mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
section 425 of the budget act states that a point of order lies against legislation which imposes an underfunded mandate against state or local governments more than 62 million per year over 5 years . 
at the very least , mr. speaker , we have before us today an unfunded mandate that will cost state governments between $ 660 million and $ 780 million over the next 5 years alone . 
it has come to my attention that the national governors association is opposed to this legislation for that very fact . 
specifically , subparagraphs b , c , d , and e of section 202 of h.r. 418 requires state governments to comply with new federal driver 's license requirements and to verify and store additional personal identification records , which the congressional budget office , cbo , in its latest estimate projects to cost $ 120 million over the next 5 years , but last estimated costs states $ 240 million over 5 years . 
there have been no substantive changes since last year 's to imply that this bill would not cost the states at least $ 240 million as estimated by the last congress . 
the above sections also require states to participate in an interstate database to share driver information , which cbo estimates will cost an additional $ 80 million over 3 years . 
in addition , by necessary implication , the bill would require states to develop new standards for the issuance of birth and death certificates which cbo has estimated would cost states $ 460 million over the next 5 years . 
there is overwhelming evidence before us today that this bill , which has bypassed the committee process , denies members the opportunity to hear expert testimony on the impact of these sweeping changes or to determine alternatives to ensure that all of us are on the same page in the war against terrorism . 
the opportunity to determine changes to current law or to offer amendments to the proposed legislation was not given to us , and it will impose overwhelming costs on state governments already struggling to meet the growing costs of local law enforcement 's role in securing the homeland . 
even further , this bill was drafted without any input from the governors and state legislatures and even excludes the states from the standard-setting process despite states ' historic roles as the issuers of driver 's licenses and other identification data . 
we must be in partnership with our states if we are going to have a real war against terror in the united states . 
for these reasons , the nationals governors association , as i indicated ; the american association of motor vehicle administrators ; and the national conference of state legislatures all strongly oppose this legislation in its present form . 
in a letter issued yesterday , the national governors association , american association of motor vehicle administrators say that they are in opposition to the driver 's license provision in both h.r. 418 and h.r. 368 , stating the costs of implementing such standards and verification procedures for the 220 million driver 's licenses by states represents a massive unfunded mandate . 
this does not say that in a bipartisan manner reasoned out through committee process done very quickly that some addressing of this question can not be properly answered . 
the national conference of state legislatures also has voiced strong opposition , stating that ncsl is opposed to any further federal attempts including coercion or direct preemption to usurp state authority over the driver 's license process or diminish the validity or usefulness of licenses awarded at the state level . 
ncsl urges the federal government to respect the provisions and intent of the unfunded mandates reform act of 1995 . 
what we have here today is an assault on federalism in the legislative process . 
the point of order is not about whether one agrees or disagree with the sweeping policy changes of the real id act . 
this point of order is about the farce before us that has trampled states ' rights and inflated the burden on our local governments without their input . 
i urge members to vote `` no '' on consideration of the resolution and stand up for the rights of their home states ' legislature , governor , and local governments , along with the people of the united states . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
