mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , i believe that what we do today is a matter that could have been approached in a bipartisan manner . 
as i look at the members on the floor of the house , each and every one is sincere in their commitment to the war on terrorism . 
and let me applaud them for that . 
i applaud the chairman of the full committee on the judiciary . 
let me applaud the ranking member . 
a number of members who are here on the floor are committee on the judiciary members . 
i want to applaud them for the work that has been done on this issue . 
that is why i believe that the real id act could have been addressed in regular order , the regular order of committee hearings , the regular order of taking testimony from governors and legislators and local government officials . 
but now the real id act is an attempt to breathe life into immigration provisions that were stripped from the terrorism reform and prevention act . 
these provisions were viewed as controversial then and they are no less controversial now . 
opposition to this legislation at this time is by no means a reflection on anyone 's commitment to the war on terrorism , but the real id act should have been subjected to hearings and markups before being brought to this floor . 
first of all , it is an unfunded mandate of almost $ 500 million . 
supporters of h.r. 418 are afraid that terrorists are using our asylum laws as a means of entering and remaining in the united states . 
this fear has to be put into perspective . 
terrorists are statutorily barred from asylum eligibility , and it is not apparent why they should choose such a complicated , time-consuming method for entering and remaining in the united states , in any event . 
in addition , large numbers of advocates , religious organizations and others who understand asylum laws and realize that there are still religious and political persecution today , realize that this bill is misdirected . 
as we stand here on the floor , the committee on rules is determining whether the nadler amendment will be admitted that responds to the crisis we face in the asylum laws if this bill is to be passed in its present form . 
we know that the 9/11 hijackers entered and remained in the united states as nonimmigrant visitors . 
visitor visas only require a 2-minute interview with an american consulate office . 
the applicant just has to establish that he will return to his country at the end of the authorized period of stay . 
this is much easier than the steps required for obtaining asylum . 
i too want to have a kind of organized system that bars terrorists , but putting into effect a national id card is not what the 9/11 commission said . 
in fact , they made it very clear . 
this legislation will force the united states in its national database and in its requirement standardizing id driver 's licenses and birth certificates which puts us on that road without hearings , without oversight , and without question of america 's civil liberties . 
i know that the polls and all the phone calls in members ' offices have said we do not want illegal aliens driving cars . 
well , do you want individuals on our highways and byways that are not licensed ? 
are you taking away the 10th amendment of the united states to allow them to be able to standardize those documents ? 
i do believe that we can standardize them by a biometric system , but we have intruded on the rights of states when they too can work with the federal government making the system work . 
i think there are valuable aspects of this bill ; not using certain id for certain federal purposes , which may in fact include travel . 
but the overbroadness of this particular legislation , barring any laws to be utilized in the building of a fence , eliminating environmental laws , work laws , criminal laws is overbroad . 
lastly , i would say , we are the land of the free and the brave . 
we have always welcomed those fleeing from persecution . 
this legislation bars that opportunity , and i would ask my colleagues to oppose it and for us to go back to the drawing board and work for freedom and the war against terrorism in a bipartisan way . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
