, Better Identity Coalition\n\nHal Whiediger\n\nSenior Vice President of Client Success, IDEMIA\n\nJay Stanley\n\nSenior Policy Analyst, American Civil Liberties Union\n\nThe hearing was live streamed on Youtube and the Committee\u2019s website.\n\nTo watch Chairman Gimenez\u2019s opening statements CLICK HERE or read the transcript below:\n\nAmerican identity management is fundamentally fractured.\n\nThe REAL ID Act of 2005 was passed in response to September 11th. The goal of the Act was to address the fact that the hijackers were able to fraudulently obtain state drivers\u2019 licenses and thereby enable their heinous act of terrorism.\n\nCongress decided that there needed to be security standards for states when it came to identity documents. 18 years later, approximately 52 percent of the American population possesses a driver\u2019s license that is REAL ID-compliant.\n\nOnly 4 states require REAL ID, which leaves 46 states and 5 American territories that provide non-REAL ID\u2019s as an option.\n\nThe problem comes to a head on May 7, 2025. On this date, if you do not have a REAL ID, you will not be able to fly in the U.S., unless you happen to have a Passport, Global Entry card, or some sort of other government issued ID that is approved for air travel. Suffice to say, on May 7, 2025, we are going to encounter utter mayhem at our airports.\n\nSince 2005, the Department of Homeland Security has awarded over 263 million dollars in grant funding to assist in enhancements to driver\u2019s licenses. While this money has enabled individual States to update their processes, the REAL ID efforts have come in behind schedule and over budget. While all states are now offering REAL ID compliant licenses, there is more work to be done to raise awareness and REAL ID adoption.\n\nYesterday, I had the chance to meet with our Transportation Security Administration, which is now overseeing REAL ID efforts given DHS Headquarters\u2019 mismanagement of this important initiative since the beginning.\n\nIn 2020, TSA took over REAL ID management and Congress passed the REAL ID Modernization Act, providing streamlined and innovative enhancements to REAL ID requirements. Since then, the work has expanded and become more efficient.\n\nFurthermore, the TSA\u2019s identity management team has sought to look beyond physical identity documents and engage the digital realm\u2014bringing together experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, technology companies, and banks to conceptualize the future of digital identity in the United States.\n\nI applaud these efforts but am concerned that this is a bigger effort than just one agency in one department \u2013 it requires a whole-of-government approach and leadership from the highest levels. Sadly, every American knows somebody or has themselves, been a victim of identity theft.\n\nThis year alone, the Identity Theft Resource Center recorded more than 2,800 data breach notices which included over 273 million individuals. Total financial losses for Americans was over 10 billion dollars.\n\nThe average cost for a US driver\u2019s license on the black market is between 150 and 200 dollars. The average cost of a social security number is worth only a few pennies. In other words, social security numbers are easy to forge and not a very secure way to identify yourself.\n\nThere\u2019s also a darker side to identity theft.\n\nThe Identity Theft Resource Center reports that 16 percent of identity crime victims contemplated suicide the past year due to the impact of their stolen identity. Simply put: this issue is about more than simply getting a driver\u2019s license.\n\nI firmly believe our current identity management challenges are solvable and provide us with an opportunity. However, it will require hard work.\n\nWe will need to fix the current problem by devaluing the stolen identity data of Americans that is already out in the open so that criminals cannot so easily leverage American identities for nefarious purposes.\n\nAnd we must take a hard look at how we can protect future American identities by providing new ways to prove that you are\u2014in fact\u2014who you say you are, such as new mobile driver\u2019s license that are a digital counterpart to plastic ID cards and that can be used not only in person but also online.\n\nWhen it comes to the future of identity, Americans are rightly skeptical and concerned about privacy and civil liberties\u2014especially the collection of biometric data.\n\nThis is why in today\u2019s hearing we will draw the important distinction between biometric verification versus biometric recognition.\n\nAs usual, the private sector has had solutions to identity management for decades. Though, because government is the only authoritative issuer of identity, there are limitations on what industry alone can deliver.\n\nWe have with us today a panel of experts in the industry that have been involved in this discussion since the beginning of these discussions.\n\nThe American people deserve a robust discussion about the timeline of events and how it is that we landed here\u201418 years after the passage of the REAL ID Act\u2014with even greater challenges than we had before.\n\nI look forward to the discussion and the solutions that are offered.\n\n###\n\nCongressman Carlos Gim\u00e9nez represents Miami-Dade County and the beautiful Florida Keys. He is the only Cuban-born Member of the 118th Congress, having fled his homeland shortly after the Communist takeover of the island. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, and the Select Committee on China.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://gimenez.house.gov/2023/12/chairman-carlos-gimenez-questions-witnesses-on-implementation-of-real-id-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.711338758468628, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}