First, the good news:
Congress Adopts Restriction on Treatment of Detainees:
Congress barred the government on Tuesday from using any money in a newly passed emergency spending bill to subject anyone in American custody to torture or “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” that is forbidden by the Constitution.
On the other hand, as Declan McCullagh reports on CNET, Senate approves electronic ID card bill:
Last-minute attempts by online activists to halt an electronic ID card failed Tuesday when the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to impose a sweeping set of identification requirements on Americans.
The so-called Real ID Act now heads to President Bush, who is expected to sign the bill into law this month.
Upsides and downsides below the fold.
First, what does the anti-torture provision do? Well, according to the Paper of Record:
[The provision] says that no money appropriated in the bill can be used “to subject any person in the custody or under the physical control of the United States to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that is prohibited by the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States.”
And what about the most egregious abuse?
Human rights advocates said it was unclear whether the prohibition would restrict the ability of the C.I.A. or other government agencies to conduct so-called renditions – that is, to send terrorism suspects to be interrogated in other countries, even those that are known to engage in abusive treatment of prisoners.
So basically we have a provision that is supposed to prevent (but not outlaw) abuses, and may not even prevent the greatest one, and which depends on existing oversight mechanisms for its enforcement.
Weak and unclear, but still movement in the right direction.
None of which can be said of the RealID Act. To quote McCullagh again:
If the act’s mandates take effect in May 2008, as expected, Americans will be required to obtain federally approved ID cards with “machine readable technology” that abides by Department of Homeland Security specifications. Anyone without such an ID card will be effectively prohibited from traveling by air or Amtrak, opening a bank account, or entering federal buildings.
That basically entails “federalized” drivers licenses that meet the Department of Homeland Security requirements (which, btw, have not yet been released).
So Americans must surrender control of their personal data in order to participate in everyday life.
The ACLU notes a further risk of federalized ID:
“The federalization of drivers’ licenses, and the culling of all information into massive databases, creates a system ripe for identity theft. New standards could place our most private information – including photographs, address and social security numbers – into the hands of identity thieves.
Oh yeah – the icing on the cake:
The act would also eliminate, in some [immigration and asylum] cases, the right of habeas corpus as an avenue for court review for the first time since the Civil War.
One step forward, two steps back.
Update [2005-5-12 6:3:39 by Dvx]:
The battle is lost but it looks like the war is on. This from today’s Wired:
[…] Several Republican and Democrat senators who cast favorable votes for the bill simultaneously railed against the provision authorizing the new driver’s license rules.
They’re not the only ones refusing to accept the bill peacefully. The National Governors Association is threatening lawsuits to fight the legislation. And some states are threatening to ignore the legislation because they say it will cost up to $700 million for states to comply and will place a heavy burden on Department of Motor Vehicles workers.
A spokeswoman for the governors’ association did not return calls for comment. But Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, told the Associated Press this week that “if more than half of the governors agree we’re not going down without a fight on this, Congress will have to consider changing” the rules.
Go governors!
This miss is not only highly intrusive, but hassle-intensive as well:
All drivers, including current license holders, would have to provide multiple documents to verify their identity before they could obtain a license or renew one. Drivers would have to provide several types of documentation, such as a photo ID, birth certificate, proof that their Social Security number is legitimate and something that verifies the applicant’s full home address.
For more information on what RealID means, and what you can do, take a look at this awesome website.
