WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- The homeland security funding bill going before the House Tuesday would postpone the implementation of tougher document requirements at U.S. land borders.
Language authored by upstate New York Democrat Rep. Louise Slaughter, chairwoman of the powerful House Rules Committee, would deny the Department of Homeland Security access to funds to implement the new rules until they have tested and piloted various forms of new ID documents.
"We have to force DHS to take the time to implement WHTI (the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, of which the new rules are part) in a rational manner that does not disrupt legitimate cross-border travel," Slaughter said in a statement.
The new rules, scheduled to come into force next year, say Americans and Canadians -- who can currently cross the northern U.S. land border in either direction with little more than a driver's license by way of ID -- must show a secure document establishing identity and citizenship.
But there has been widespread concern from businesses and border lawmakers on both sides about the speed with which the changes are approaching and the paucity of alternatives to the passport as a qualifying document.
Last week Homeland Security suspended the WHTI rules it had introduced for travelers entering from Canada and the Caribbean by air. The huge backlog of passport applications was overwhelming the system and threatening chaos over the summer.
And the numbers involved are tiny compared with those involved in land border crossings, say travel industry lobbyists.
The Slaughter language would fence off $100 million of the $250 million allocated for WHTI in the 2008 appropriations bill. That money would not become available until Homeland Security had tested and piloted both the enhanced driver's license and the new passport card to be produced next year by the State Department.
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Shaun Waterman, UPI Homeland and National Security Editor
