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http://humane-rights-agenda.blogspot.com/2006/09/9-27-2006-aztlannetnews-report.html
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List of Titles of Articles with URL Weblinks
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http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?menu=A11100&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;no=319668&rel_no=1&back_url=
Published 2006-09-26 17:01 (KST)
How to Solve the Problems of Globalization
Joseph Stiglitz and Evo Morales offer differing views
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15608355.htm
Tue, Sep. 26, 2006
BOLIVIA: Morales' U.N. address gives his people a voice
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http://www.kcra.com/news/9929630/detail.html
September 25, 2006: Immigration Sweep Nets 109 People
Latest Effort Centers In Sacramento Area
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http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5454952
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Monday, September 25, 2006
U.S. sealing area used by tribe members to cross into Mexico
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http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/28830.html
Monday, September 25, 2006
Safety net denied
More than half of day laborers hurt on the job say they didn't get needed care.
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http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/29061.html
Monday, September 25, 2006
Los Angeles: More police patrol skid row as part of new safety campaign
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/21/AR2006092100965.html
Friday, September 22, 2006; Page A04
ID Program Will Cost States $11 Billion, Report Says
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http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.6c9a8a9ebc6ae07eee28aca9501010a0/?vgnextoid=7aa10a8066bcd010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
09/21/2006
Real ID Will Cost States More than $11 Billion
NGA, NCSL, AAMVA Release Findings; Issue Practical, Cost-Effective Solutions
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Aztlannet_ News Report Articles and Weblinks
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http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?menu=A11100&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;no=319668&rel_no=1&back_url=
Published 2006-09-26 17:01 (KST)
How to Solve the Problems of Globalization
Joseph Stiglitz and Evo Morales offer differing views
As part of its 2006 World Leader's Forum, Columbia University hosted two programs which demonstrate that there are two significant but opposing models for economic development. One was with Columbia Professor Joseph Stiglitz, and the other with the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales.
The first program, held on Monday, Sept. 18, was a talk by Stiglitz about his new book, Making Globalization Work. Stiglitz is an economics and business professor at Columbia, who shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics. In his talk about his new book, he describes how globalization is what he calls "market fundamentalism." This is a way of referring to the belief of the proponents of globalization that if left unimpeded, the market will solve all economic problems.
Stiglitz acknowledges that globalization is currently not working. That countries and regions of the world are becoming poorer, rather than benefiting from the removal of regulations and the lowering of corporate taxation that make up key elements of the program of globalization. Stiglitz does not see the problem, however, as a flaw in the globalization itself, but only in how it is being implemented. He proposes that the winners have not yet found a way that is "fair" to carry out their program.
Stiglitz blames the problems he outlines on the fact that the political program has lagged behind the economic. In his talk he briefly proposed some changes in policy. He warned that unless there are changes, those benefiting from globalization will see increased opposition.
Three other panelists supplemented the program, praising Stiglitz's book and giving their views on globalization. One of the panelists was George Soros.
Soros, a financier, pointed out that Stiglitz had failed to consider the impact of globalization on workers. While capital moves to where there is little or no taxation or regulation, workers have no comparable opportunity to move to, for example, a nation or region where there is strict regulation enforcing good labor conditions. Soros blamed the political leaders for allowing the abuse of workers in their countries. He failed to mention, however, that international agreements which promote the economic policies of globalization strip national entities of their ability to provide local protection.
What Stiglitz and the others who spoke at the forum promoting his book failed to acknowledge, is that the economic policies being carried out in the name of globalization empower large corporations which already have much wealth and power. These are entities which do not recognize any social obligation. The very restrictions and political obligations that the corporations seek to have removed are often the institutional processes that were created to contain their unbridled political and economic power.
Little time was available for questions from the audience. Instead extended responses from several of the panelists to a few questions used up the time that was supposed to be available for a substantial question and answer period.
No critic of globalization had been invited to be part of the program. Only those who agreed with Stiglitz's contention that minor reforms would solve the problems he outlined were invited to be part of the program discussing his book.
