Privacy '08

On Friday, Congress passed H.R. 2638, a consolidated budget bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security, along with other federal agencies through March 2009. The bill grants $50,000,000 for general implementation of REAL ID, and another $50,000,000 for developing information sharing and verification capability with states to support implementation of REAL ID. Neither Senator Obama nor Senator McCain was present for the vote.

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr released a press release today blasting Congress for failing to repeal the REAL ID Act. Senators McCain and Obama both voted for the measure when it was passed as an amendment to an appropriations bill. "Protecting the people’s liberties and privacy is central to government’s role, not an afterthought – factors obviously not important to my opponents in both the Republican and Democratic Parties who supported the Real ID Act," Barr stated.