US National ID Card Act to be Made Law Today

When the Senate approved a Bill calling for $82 billion in funds for Iraq and tsunami relief, it also approved the Real ID Act which in effect will see the introduction of a hi-tech national identity card system, possibly within months.

Opposition to the Act, which many say was unfairly introduced under the cover of the war fund request, is considerable, with about 600 different organizations opposing the plan, not least because there was no public debate prior to its approval.

Tim Sparapani, a legislative council for privacy rights with the ACLU, said that no politician would have voted down the Real ID proposition for fear of upsetting the main priority of the bill which was the Iraq war and tsunami relief funds.

(source)