Oh Thursday, Sept. 21, Evo Morales gave a talk at Columbia. When Morales entered the auditorium, many people who were in the audience stood and applauded. He began his talk by thanking the audience for their warm reception. He explained how in his career as a union official in Bolivia, he had been the target of criticism from U.S. government officials. The U.S. embassy even tried to persuade Bolivians not to vote for Morales. He had not expected to find support from the American people. He explained that the warm greeting he was accorded filled him with great emotion. "I thank you very much for this reception," he told his audience.
In his talk, he described a model which provides a striking contrast to the one proposed by Stiglitz. Morales outlined how prior to his winning the presidency of Bolivia, a small minority of the population controlled the wealth and resources in his country. Bolivia is a small country, still it was listed as one of the most corrupt countries in an international survey. This corruption, he pointed out, was at the top of the power structure. Convened after Morales' election, a constituent assembly is drafting a new constitution. The vast majority of people, he explained, were excluded from having any say in the earlier constitution created for Bolivia.
Morales outlined the social program being carried out to improve the lives of the Bolivian people. An example he gave was that students have been given support to go voluntarily to poorer areas in Bolivia to provide education in literacy for the population. He explained how one third of the people didn't have legal papers and so couldn't vote or participate in other ways within Bolivian society. He was working to remedy this situation. Also 33,000 people had been able to have eye operations which would have previously cost $1000 each. Though there had been a question about whether to limit access to these free medical procedures to the poor, a decision was made to make the operations available to anyone who needed one. Morales stressed that the indigenous culture is not one that excludes anyone but is one which is inclusive, welcoming all to participate in an equal way.
A serious problem Morales discussed was the problem of cutting back the coca production in Bolivia. Another South American country, Columbia, spent billions of dollars trying to force restrictions on how much coca was produced without success. Morales argued that any successful program would have to be voluntary. Also, he defended the legal use of the coca plant, as a food and for chewing. The illegal use of the plant, to produce cocaine, however, is actively opposed.
The model of society that Morales outlined is a social model, with active programs by the government to improve the economic and political conditions of the Bolivian people. Attention is paid to remedy the harm suffered by large segments of the population in the past because of their exclusion from the benefits of the society.
Morales has also carried out some land reform, handing out state-owned land to agricultural workers. Some 2,300 new land titles were distributed, making a total of 9,600 square miles of land distributed as part of the land reform. Also, 50 tractors have been distributed to impoverished peasants. Morales' plan to redistribute privately held land which is not being used, which was acquired by illegal means, or which is used for speculation, has not yet been approved by the Bolivian Senate.
After he was elected President, Morales nationalized the Bolivian oil and gas reserves, explaining to the companies developing them that they would be guaranteed a profit, but not a windfall. Morales welcomed them as partners but not as bosses of his country. The money earned from these activities, he explained, has been put toward increasing social programs for the Bolivian people.
Morales is the first indigenous president in Bolivia. He estimates that the composition of the Bolivian population is 80 percent, whether they acknowledge it or not, indigenous people. In Bolivia, Morales argues, the neoliberal model does not work. An economic and political program with a social purpose is needed to address the hundreds of years of harm most people in Bolivia have suffered all the time that the wealth and resources of the countries has been in the hands of a small sector of the population who were only interested in their own self-enrichment.
Stiglitz would do well to recognize that the globalization model has a deep internal contradiction. This neoliberal model is one where powerful and wealthy interests are able to extend their wealth and power. Stiglitz's solution to the flaws of globalization is that these very interests voluntarily agree to put in place new restrictions on their increasingly unbridled power. This is fundamentally in opposition to the very program of globalization, which has been to remove all restriction on their wealth and power. The Bolivian model is an alternative model. It recognizes the need for an economic and political program to not only stop the current abuse, but also to address the impoverishment and corruption of hundreds of years.
©2006
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15608355.htm
Tue, Sep. 26, 2006
BOLIVIA: Morales' U.N. address gives his people a voice
In his first visit to the United States, Bolivian President Evo Morales forged his identity as a representative of indigenous groups.
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com
NEW YORK - Bolivian President Evo Morales, an Aymara indigenous leader, stood before delegates representing 192 United Nations member states a week ago and snapped the dreariness of the day's proceedings with a moment of drama.
