mr. speaker , for the purpose of debate only , i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from florida ( mr. hastings ) xz4001701 , pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
during consideration of this resolution , all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only . 
the rule under consideration completes the work begun by the general debate rule passed yesterday by the house . 
it provides for further consideration of the rule under a structured rule and provides that no further general debate shall be in order . 
this rule provides that the amendment printed in part a of the committee on rules report accompanying the resolution shall be considered as adopted in the house and in the committee of the whole and that the bill , as amended , shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment and shall be considered as read . 
it makes in order only those amendments printed in part b of the report and provides that these amendments may be offered only in the order printed in the report and only by a member designated in the report . 
these amendments shall be considered as read , shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and opponent , shall not be subject to amendment , and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole . 
finally , this rule waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part b of the report and provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions . 
mr. speaker , this rule will complete the work begun yesterday on h.r. 418 , the real id act of 2005 . 
as a number of our colleagues have already made it very clear during the debate yesterday of an hour and 40 minutes , this legislation will continue the efforts of our president , george w. bush , the 9/11 commission , and of congress to ensure that america never suffers another terrorist attack like the tragedy of september 11 , 2001 . 
h.r. 418 , authored by the gentleman from wisconsin ( chairman sensenbrenner ) will improve security by focusing on four main areas : number one , implementing much-needed driver 's license reform , closing asylum loopholes , defending our borders , and strengthening our deportation laws . 
implementing the driver 's license reforms included in h.r. 418 will provide for greater security for the american people . 
because of lax standards and loopholes in the various current state issuance processes , terrorists have been allowed to obtain driver 's licenses , often multiple driver 's licenses from different states , and abuse these false identities for illegal and harmful purposes . 
the september 11 hijackers had within their possession at least 15 valid driver 's licenses and numerous state-issued identification cards listing a wide variety of addresses . 
these terrorists were then able to exploit many of the benefits conferred upon them by possession of these cards , such as enabling the bearer to acquire other corroborating identification documents , transfer funds to a united states bank account , obtain access to federal buildings , purchase a firearm , rent a car , or board a plane , just to name a few . 
by establishing minimum document and issuance standards for the federal acceptance of driver 's licenses , requiring applicants to prove that they are in the country legally , and requiring identity documents to expire simultaneously with the expiration of lawful entry status , this legislation will ensure that individuals harboring malicious intent or who have illegally entered or who are unlawfully present in the united states can not have access to these valuable and sensitive documents . 
closing the asylum loopholes identified by h.r. 418 will provide greater security for the american people because , as the 9/11 commission report noted , `` a number of terrorists ... .. 
abused the asylum system. '' by strengthening judges ' abilities to determine whether asylum seekers are truthful and credible , we will be able to prevent terrorists from gaming the system by applying for asylum as a means to avoid deportation after all other recourses for remaining in the united states have been denied to them . 
this will prevent abuses of the system like in the case of the `` blind sheik '' abdul rahman , who was able to stay in the united states and force an immigration judge to hold a hearing on his asylum claim only weeks before his followers bombed the world trade center in 1993 . 
defending our physical border , as provided for in the real id bill , will also provide greater security for the american people . 
we know from the 9/11 commission that the hijackers had 25 contacts with consular officers and 43 contacts with immigration and customs authorities . 
as a result , the 9/11 commission and congress are recommending to take a number of appropriate actions that would make it more difficult for terrorists to enter the united states through the visa or other legal immigration process , and this bill will go even further towards attaining that goal . 
but closing down only the legal means by which they will try to infiltrate this country is not enough . 
because increased vigilance has made entering the country through normal , regular channels more difficult , we must also increasingly prepare for the certainty that terrorists will use illegal , clandestine methods to enter our country and do us harm , and we must take steps now to close the gaps in our border security where we feel we are most vulnerable . 
finally , strengthening our deportation laws as provided for by h.r. 418 will provide greater security for the american people . 
currently , although it seems unbelievable , not all terrorist-related grounds for keeping an alien out of the united states are also grounds for deportation . 
this means that terrorists and their closest advocates can be denied entry to the united states for their actions in support of terrorism , but if they are able to make it to our shores , we can not deport them legally under those same actions . 
the real id act will bring some common-sense balance to this troubled oversight and make the law consistent by providing that all terrorist-related offenses that make aliens inadmissible would also be grounds for their deportation . 
it would also provide that any alien contributing funds to a terrorist organization could also be deportable . 
this rule makes in order five amendments from members from both sides of the aisle , including one that i have submitted to ensure that aliens and terrorists who are in the united states and ordered deported are actually deported so that they can no longer pose a threat to the security of american citizens . 
by supporting this rule , the house can complete its consideration of these five important amendments and the underlying legislation . 
i urge all of my colleagues to support this fair and balanced rule . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
