Dear Senator:
On behalf of the 350,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I urge you to make a number of changes to H.R. 1268, the Emergency Supplemental Spending Act for the War on Terror, Tsunami Relief, etc., before sending it to the floor for final passage. Although the House wisely removed more than $500 million in non-emergency spending for the Iraq embassy, the bill before the Senate still has two glaring flaws. First and foremost, none of the spending contained in this bill is offset, so Congress is about to push the American people $81 billion deeper into debt without even looking for essential cost savings. Second, the House, through the use of parliamentary maneuvers, has tucked provisions of the "Real ID Act," which would only hasten the development of a national ID card, into the bill.
With spending-induced budget deficits likely to persist for several years, it is inexcusable that Congress has chosen to fund our current efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention aid for tsunami victims, on the backs of our children and grandchildren. If these really do amount to "must-pass" spending, there is no reason not to offset them by reducing lower-priority items.
Every bit as discouraging as the out-of-control spending is the fact that this supplemental is being used to once again push forward with the adoption of national ID cards for all Americans. The bill would mandate rigid requirements for states to verify birth certificates and federal immigration documents; establish federal security standards for locations where driver's licenses are produced and stored; regulate personnel training and security clearances; set federal data storage requirements; and prohibit financial assistance to a state unless it joins an undefined interstate compact.
Aside from the complexities associated with the mechanics of forcing the states to administer this new national ID system, the proposal would burden states with a major new unfunded mandate. In fact, state experts estimate that the Real ID Act will cost $500 to $750 million over 5 years to implement, plus an annual ongoing cost of $50 to $75 million to operate.
Congress is now dominated by a Republican Party that achieved power by pledging to be frugal with taxpayer dollars and by giving states a greater voice in policymaking. This emergency supplemental in its current form does the exact opposite. If the two areas outlined above remain unaddressed in the final bill, NTU will be forced to urge the Senate to vote against final passage of this bill. This vote will be heavily weighted in our annual Rating of Congress.
Sincerely,
Paul J. Gessing
Director of Government Affairs