After thanking the ''fellow brother and sister presidents'' gathered for the 61st U.N. General Assembly, Morales drew on the oratory skills honed from his days as cocalero union leader to remind listeners of the injustices committed against his people. Raising his index finger as if to underscore a point, he said: ``I have arrived to repair the historic damage, the damage caused over 500 years.''
Then, as if it were a small trophy, he held up a small coca leaf, the banned plant from which cocaine is made but Andean indigenous people use for legitimate purposes.
''Here's a coca leaf,'' he said, ``It is green. It is not white like cocaine.''
Morales, the first leader of an indigenous movement to become president in South America, wound up his first visit to the United States last week. The trip was aimed at projecting his indigenous identity before the world while learning about the United States in the process.
Besides his U.N. activities, Morales met Native American leaders, chatted with two former U.S. presidents, addressed investor concerns and spoke to a gathering of 700 people at Columbia University.
His visit was overshadowed by that of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a close ally, who at his U.N. appearance called President Bush ``the devil.''
But associates and analysts say the Morales trip has the potential to become a landmark event that will not only shape how Morales views the United States but will mark how he wants the world and the United States to understand him: a left-wing leader who has vowed to lead a democratic and peaceful revolution to allow the indigenous majority voice to be heard.
''The purpose was not to present details of his economic policies,'' said Stephen Donehoo, with the consultancy Kissinger McLarty Associates and who followed Morales' trip closely. ``What he did was tell us who he is.''
In his first eight months in office, Morales, who leads the Movement Toward Socialism party, has made it clear that he is no run-of-the-mill Latin American leader. In May, he shook the energy industry by announcing the nationalization of oil and gas deposits and triggered a major political crisis as his political allies are seeking to rewrite the country's constitution. This has angered conservative provinces, which are threatening to break away if their autonomy is reduced.
His reluctance to pursue coca farmers has strained relations with Washington, and he frequently denounces free-market policies espoused by the Bush administration.
Neoliberalism -- a pejorative word used to characterize pro-market and free-trade policies -- continued to ''pillage natural resources,'' he told U.N. delegates.
He called the Bush administration's possible suspension of U.S. aid because Bolivia wasn't doing enough to curtail coca cultivation a ''re-colonization'' and ``blackmail.''
His wardrobe underscores his indigenous identity. In New York, he shunned the customary suit and tie, though he did not use the ultra-casual striped sweater that he wore on previous international travels. During his U.N. speech, he wore a white shirt, with indigenous patterns embroidered on the collar, and a smart, black leather blazer with traditional Aymara weavings known as aguayo.
Morales' first stop was Atlanta, where he chatted with former President Jimmy Carter and harvested peanuts at his farm. His first event in New York on Tuesday was a meeting with five Native American nations and one from the Philippines. Morales plans to host a large gathering of indigenous people in Bolivia on Oct. 12 -- Columbus Day. He discussed trade and development matters with former President Bill Clinton and invited him to visit Bolivia. He met with investors at the Council of the Americas, a group that promotes closer ties between the United States and Latin America.
Morales' indigenous identity is closely tied to the coca leaf. Morales cut his political teeth by representing the cocalero growers, and associates say legitimizing the crop is one of his priorities.
Bolivia is allowed to grow a small amount of coca for traditional indigenous uses, and Washington worries that allowing more coca farming will only lead to more cocaine. But Morales argues that the leaf, which is chewed by Indians for its mildly stimulating properties, has many uses.
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http://www.kcra.com/news/9929630/detail.html
September 25, 2006
Immigration Sweep Nets 109 People
Latest Effort Centers In Sacramento Area
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- More than 100 people accused of immigration violations were arrested in the Sacramento area last week, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.
The 109 arrests -- which centered in and around Sacramento, Lodi and Stockton -- were part of Operation Return to Sender, an ongoing effort targeting alleged criminal illegal immigrants, foreign nationals with final orders of deportation and other suspected immigration violators, ICE officials said.
As of Monday, 98 of the foreign nationals taken into custody during this latest operation had been removed from the country, ICE said. The remaining suspected violators are in ICE custody and are awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge.
