{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases/hirono-backed-bill-to-provide-long-term-ids-for-fas-citizens-passes-senate-heads-to-presidents-desk", "Hirono-Backed Bill To Provide Long-Term IDs for FAS Citizens Passes Senate, Heads to President\u2019s Desk", "2018-12-10", "2018", "2018-12", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Mazie Hirono", "H001042", "www.hirono.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 10, 2018\n\t\t\t Hirono-Backed Bill To Provide Long-Term IDs for FAS Citizens Passes Senate, Heads to President's Desk \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON,\r\nDC\r\nThe United States Senate unanimously passed legislation supported by Senator\r\nMazie K. Hirono that would remove existing barriers that limit citizens of the\r\nFreely Associated States (FAS) from accessing long-term, REAL ID compliant,\r\nstate-issued driver's licenses and identification.  The\r\nbill, H.R. 3398, the REAL ID Act Modification for Freely Associated States Act,\r\ncorrects a mistake in the 2005 REAL ID Act that inaccurately identifies\r\ncitizens of the Freely Associated States as citizens of the Trust Territories\r\nof the Pacific Islands. Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced\r\nthe legislation in the House of Representatives in July 2017, where\r\nit passed in September 2018. It\r\nmakes no sense that FAS citizens, who are freely able to live and work in the\r\nUnited States cannot obtain permanent, REAL ID compliant identification because\r\nCongress made a mistake, Senator Hirono said. By fixing it, this\r\nlegislation will make it much easier for FAS citizens to maintain stable\r\nemployment and contribute to their adopted homes.  We\r\nare thankful for Senator Hirono's leadership in urging the Senate to pass H.R.\r\n3398. This bill will enable Hawaii residents who are citizens of the Freely\r\nAssociated States to receive long-term driver's licenses and state ID cards\r\nwhich will facilitate their employment, housing, health care enrollment, and\r\nmore, Jocelyn Howard, Program Director at We Are Oceania, said. This\r\nissue has been an unnecessary social and economic barrier for the FAS community\r\nand we appreciate Senator Hirono's continued support.  Today's\r\nvote comes just days after Senator Hirono urged quick consideration of the bill\r\nin\r\na letter she sent to her Senate colleagues, stating that the bill will\r\nrelieve an unnecessary burden, not just on FAS citizens residing in the United\r\nStates, but also on their employers and state agencies, as current practices\r\nhave resulted in higher administrative costs on states and local authorities to\r\nannually renew and process identification cards and driver's licenses. The\r\nbill also adds a subsection under the Evidence of Lawful Status that expands\r\nthe ability of citizens from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the\r\nFederated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau to access longer-term\r\nidentification. According to a Census Bureau report from 2013, there are 14,700\r\nFAS citizens living in Hawaii.   The\r\nfull text of the letter can be found below:  Dear\r\nColleague,  Please\r\njoin me in supporting H.R. 3398, the Real ID Act Modification for Freely\r\nAssociated States Act which unanimously passed the House.   Under\r\ndecades-old defense treaties with the U.S. known as the Compacts of Free\r\nAssociation, Americans and citizens from the Federated States of Micronesia and\r\nthe Republics of the Marshall Islands and Palau (collectively known as the\r\nFreely Associated States or FAS) are able to live and work in each other's\r\ncountry indefinitely as non-immigrants. The Compacts also allow FAS citizens to\r\nserve in the U.S. military and FAS citizens enlist at per capita rates higher\r\nthan most U.S. states with many settling in the U.S. after serving. Upon entry\r\ninto the U.S., FAS citizens are issued appropriate documentation (I-94s) which\r\nare marked with the traveler's citizenship but do not indicate a date when\r\ntheir status ends, as they are granted an unlimited length of stay pursuant to\r\nthe Compacts.   H.R.\r\n3398 corrects an outdated term used in the 2005 Real ID Act that refers to the\r\nnow-defunct Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) rather than the\r\ncurrent FAS. This has resulted in unnecessary hardships placed on citizens of\r\nthree U.S. allies in the Pacific lawfully residing in our country.   The\r\nerror has denied these lawful U.S. residents anything more than a temporary ID\r\nor driver's license valid for one year and places an undue burden on their\r\nability to maintain stable employment and contribute to their adopted homes\r\nlike Springdale, Arkansas, one of the largest Marshallese communities outside the\r\nMarshall Islands, Hawaii, and elsewhere. The error also adds unnecessary\r\nadministrative costs on states and local authorities to annually renew and\r\nprocess identification cards and driver's licenses.  The\r\nSenate is now in a position fix the problem by passing the Real ID Act\r\nModification for Freely Associated States Act which would simply replace\r\nreferences in the Act to the defunct TTPI with the FAS. Specifically the bill\r\nadds a subsection in the Real ID Act under Evidence of lawful status that\r\nstates, is a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated\r\nStates of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau who has been admitted to the\r\nUnited States as a nonimmigrant pursuant to a Compact of Free Association\r\nbetween the United States and the Republic or Federated States. This update in\r\nterms is fully consistent with the original intent of Congress to provide FAS\r\ncitizens with access to longer-term identification. In addition, language identical\r\nto H.R. 3398 has been included in the Omnibus Territories Act, which has\r\npassed the Senate by unanimous consent in the past two Congresses, but has\r\nnever been acted on by the House.  Passing\r\nthis bill will relieve an unnecessary burden, not just on FAS citizens residing\r\nin the U.S. but also on their employers and state agencies, and allow valuable\r\ntime resources to be redirected toward other priorities.   Sincerely,\r\n   MAZIE\r\nK. HIRONO U.S.\r\nSenator  ###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases/hirono-backed-bill-to-provide-long-term-ids-for-fas-citizens-passes-senate-heads-to-presidents-desk"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.178639940917492, "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"}