Airport Alert: House Committee Leaders Press DHS to Delay Upcoming REAL ID Deadline
March 16, 2020
This afternoon, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Lou Correa (D-CA) asked DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to delay the October 1, 2020, REAL ID implementation deadline. This request was made as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the need to curb the number of people gathered in public spaces, the limited number of Americans that currently have REAL ID-compliant identification (35 percent), and the lack of contingency planning by the Department of Homeland Security if this deadline was to be enforced.
Chairs DeFazio, Thompson, and Correa issued the following statement:
"While we recognize the administration's commitment to ensuring the nation's full compliance with the REAL ID Act, the challenges presented by the coronavirus outbreak and its impacts on the aviation industry must lead DHS to delay the October 1 implementation deadline," the Chairs said. "For implementation to go smoothly, DHS would need tens of millions of Americans to get new identifications over the next several months. Creating lines at Departments of Motor Vehicles would be foolish during a pandemic."
Previously Chairmen DeFazio and Thompson had joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of House and Senate lawmakers asking DHS Acting Secretary Wolf to develop and detail contingency plans for potential disruptions at airport screening checkpoints in advance of the deadline. AAAE has long been calling for the development of these contingency plans and that they are tested before the October 1, 2020 enforcement date.
This afternoon, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Lou Correa (D-CA) asked DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to delay the October 1, 2020, REAL ID implementation deadline. This request was made as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the need to curb the number of people gathered in public spaces, the limited number of Americans that currently have REAL ID-compliant identification (35 percent), and the lack of contingency planning by the Department of Homeland Security if this deadline was to be enforced.
Chairs DeFazio, Thompson, and Correa issued the following statement:
"While we recognize the administration's commitment to ensuring the nation's full compliance with the REAL ID Act, the challenges presented by the coronavirus outbreak and its impacts on the aviation industry must lead DHS to delay the October 1 implementation deadline," the Chairs said. "For implementation to go smoothly, DHS would need tens of millions of Americans to get new identifications over the next several months. Creating lines at Departments of Motor Vehicles would be foolish during a pandemic."
Previously Chairmen DeFazio and Thompson had joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of House and Senate lawmakers asking DHS Acting Secretary Wolf to develop and detail contingency plans for potential disruptions at airport screening checkpoints in advance of the deadline. AAAE has long been calling for the development of these contingency plans and that they are tested before the October 1, 2020 enforcement date.