The majority of the alleged illegal immigrants taken into custody are from Mexico, but the group also included alleged immigration violators from El Salvador, Fiji and the Philippines
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http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5454952
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aztlannet_News/message/24674
Monday, September 25, 2006
U.S. sealing area used by tribe members to cross into Mexico
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The U.S. Border Patrol plans to seal a cattle crossing that people in a remote Tohono O'odham village in Arizona have used all their lives to reach a ceremonial site in Mexico and to visit tribal members who live south of the border.
The southern Arizona tribe, whose reservation includes 75 miles of international border, asked the Border Patrol for a vehicle barrier to stop the cars and trucks that illegally barrel through the open gate at all hours.
Tribal Chairwoman Vivian Juan-Saunders stressed that while most residents near Menager's Dam Gate favor the vehicle barrier for safety reasons, the tribe would oppose something more solid. Several other border cattle crossings on the 2.8 million-acre reservation will remain open.
"Based on what I believe and what I've heard from our people, it would be difficult for us to support a wall or a big fence, considering the O'odham in Mexico need transborder crossings," she says. "We know there are sensitive archaeological sites along the 75-mile stretch."
Ofelia Rivas of Ali Jegk, the village where the Menager's Dam Gate cattle crossing is located, said the other cattle crossings that will remain open are on rough roads that are too far east of Ali Jegk to be used to go to Quitovac, Mexico, where an annual rebirth ceremony is held in July.
"We're going to have to behave like the illegal immigrants, sneak around so that we can get to our ceremony," added Margaret Garcia, another of the roughly 25 O'odham who drive across Menager's Dam to Quitovac for the ceremony.
Either that, or they'll have to drive from their village to the nearest official port of entry at Lukeville to get to Quitovac, a trip that's about triple the distance of their regular 25-mile route.
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Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com
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http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/28830.html
Monday, September 25, 2006
Safety net denied
More than half of day laborers hurt on the job say they didn't get needed care.
By Liz Chandler - McClatchy Newspapers
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- José Hernández was good with a machete. So he was the top choice when his boss needed someone to chop down young trees that were choking parts of Florida's Everglades. On one trip to the swamps, the workers flew in by helicopter and quickly cut a stand of sprouting trees. But when they took off again, something went wrong: The chopper lurched left, then plunged into murky water.
A broken rotor blade slashed through Hernández's left thigh. Doctors saved his life, but couldn't save his leg. To pay for his costly medical care, Hernández filed a workers' compensation claim, which covered some of his bills.
Then, the insurance carrier, Florida Citrus, Business & Industries Fund, discovered that Hernández was in America illegally, without work papers or permission from federal immigration officials. It halted all payments and left Hernández to languish in a low-income Florida nursing home, unable to work to support his wife and four children in Mexico.
Thousands of illegal workers like Hernández are hurt on the job every year in America, but don't get the compensation that's promised by law in every state. Bosses often fire them, threaten them with deportation and commit an array of other misdeeds to avoid responsibility for workers' injuries. Some insurers refuse to pay their claims, citing reasons related to their illegal status. As a result, injured workers often go without medical care or go to emergency rooms for treatment -- and taxpayers get stuck with the bills.
"It's a violation of the American spirit," said Florida lawyer Gerry Rosenthal, who represents Hernández. "Employers are hiring these people and pushing them hard to make a profit for the company, but when a worker gets hurt, they abandon him."
From field hands to garment workers to poultry processors to construction crews, injuries abound in industries that rely on an estimated 7 million undocumented workers, often to do dirty and dangerous jobs. Yet those who are undocumented are frequently cheated out of benefits that American workers have taken for granted for nearly a century, a McClatchy Newspapers investigation has found.
Federal labor officials haven't studied whether undocumented workers are wrongfully being denied compensation. But the exploitation is rampant, according to interviews with scores of illegal workers, employers, workers' compensation lawyers, health care providers and workplace experts, and a review of lawsuits and workers' compensation claims.
In one national study, university researchers surveyed 2,660 day laborers, most of them working illegally. One in five said he'd suffered a work injury. Among those who were hurt in the past year, 54 percent said they didn't receive the medical care they needed, and only 6 percent got workers' comp benefits.
