Lawmakers Work to Stall Real ID Act

The cost for the new national identification cards is expected to be $40 more than the standard driver’s licenses, but Secretary of State Jesse White‘s office says the federal government has yet to pay for the cost of the IDs.

In April 2007, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Barack Obama (D-Ill) passed a joint resolution along with 19 other states to halt the Real ID program until the federal government finds a way to reimburse the states for the cost.

“States are responsible for putting together driving licenses, and they are expensive. The cost would have to be a decision the states would have to end up making,” said Tom Ferrone, legislative correspondent for Durbin.