mr. chairman , i can not in good conscience vote for the real id act , h.r. 418 because , despite the intention of the bill 's sponsors to strengthen our borders , it has the opposite effect , by making homeland security and an effective war against terrorism more difficult with unnecessary provisions aimed at legitimate asylum seekers . 
moreover , i am guided in my judgment about this bill by the opposition of the national governors association and the national council of state legislatures . 
this bill tightens asylum laws in a way that inhibits , rather than enhances our national security . 
currently individuals who participate in terrorist activity are not allowed to gain asylum status in this country . 
terrorists have not been able to use the current asylum system to gain entry into the country , thus the tightening of these laws only makes gaining asylum status more difficult for those legitimately seeking asylum . 
provisions such as requiring applicants to prove the `` central reason '' for their persecution or allowing judges to require applicants to produce corroborating evidence are unnecessary . 
while national security must be our top priority , immigration policy should not create unnecessary requirements for legitimate asylum seekers who are arguably our best allies in the fight against international terrorism . 
the asylum provisions of this bill will not enhance our security or our standing in the world . 
i also have concerns that the bill allows and directs the secretary of homeland security to waive all laws which he or she deems necessary to complete the construction of barriers along any and all u.s. borders . 
some have argued that this provision is needed to ensure the construction of a fence along three and a half miles of the u.s.-mexico border near san diego . 
however , the language of the bill is not limited to the construction of a fence in this location . 
instead , it instructs the secretary to waive all laws for all u.s. borders ; this includes the u.s.-mexico border , the u.s.-canada border , and maybe even the border between alaska and russia . 
the bill also removes any judicial review of the waiving of these laws . 
this would give far too much unchecked authority to the secretary of homeland security and does not provide the protection of judicial review of this authority . 
there are two amendments , one offered by my colleagues mr. nadler xz4002890 and mr. meeks , and the other offered by mr. farr , which would strike portions of the bill that do not address our national security regarding the asylum system and our borders . 
however , in light of their failure , i am left no option but to vote against this bill . 
i find the driver 's license standards established in this bill to be unnecessary as well , as they already exist in current law . 
last fall 's intelligence bill , which i supported , included a provision which already implements the 9/11 commission report 's recommendations to create national minimum standards for driver 's licenses . 
this provision allowed for states to participate with the department of transportation and the department of homeland security in a rulemaking process . 
h.r. 418 repeals these provisions and replaces them with standards established without state input . 
the issuance of driver 's licenses has always been within state jurisdiction . 
even with the measures passed in the intelligence bill , states will largely be organizing and conducting the implementation of these standards . 
their participation in establishing and implementing driver 's license standards is essential for these provisions to be successful . 
this bill simply ignores state involvement altogether in these standards . 
though the bill does provide grants for the costs of implementing these standards , with the current fiscal climate , many states fear they will be left with the burden of paying a portion of these costs . 
most states are faced with the same fiscal crisis that the federal government is currently experiencing . 
creating an unfunded mandate for states is unfair , especially when they are excluded from the rulemaking process . 
there are portions in this bill which i believe are beneficial to our national security . 
for instance , i am pleased the amendment offered by mr. sessions passed by a voice vote , as it will strengthen our ability to ensure the deportation of individuals who are illegally present in the united states . 
unfortunately , the egregious measures in the bill far outweigh the beneficial provisions . 
thus , i must vote against this bill and hope that the senate will remove the portions of this bill which are unnecessary and attack the balance of power in our country . 