Employers in at least 20 states, arguing that their employees shouldn't receive injury benefits because they're illegal immigrants, have fought and lost in courts and review boards. Among those employees were a California laborer who hurt his back lifting sacks of coffee, an Arizona auto mechanic who was hit in the eye by flying debris, a Maryland carpenter who cut his hand on a saw and a North Carolina construction worker who suffered a brain injury when he fell 30 feet onto a concrete floor.
Sometimes, injured workers give up attempts to persuade employers to cover costs for treating their injuries, even through basic worker's comp.
At a Modesto carwash service for trucks in 2005, two Mexican workers suffered burns on their arms and legs when using chemicals they were not trained to use, according to Luis Magana of Project Voice, a Stockton-based immigrant rights group. The workers sought their own treatment for the burns, which were not extremely serious, at a clinic for low-income workers. The supervisors at the carwash refused to even look at workers' comp forms they filled out that Magana tried to deliver to the business, Magana said. The employees gave up and eventually left their jobs at the carwash, Magana said. One of them appeared to have left to return to Mexico for a while, as some injured workers end up doing if they need additional treatment and are mobile.
Juan Palacios, a 27-year-old husband and father from Guatemala, was working on the roof of a Florida home in March when a co-worker accidentally splashed hot tar on him. Palacios fell 12 feet and smashed through a glass table and onto a tile floor. He was hospitalized for a week.
During that time, he heard nothing from his boss at Sunrise Roofing.
"They don't care about me," Palacios said. "I feel bad because I can't work. ... That's why I'm here."
Sunrise confirmed that it had employed Palacios, but its insurance carrier, the Insurance Company of the Americas of Bradenton, Fla., has refused to pay. It won't discuss the denial but said in documents that "there is no employee/employer" relationship. Palacios remains out of work. He's scarred and in need of skin grafts, he said. He relies on his roommates to feed and care for him, and he's received nothing from Sunrise.
The U.S. Department of Labor tracks workplace deaths and injuries, but officials haven't assessed how undocumented workers fare. The only hint is the climbing and disproportionate number of workplace deaths among Latino and foreign-born workers, which includes many of those who are working illegally.
Workplace safety programs also are failing these workers, as the number of inspections and the staffers to do them has declined. The nation's 2,300 inspectors check 1 percent of 7 million employers each year, and critics say fines are so low that some operators consider them a cost of doing business.
"The regulators are rooted in paralysis," said insurance analyst Peter Rousmaniere, who's studied abuses of undocumented workers in a dozen states. "They don't want to acknowledge these workers exist -- so, in effect, they are allowing them to be abused."
Workers' compensation is regulated by the states, but most simply offer review boards to settle disputes. Few states look for abuses of undocumented workers, and some adopt regulations that freeze illegal workers out of injury benefits.
A few states -- Florida, Michigan and Kansas -- allow employers to limit benefits or fine injured workers who use phony Social Security numbers.
"What you have is 20th century legal principles trying to catch up with the 21st century reality of a global work force," said Bill Beardall, a lawyer and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. "It takes time -- and persistent injustice -- for us to figure out that the old rules don't fit."
Workers' compensation is intended to protect labor and management. The deal is: Employers pay for injured workers' medical treatment, partial wages, disabilities and deaths, and employees can't sue if they get hurt.
Every state requires such benefits, except Texas, which last year passed California to lead the country in workplace deaths of Latinos. Workers' comp is optional in Texas, but companies must cover all employees -- legal and illegal -- if they opt for the insurance. While some states exempt tiny businesses and certain agricultural and domestic workers, almost all other workers are promised protection.
But employers have incentives to cover up injuries. Accidents drive up insurance costs and can attract investigators. And intimidation tactics work best against employees who speak little English, don't know their rights and fear the threat of deportation.
"They are terrified of getting fired or being deported," said Nan Lashuay, an assistant clinical professor and occupational health expert at the University of California, San Francisco. "There's a lot of pressure. Some of them have families who are literally on the verge of starvation. ... You can make here in a day what you make in a week in Mexico. And if you're deported, it can be extremely difficult to get back into the U.S."
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About the writer:
Liz Chandler is a reporter for the Charlotte Observer. Bee staff writer Susan Ferriss contributed to this report.
