mr. chairman , i rise today in support of the real id act , and i thank the chairman for his courage and hard work on this vital measure .  over a decade ago , the ability of ramzi yousef , the mastermind behind the 1993 world trade center bombing to be granted asylum and to move freely in the country should have signaled that something was terribly wrong with our system .  it did not , and 8 years later , 19 terrorists collectively carrying a total of 63 valid u.s. driver 's licenses , boarded planes to finish yousef 's work .  it is now over 3 years since that tragic september 11th .  today , we are considering a vital piece of legislation to address three key failures of current security policy .  first , the real id act mandates standards to obtain driver 's licenses ; second , it tightens our nation 's asylum laws , which easily allow suspected terrorists into our nation ; and finally , it addresses the need to secure our borders .  these concepts are not rocket science .  the need for these reforms has been reiterated over and over , and in expert testimony , in anecdotal evidence from security professionals , in scholarly research and in evidence presented from our nation 's justice and military personnel .  but the fact of the matter is , the most compelling reason to pass this bill is just plain old common sense .  we can not repeat enough what the 9/11 commission said : `` for terrorists , travel documents are as important as weapons. '' they are right .  they also said , `` it is elemental to border security to know who is coming into the country. '' today , more than 9 million people have entered the united states outside the legal immigration system .  the security chain protecting america is only as good as its weakest link .  it does not take a congressman or a national security expert to tell you this .  most americans know that despite the rhetoric we hear against this bill , as long as we ignore the need for border security , we place them and their families at risk .  i strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the real id act .  