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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree welcomed a new Maine law signed by Governor LePage today to put the state in compliance with the federal REAL ID Act. In Congress, she has been working to give Maine more time to come into compliance so residents can regain access to certain federal facilities with their state ID.

“I’m relieved that the end is in sight for Mainers who are worried about receiving services at VA clinics, accessing federal facilities, and boarding flights. While the federal REAL ID law isn’t perfect, this will be a huge load off people’s minds,” said Pingree.  “Now that the Legislature has passed this bill and the Governor has signed it, the Department of Homeland Security should grant Maine an extension to give the state more time to implement the law. One of the components of the bill I introduced with my colleague Representative Mark Sanford would give all non-compliant states an extension through October 10, 2017, allowing residents to regain access to federal facilities that they lost earlier this year. I hope to see the Department of Homeland Security grant Maine an extension through at least this date.”  

Background

Last October, the Department of Homeland Security announced its decision to deny an extension for Maine to comply with REAL ID, and in January no longer allowed access to military bases and certain federal facilities with a state ID. 

In December, Pingree worked to help 500 Southern Maine veterans faced with losing access to a VA clinic at Pease Air Force Base. 

In January, Pingree was the lead Democratic co-sponsor on the REAL ID Privacy Protection Act introduced by Republican Mark Sanford. The REAL ID Privacy Protection Act would do four things: 1) eliminate the requirement for source document archiving; 2) eliminate the state DMV database inter-accessibility requirement; 3) grant a uniform extension for all non-compliant states to October 10, 2017; and 4) require the Department of Homeland Security to issue a report to Congress, detailing all aspects of complying with the law and each state’s compliance status for each item.