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http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/29061.html
Monday, September 25, 2006
Los Angeles: More police patrol skid row as part of new safety campaign
The Associated Press
Specially trained police officers have started patrolling Skid Row, in a new and much touted city initiative to fight crime in the impoverished, drug plagued downtown area.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was on hand Sunday as 50 police officers fanned out in pairs, on foot and riding bicycles. The mayor looked to reassure a skeptic public that the campaign will create a safer community for the people and businesses in the area.
"We are not going to give up on Skid Row," Villaraigosa said at a news conference.
An estimated 1,800 homeless people live on Skid Row. The area is home to cheap hotels and charity shelters, but it's also gentrifying - with fancy lofts and new businesses coming in. They have been pressuring the city to clean it up.
But some homeless activists worry that the city isn't dealing sensitively with the homeless population, and Skid Row residents have complained about harassment and nuisance arrests from certain officers.
"It's about real estate," said Alice Callaghan of Las Familias del Pueblo, an advocacy group for the homeless. "It's about purifying the public sidewalks so the people moving into these lofts downtown won't feel afraid."
Caroline Phillips, a prosecutor with the city attorney's office who will be specializing in Skid Row cases, acknowledged that the police will have to work to gain the people's trust.
"They see the police as a paramilitary presence here to bust heads," Phillips said.
The reassigned officers received 30 hours of specialized training, including how to deal with people suffering from mental disorders, police said.
The initiative also seeks greater follow-through by the city attorney's office, particularly for drug-related offenses, more street lighting and increased sidewalk cleaning.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/21/AR2006092100965.html
Friday, September 22, 2006; Page A04
ID Program Will Cost States $11 Billion, Report Says
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
The cost to consumers for helping to secure America became clearer yesterday as a coalition of state groups tallied the bill for implementing the Real ID Act and federal officials divulged the price that some of its workers must pay for new smart cards.
In a report released by the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, state motor vehicle officials estimated it would cost more than $11 billion over five years to implement the technology required by the Real ID Act.
Under the law, states must start to re-enroll about 250 million holders of U.S. driver's licenses after May 2008. The states must train workers to verify copies of original birth certificates, Social Security cards, marriage certificates and various identification documents.
"The days of going to the DMV and getting your license on the same day are probably over," said David Quam, director of federal relations for the National Governors Association. "You'll have to take all your documents as if you were applying for the first time. What this comes down to is that more people will be in DMV offices spending more time to get an ID."
The Real ID Act was passed last year to protect against terrorist infiltration and crack down on illegal immigration. Without the new identification, citizens will be barred from airplanes, sections of airports, and military bases and other federal facilities, unless they have another form of federally issued identification, such as a passport.
The report, "The Real ID Act: National Impact Analysis," does not say whether the cost of implementation will be passed on to drivers and holders of state identification cards. But Homeland Security officials said the price of similar new smart cards for 750,000 workers at ports and other transportation facilities will be about $140 each.
The State Department recently raised passport fees for adults to $97 to incorporate security into new e-passports, and a smart ID card for federal workers is expected to cost $100 to $150.
State officials have complained about the costs of Real ID since the law was passed. Re-enrolling drivers and other cardholders alone will cost about $8.5 billion, according to the report. An additional $2.5 billion will be spent to vet applicant information through various agencies, store the data and design new cards.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), who introduced the Real ID Act, strongly disagreed with a similar cost estimate presented by the groups last year, saying it was bloated. The chairman cited a Congressional Budget Office report that estimated the cost of implementation at $100 million between 2005 and 2010.
According to the budget office report, the federal government would reimburse $20 million to states for implementing Real ID. State officials scoffed at that amount.
"Congress has not appropriated anywhere close to the money it takes to implement this law," Quam said.
In the report, DMV officials said the two-year timetable for issuing the new licenses was unrealistic. The report recommended that Congress extend the May 2008 deadline, create a 10-year schedule for ID re-enrollment and give states more money.
Yesterday's revelations about costs came as the House passed three more border security measures aimed at terrorist infiltrators and immigrants who sneak across the southern border in search of jobs.
The proposals would authorize federal prison time for those caught building or financing border tunnels, create tough new penalties for illegal-immigrant gang members and criminals, and grant explicit authority to local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
The final bill would also allow the immediate deportation of undocumented Salvadoran workers, who are currently protected under court decisions on asylum dating to El Salvador's civil war in the 1980s. The Washington area has one of the nation's highest populations of Salvadorans.
