Congressman Ron Paul Denounces National ID Card

"Congressman Ron Paul today denounced the national ID card provisions contained in the intelligence bill...

"'A national identification card, in whatever form it may take, will allow the federal government to inappropriately monitor the movements and transactions of every American,' Paul continued. 'History shows that governments inevitably use such power in harmful ways. The 9-11 commission, whose recommendations underlie this bill, has called for internal screening points where identification will be demanded. Domestic travel restrictions are the hallmark of authoritarian states, not free nations...

"'Nationalizing standards for drivers licenses and birth certificates, and linking them together via a national database, creates a national ID system pure and simple... regardless of whether the ID itself is still stamped with the name of your state.'

"'Those who are willing to allow the government to establish a Soviet-style internal passport system because they think it will make us safer are terribly mistaken,' Paul concluded. 'Subjecting every citizen to surveillance and screening points actually will make us less safe, not in the least because it will divert resources away from tracking and apprehending terrorists and deploy them against innocent Americans! Every conservative who believes in constitutional restraints on government should reject the authoritarian national ID card and the nonsensical intelligence bill itself.'"

Paul Denounces National ID Card