mr. chairman , i rise today in support of h.r. 418 , the real id act of 2005 . 
first , i would like to thank chairman sensenbrenner and the judiciary committee for their leadership on this bill , and for their dedication to securing our borders and protecting americans from terrorists . 
my objective throughout debate over h.r. 10 was to get a bill that fully addressed all of our nation 's security concerns . 
that means not only reforming how we gather and use intelligence , but also how we fight terrorism at home . 
i believe that the final bill that came to the floor fell short . 
that 's why i voted against it . 
however , the real id act implements crucial provisions that were dropped from h.r. 10 and fixes several glaring holes in our border security . 
one of the most important provisions in this legislation asks states to work with the department of homeland security to establish and use standards for drivers ' licenses . 
many states already have licenses that are difficult to counterfeit . 
other states do n't have stringent safeguards . 
some have argued that this bill creates a national id . 
it does n't . 
i would oppose any bill that did so . 
this bill simply requires states to make it harder for someone like muhammad atta to get a driver 's license , and to use that license to carry out terror plans . 
as the 9/11 commission noted : `` all but one of the 9/11 hijackers acquired some form of u.s. identification document , some by fraud. '' increased id security will make it more difficult for terrorists to obtain documents through fraud and conceal their identity . 
deterring terrorists from receiving state issued ids will make it more likely that they will be detected by law enforcement . 
this bill also tightens our asylum system -- a system that has been abused by terrorists with deadly consequences -- by allowing judges to determine whether asylum seekers are truthful . 
additionally , the bill will protect the american people by ensuring that grounds for keeping a terrorist out of the country are also grounds for deportation . 
incredibly , we have legal justification to prevent an individual from entering the country if they have known terrorist ties , however , under current u.s. law once they set foot inside the border we can not deport them . 
this hinders our ability to protect americans from foreign terrorists who have infiltrated the united states . 
i think all americans -- and those of us on both sides of the aisle -- can agree that the 9/11 commission identified a number of improvements that will help upgrade our intelligence and enhance america 's security . 
this bill provides common sense provisions to help prevent another 9/11-type attack by protecting our borders and disrupting terrorist travel in the united states . 
i urge members to vote in favor of the real id act . 