Staff writers Jonathan Weisman and Spencer Hsu contributed to this report.
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http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.6c9a8a9ebc6ae07eee28aca9501010a0/?vgnextoid=7aa10a8066bcd010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
09/21/2006
Real ID Will Cost States More than $11 Billion
NGA, NCSL, AAMVA Release Findings; Issue Practical, Cost-Effective Solutions
Contact: Jodi Omear
Office of Communications
The Real ID Act: National Impact Analysis
: Briefing on release of analysis (September 21, 2006)
WASHINGTON—A comprehensive analysis of the federal Real ID Act was released today, revealing a cost to states of more than $11 billion over five years. The report—which reflects findings from a survey conducted by the National Governors Association (NGA), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA)—sets forth the consequences and costs of implementing the act and makes recommendations to facilitate a more realistic approach.
The federal Real ID act creates national standards for issuing state drivers licenses and identification cards. Among the costly requirements necessary for implementation of the law, states will likely be required to: re-issue drivers licenses and identification cards to all 245 million current holders within five years; establish on-site identification verification procedures at the source of issuance; and meet specific security and production requirements for the new card. Detailed data provided by the 47 jurisdictions that responded to the survey indicates that among the cost of the changes to the driver's licensing process are a one-time calculable expense of nearly $1 billion and ongoing costs of more than $10.1 billion for the first five-year enrollment period.
The report also suggests additional costs, such as the added time and effort citizens will spend to comply with the state motor vehicle department. Anticipating three to four identity documents per applicant, with more than 80 million transactions performed annually, applicant processing time will more than double for citizens in most states, with waits in some areas increasing by up to 200 percent. Several provisions under consideration by the Department of Homeland Security were not addressed by the survey and could potentially further impact citizens and DMVs and add significantly to the costs described above.
"States feel it is vitally important for Congress and the administration to understand the substantial fiscal and operational cost of altering state systems," said NGA Executive Director Raymond C. Scheppach. "This report identifies the most significant costs of Real ID compliance and describes the impact to states' business processes."
"There's no question that state legislators believe driver's licenses should be as secure as is possible," said NCSL Executive Director William T. Pound. "The $11 billion question is, ‘Who's going to pay for it?' State legislators are eager to work with Congress and the administration to ease the impact of Real ID and look forward to doing so."
Among the recommendations outlined in the report, states asked the federal government to:
* extend the compliance deadline;
* provide the funds necessary for states to comply with Real ID;
* provide the federal electronic verification systems necessary to comply with the law;
* require states to employ electronic verification systems only as they become available;
* implement a 10 year re-enrollment schedule;
* adopt uniform naming conventions to facilitate electronic verification between files;
* allow reciprocity for persons already vetted by the federal government
* establish card security criteria based on performance—not technology; and
* grant the Secretary of Homeland Security the flexibility to recognize innovation at the state level.
"As those primarily responsible for issuing licenses and identification cards, governors, state legislators and motor vehicle administrators are working together to ensure the act is implemented in a cost-effective and operationally feasible manner," said AAMVA President and CEO Linda Lewis-Pickett. "Our goal is to improve the security and integrity of licensing and identification systems to ensure maximum safety and minimum inconvenience for all Americans."
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The National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation's governors and one of Washington, D.C.'s most respected public policy organizations. NGA provides governors with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the administration, to developing policy reports on innovative state programs and hosting networking seminars for state government executive branch officials. The NGA Center for Best Practices focuses on state innovations and best practices on issues that range from education and health to technology, welfare reform, and the environment. For more information about NGA and the Center for Best Practices, please visit www.nga.org.
The National Conference of State Legislatures is the bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staff of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system. For more information, visit www.ncsl.org .
The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) is a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing safety and security through motor vehicle administration and law enforcement. AAMVA develops model programs in motor vehicle administration, law enforcement and highway safety. The association's programs encourage uniformity and reciprocity among the states and provinces, and liaisons with other levels of government and the private sector. Founded in 1933, AAMVA represents the state and provincial officials in the United States and Canada who administer and enforce motor vehicle laws.
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