Is Your ID Real?

While away at break I experienced a little scare. I was planning on flying back to State College for school the day before school started, but I was presented with the news that citizens inside New Mexico may have not been able to board planes, even just domestic ones, without a passport. Dates were unknown at the time so inevitably the worst case scenario rested in the back of my mind. Missing the first week of school, if not more, and having to pay for a train after having spent money on a flight I wouldn't end up taking was not very appealing. Luckily the supposed dates turned out to be the sixteenth... five days after I left.

Eleven years ago the government passed a rather important act, but odds are most U.S. citizens didn't even realize it. Well now is the time to get acquainted with the little bill because it might affect your domestic flight plans.

The Real ID Act of 2005 was passed for the main reason of making standards stricter for state issued IDs. This includes your driver’s licenses and even employee identification cards. The goal: to make it harder to obtain a license with counterfeit documents so potential terrorists and criminals couldn't get one in their hands. However, less than half the States decided to abide by the act, and now they might be feeling repercussions. 

According to CNN, twenty-two states comply with the law, nineteen have been granted waiver extensions, four states are awaiting extensions, and five states have been deemed uncooperative. The five are Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, and Washington. The DHS is making it a must for the people of the U.S. to have what they are now considering "proper identification." What might that be? The simplest solution might be a passport.

 

The DHS explains that "the purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and no sooner than 2016, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft." Now I'm not sure what random citizens just decide to stroll on in to a nuclear power plant, but the potential of not being able to fly affects a large majority of us. For those living in the noncompliant states, like my old home of New Mexico, it might be worth the time-consuming process to get a passport, especially if you're a frequent flyer. 

Minnesota, another one of the states who didn't comply with the act at first, has proven to rather active in their legislature. The only problem, according TwinCities Pioneer Press, is that the draft set in by House Republicans won't set the necessary changes into motion until early 2018, if they're lucky. About a month ago the federal government turned down a request made by Governor Mark Dayton "for an extension to comply with the higher standards, citing a lack of concrete steps toward making those improvements." On the bright side the DHS promised a 120-day notice before certain rules take effect. This will allow the states "time to get in line."

Where's Pennsylvania among all the other states in this mess? We are one of the nineteen who were granted a waiver extension. 

** compliments of readwritethink.org

• Initial Extension: Approved for analysis of regulations to determine whether the people would comply.
• Second Extension
• PA Act 38: PA decided to not participate in the Real ID Act.
• DHS sets Schedule
• Extension #3: Although not requested the DHS gave PA another extension.
• DHS start: Real ID compliant states' citizens may use their IDs to fly, others must show an approved form of ID.
• DHS complete: All travelers must have a Real ID compliant license or form of ID for domestic air travel

You know it means something when you type in "process to" and they second recommendation on your phone is "get a passport." Even though we may not need it now, unless going abroad is on the calendar somewhere, getting a passport isn't a difficult task. It's an application, a drive to a local passport agency, and then time. You can use the Passport Application Wizard to help you prepare for the application, which is recommended and supplied by the U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Getting a passport isn’t just a must though. You might as well get one if you don’t already have one for the possibility of international travel. You wouldn’t want to keep that opportunity out of reach! 



Works Cited:

https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2015/10/22/10/35/plane-1000996_960_720.jpg
(airplane)

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5182/5856678863_db631ab111_b.jpg
(passport)

Goldman, David. "Driver's Licenses from These States May Not Work on Domestic Flights." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 29 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Jan. 2016. <http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/28/technology/passport-drivers-license-airplane/>.

Lew, Josh. "Why You Could Soon Need a Passport for Domestic Flights." TravelPulse. TravelAlliancemedia, 6 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Jan. 2016. <http://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/why-you-could-soon-need-a-passport-for-domestic-flights.html>.

"PA.gov." Real ID Act. DMV, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2016. <http://www.dmv.pa.gov/Information-Centers/Identity-Security/Pages/Real-ID-Act.aspx#.VqqnQCorKhc>.

Potter, Kyle. "Mark Dayton, House GOP Clash over Real ID Timeline." Twin Cities. Associated Press, 4 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Jan. 2016. <http://www.twincities.com/2016/01/04/mark-dayton-house-gop-clash-over-real-id-timeline/>.