mr. chairman , on september 11th , the terrorists did n't just use box cutters and airplanes to attack america , they used our own laws against us to help them murder thousands of people . 
h.r. 418 , the real id act , will fix these loopholes in current law and also take steps to close gaping holes in our land borders , which are the first line of defense against terrorist infiltration , not just for the border states , but also for my home state of wyoming and the rest of the nation . 
we all know how the 9/11 terrorists manipulated our asylum laws to stay in our country , and utilized lax drivers ' license standards to help them carry out their plans . 
we know that human traffickers continue to take advantage of the gaps in our borders , helping terrorist and criminal aliens gain entry into our country . 
yet some still question the need to turn this invaluable knowledge into meaningful action . 
as an original cosponsor of the real id act , i ask my colleagues to look beyond the false rhetoric that has clouded this debate and realize what is really at stake -- the safety and security of our nation . 
i refuse to gamble with the lives of american citizens , rolling the dice on flawed policies that have already failed to protect us against terrorism . 
today we have the opportunity -- and more importantly , the responsibility -- to pass this legislation and make the terrorist handbook obsolete . 
