Report: National Standards for Drivers' Licenses, Social Security Numbers, and Birth Certificaties

The Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service has released a report dated January 6, 2005, entitled Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004: National Standards for Drivers' Licenses, Social Security Numbers, and Birth Certificates.

This report is an outgrowth of the 9/11 Commission recommendation that national standards be developed for drivers' licenses, social security numbers, and birth certificates. "The Commission noted that identification fraud is no longer simply a matter of theft, but now complicates the government's ability to adequately ensure public safety at vulnerable facilities including airport terminals, train stations, bus stations, and other entry points."

Readers are encouraged to visit S.2845 - Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate) to read the legislation behind this current report.

Typically, efforts to adopt some national standards for personal identification raise privacy concerns. The legislation tries to address those concerns.