Conference Report on H.R. 1268, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief Act, 2005

CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1268, EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR DEFENSE, THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR, AND TSUNAMI RELIEF ACT, 2005 -- (House of Representatives - May 05, 2005)

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Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H.R. 1268, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief. This essential legislation will support and defend America's values both at home and abroad.

Our troops serving in Iraq will have the necessary tools to continue their rebuilding efforts in Iraq and to continue the War on Terror. At home, the REAL ID provisions will strengthen our Nation's driver's license laws, providing each citizen with another layer of security.

Until now, terrorists could easily exploit weak driver licensing laws and obtain fake documents. With a license in hand, terrorists were better able to blend in, avoid detection, and harm our nation's citizens. This is exactly what several of the 9/11 terrorists did, using drivers' licenses to board airplanes and murder thousands of innocent Americans on September 11, 2001.

We in Congress have been working on ways to prevent our Nation from experiencing another terrorist attack by establishing stronger and more secure national programs. Stronger driver's license standards made possible by the REAL ID provisions will be another step towards American security.

The REAL ID provisions will close dangerous gaps that remain in our current licensing law and that allow terrorists to abuse our asylum and driver's license systems. The new law will protect innocent Americans by setting up national driver's license standards, networking State motor vehicle data bases, and linking visa and license expirations.

In 2003, the former Attorney General of Virginia, Jerry Kilgore, and I worked together on the Driver's License Integrity Act. That legislation required non-immigrant aliens to show their visas when applying for State identification and tied the expiration date of the identification to that of the visa.

Due to Mr. Kilgore's leadership on this issue, the Commonwealth of Virginia was one of the first States to clamp down on terrorists' abuse of the trust that a driver's license conveys. Today, I am pleased to see Virginia's Driver's License Integrity Act provisions in this piece of legislation before us in the House of Representatives.

Since the beginning of the War on Terror, Congress has fought daily to ensure that our Nation never again suffers at the hands of terrorists. The provisions in this bill provide us with more weapons in our arsenal against terrorism.

I urge passage of this legislation.

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