Lawmakers back personal privacy protection

State Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a package of bills to protect Pennsylvanians' personal privacy rights.

Rohrer said at a news conference in the media center at the Capitol that he plans to introduce a package of bills in the House. Sens. Mike Folmer (R-48), Shirley Kitchen (D-3) and John Wozniak (D-35) announced they will introduce companion legislation in the Senate to "combat intrusions by the federal government on the personal rights of Pennsylvania residents."

"When you get lawmakers from both sides of the aisle - Republicans and Democrats, left and right - to stand together on something, you know it's substantive," Rohrer said in a statement. "Following 9/11, many people argued that Americans needed to give up freedom in exchange for security. Now, I think more and more people are starting to realize that being secure does not mean giving up their God-given freedoms to an overbearing federal government."

Rohrer's package would protect Pennsylvania residents from federal REAL ID Act of 2005. Folmer is introducing similar legislation in the Senate.

The REAL ID Act, which was passed by Congress in 2005 in response to recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, requires all states to turn their drivers' licenses into a national identification card, according to Rohrer. Under the law, if a citizen's state drivers' license is not in compliance with the criteria established by the REAL ID Act, that citizen's license would not be accepted for federal purposes, including boarding an aircraft or entering a federal building, Rohrer said.

"This is wrong and the federal government has no constitutional authority to force states to comply with the misguided REAL ID law," Rohrer said. "This is why our rally on Monday in support of state sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is so important. On issue after issue, the federal government has overstepped its authority and REAL ID is just one of many examples where this is the case."

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The REAL ID law also requires states to share motor vehicle databases, which has, in effect, created a national database. Many people are justifiably concerned since personal information in such a database cannot be kept confidential. Digital scans of identification documents, including birth certificates and Social Security cards, would be required to be retained for at least 10 years (or a paper copy for seven years).

"I believe we're witnessing a turning point in history, where private citizens are no longer willing to sacrifice liberty in exchange for the false promise of security," Rohrer said.

The REAL ID Act also threatens privacy rights by opening the door to the empowerment of the Department of Homeland Security to collect biometric data - including fingerprints and eye scans - as well as placing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips in every American's driver's license.

Rohrer and Kitchens plan to introduce sister legislation in the House and Senate that would prohibit government bodies from capturing or releasing biometric data without an individual's approval or knowledge.

"With the government scanning everyone's faces and tracking their movements with RFID, we are facing the very real prospect of an Orwellian society," Rohrer said.

So far, 11 states, including South Carolina, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, and Virginia, have enacted statutes precluding their compliance with the federal REAL ID Act.

For more information, visit the House Republican Caucus Web site, www.pahousegop.com, or Rohrer's Web site at www.samrohrer.com