Feinstein’s reply to my e-mail regarding the REAL ID Act:
May 4, 2005
Mr. Ilan Rabinovitch
18040 Calvert St
Encino, California 91316Dear Mr. Rabinovitch:
Thank you for your letter regarding the “REAL ID Act of 2005”
(H.R. 418). I welcome the opportunity to respond.
As you know, Congressman Sensenbrenner introduced H.R. 418
in the House of Representatives earlier this month, and the bill passed the
House of Representatives on February 10th. Generally, I support the
thrust of the bill, which I am in the process of reviewing. I would hope
that there will be hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee and that we
will follow Senate procedure. I may have some changes to recommend
and believe there needs to be a thorough analysis and discussion of its
provisions.I believe that the Federal government should have the ability to
issue standards that all state-issued driver’s licenses and identification
documents should meet. The issue is how should this be done, phased in
and paid for. And I think that the Senate needs to examine these issues
and help ensure it is not an unfunded mandate on the states.Finally, I also am a strong supporter of Operation Gatekeeper
and completion of the border fence, which is one of the bill’s provisions.Again, thank you for writing, and please know that I will keep
your comments in mind as the Senate considers this legislation. I hope
you will continue to keep in touch. If you have any further questions
please contact my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841.Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senatorhttp://feinstein.senate.gov
Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the
Nation are available at my website http://feinstein.senate.gov. You can also
receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list at
http://feinstein.senate.gov/issue.html.