more or less happened, there was not a debate on the Federal level at all.

As far as the privacy, I think people have raised concerns that, you know, you may already be able to obtain, quite easily, Social Security numbers. I would think that overarching it may be something more for Congress to look into. Certainly something we are concerned with in the States and in Connecticut, we are considering whether or not we may privatize the State technology. Privacy has become a main part of that debate.

Mr. GRINDLEY. Mr. Chairman, I would simply bring to you the fact that 17-year-olds are breaking into our Pentagon systems, into their data bases. If they have this capability, if there is a pool of knowledge that has a monetary benefit in any way, shape, form, or fashion, it will be compromised. And I think that is too important. There are some valid points, that if someone is unconscious and you need to know what they are allergic to. It is a slippery slope. How far are we going to go?

Mr. MCINTOSH. Thank you all for coming. I appreciate it. This has been of tremendous benefit to us, and we will make this available to the committees of jurisdiction in these areas. The committee stands in adjournment.

[The prepared statement of NHTSA follows:]

Statement by the

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

to the

Subcommittee on National Economic Growth, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs

of the

Committee on Government Reform and Oversight

September 17, 1998

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

We are pleased to respond to your request to testify on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) proposed rule on "State-Issued Driver's Licenses and Comparable Identification Documents." You have asked that we address the proposed rule and provide an overview of the comments that we have received.

Our proposed rule is intended to implement one subsection of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208, legislation intended by Congress to provide more effective measures to prevent illegal immigration to the United States and to detect and return persons who have entered the country illegally. Subsection 656(b) of the Act is intended to prevent the use of State driver's licenses and other identification documents by illegal immigrants seeking to obtain benefits under Federal programs.

Subsection 656 (b) seeks to ensure that Federal agencies verify that persons applying for benefits under Federal or Federally funded programs are lawful residents of the United States. State-issued documents such as driver's licenses are among the means by which an applicant's status can be verified.

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The Act reflects Congress's concern that these documents are often falsified. The subsection accordingly prohibits Federal agencies from accepting, for any identification-related purpose, a driver's license or other comparable identification document issued by a State unless the license or document satisfies certain requirements.

Subsection 656 (b) establishes three requirements that Stateissued driver's licenses or other comparable identification documents must meet before Federal agencies can accept them as proof of identity. We will address each requirement in turn and explain how our notice proposes to implement the requirement.

The first requirement concerns the application process for these documents. §656(b)(1) (A) provides that:

(1) APPLICATION PROCESS. -- The application process for the driver's license or identification document shall include the presentation of such evidence of identity as is required by regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

The notice accordingly proposes a process under which applicants for a new or duplicate license or document would be required to submit two identification documents. Applicants for a renewal would be required only to submit their current license or document. The notice proposes a list of primary and secondary documents from which the State could select two documents for identification purposes. The primary document list consists of 24 documents, including such documents as a State or Canadian photo driver's license that has been expired for less than a

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year. The secondary document list includes an additional 22 documents that serve to confirm the applicant's identity, including a photo driver's license that has been expired for more than one year. Together the documents would establish the applicant's identity, as required by §656 (b).

The second requirement concerns the use of social security numbers, either on the documents or as part of the application process. $656 (b) (1) (A) provides that

(ii) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. -- Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the license or document shall contain a social security account number that can be read visually or by electronic means.

(B) EXCEPTION.-- The requirement in subparagraph (A) (ii) shall not apply with respect to a driver's license or other comparable identification document issued by a State, if the State

(i) does not require the license or document to contain a social security account number and

(ii) requires

(1) every applicant for a driver's license, or other comparable identification document, to submit the applicant's social security account number; and

(II) an agency of the State to verify with the Social Security Administration that such account number is valid.

The proposal would not require a State to place the social security number on driver's licenses and identification documents. A State may do so, but need not. The notice proposes that a State shall require an applicant to submit a social security number and that the State shall verify that number with the Social Security Administration. The verification requirement would apply to States that use the social security number on

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their licenses and documents as well as to States that do not. The proposal also provides that aliens lawfully in the country but not able to obtain a social security number may instead present documentation showing their lawful presence.

The third requirement in §656 (b) (1) (A) concerns the form of the documents, and provides that:

(iii) FORM.-- The license or document otherwise shall be in a form consistent with requirements set forth in regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation after consultation with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The form shall contain security features designed to limit tampering, counterfeiting, photocopying, or otherwise duplicating, the license or document for fraudulent purposes and to limit use of the license or document by impostors.

The notice correspondingly proposes that the license or identification document contain such information as the jurisdiction of issuance; the full name of the applicant; the applicant's date of birth; the applicant's signature; and a physical description of the applicant, which may include sex, height, weight, and eye and hair color. The document would be required to have one or more security features drawn from a list of 19 such features, including ghost images, ghost graphics, holograms, optical variable devices, and so on.

The agency reviewed the potential costs of this regulation, using estimates it received from five States, and estimated that the total national cost associated with the regulation would be between $24.8 million and $72.6 million in the first year and between $7.7 million and $51.7 million in each subsequent year. Our purpose in quoting at length from the Act and the