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The article focuses on the U.S. House which moved toward passage of legislation to overhaul intelligence programs. The GOP leaders are aiming to deliver a bill to the U.S. President before the elections. The House and Senate bills would create a national intelligence director and reorganize intelligence programs, but the House version has provisions dealing with immigration laws and federal standards for identification cards. Before final passage, Republicans and Democrats sparred over amendments to tighten immigration laws and strengthen law enforcement tools.

The article reports that the U.S. administration will delay a program that provides special identification cards to every worker with access to seaports. The deadline to enroll 850,000 port workers into the transportation worker credentialing program will be extended to April 15, 2008. The department has enrolled 260,608 people in the program. For enrollment the department collects personal information including fingerprints, name, birth date, address and telephone number.

The article reports that Stewart Baker, the policy chief at the U.S. Homeland Security Department, said that it does not have an accurate estimate of how much it will cost states to meet a federal mandate to issue new driver's licenses and identification cards. He told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Government Management Subcommittee that the department used speculative data provided by states to estimate that it would cost them about $4 billion.

The article reports that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights. The court upheld Indiana's photo identification requirement, which Democrats and civil rights groups said would deter poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots. Its backers said it was needed to prevent fraud. . Courts have upheld voter ID laws in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, but struck down Missouri's.

The article reports that the U.S. Supreme Court has heard arguments over the constitutionality of an Indiana law that requires photo identification to prove a person's right to vote in that state. The gist of the plaintiffs' complaint is that the intent of the photo ID laws is to suppress the turnout of voters more likely to cast votes for Democrats. Petitioners' attorney Paul Smith urged the court to focus on the burden imposed on the affected groups who are likely to lack the facial IDs.

Information about the forecasted upsurge of identity (ID) verification cards and prisons in the U.S. market by industry experts discussed at a meeting in Washington, D.C. is presented. Topics include the possible demand of homeland security products, fueling speculation and the rise of illegal immigrants. Other issue which contributes to the surge is the need for more federal detention beds to the arrested immigrants. Meanwhile, it informs several financial service companies that organized this meeting.

The article reports that the witnesses at the U.S. House Administration Elections Subcommittee hearing were sharply divided on how to combat voter fraud. Subcommittee ranking member Kevin McCarthy's panel agreed that all voters should be required to answer whether or not they are a citizen and stressed the need of photo identification. Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren said that requiring photo identification will disenfranchise voters and that does not solve double-voting or absentee voting fraud.

The article reports that officials from U.S. Homeland Security Department have made an effort to assure the members of the Senate Commerce Committee that they ready to begin a massive program to issue port workers security cards. Members of the Committee peppered officials with questions during a hearing about how they will handle vetting up to a million port workers for the so-called transportation worker identification credentials.

The article reports that the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to decide on the role of voter identification laws in deterring the poor and minorities from voting. It is reported that the arguments for a case challenging Indiana law requiring to present photo ID by voters before casting their ballots, will begin in the year 2008. The state support the law as a way to combat voter fraud whereas state Democratic Party and civil rights groups oppose it denying any in-person voter fraud in the state.

The article reports that the members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have said that they were frustrated that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has not yet started enrolling port workers into the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program. Under the program, up to 1 million workers who have access to sensitive port areas are to undergo background checks and be given a special identification card with a fingerprint biometric identifier.

The article reports that U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator Kip Hawley has revealed during a hearing of the Senate Commerce committee that Port ID System may not be ready by July, 2007. The department also does not have an exact estimate for how many port employees will have to get the transportation worker identification credential. Senate Commerce Chairman Daniel Inouye lamented that as of today, there is no schedule available.

The article reports that the U.S. General Accounting Office has found flaws in the Transportation Security Administration's program for issuing port workers secure, biometric identification cards. Senate Commerce ranking member Daniel Inouye said that the program is troubled by the lack of a comprehensive management plan and plagued by cost overruns and missed deadlines. The Transportation Security Administration launched the program after a congressional mandate.

The article reports that Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter is strongly opposing any kind of changes to the FY07 Homeland Security appropriations by the House Republican leaders. He expressed his intentions to remove his signature from the conference report of the Homeland Security bill if more immigration-related legislation are added to it. The delay of the U.S. administration to mandate new identification cards for travelers into the U.S. is also an issue.

The article reports that the U.S. House Administration Committee passed a bill on September 14, 2006, requiring voters to present a photo identification card before casting their ballot. The bill met stiff opposition from the House Democrats who were of the view that the bill will hamper the voting rights of minorities, disabled people and the poor.

This article reports that the U.S. Senate today reversed itself on immigration legislation, adopting an amendment that would permit immigrant guest workers to petition for their own green cards rather than require an employer to make the request on their behalf. The Senate approved, 56-43, an amendment by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, that effectively undoes language by Senator John Cornyn, it adopted Wednesday night. Kennedy said the measure restored worker protections that were threatened by making employers solely responsible for an employee's legal status. He said that the measure preserved "good language" in the Cornyn amendment that would require the Labor secretary to certify that there is not a U.S. worker willing and qualified to take the job for which the worker is seeking a green card. Republicans and Democrats today also were negotiating language in an amendment by Senator James Inhofe, making English the official language of the U.S.

This article reports on the announcement made by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that background checks will be conducted on an estimated 400,000 workers at U.S. seaports to ensure they do not pose a terrorist threat. Chertoff said that names of employees who work in the most sensitive areas of ports will be matched against government terrorist watch lists and immigration databases. The Homeland Security Department also will issue tamper-free identification cards to approximately 750,000 workers, including those who work for trucking firms or railroads, who have unrestricted assess to ports. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will conduct the background checks.

This article reports that the U.S. Homeland Security Department has announced a timetable for issuing millions of workers at the U.S. transportation facilities, a tamper-resistant, biometric-based identification card. The Transportation Security Administration plans to issue a request for proposals in early May for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The TWIC program will issue tamper-resistant cards containing biometric information, such as fingerprints or iris scans, so transportation facilities can verify a worker's identity and help prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing secure areas. The department's timetable for the program has come under more scrutiny in the Congress after a Dubai-owned company's recent attempt to take over terminal operations at several major U.S. ports triggered heightened maritime security concerns.

The article reports on the proposal of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to develop technology that will allow identification cards to serve several purposes. Chertoff told reporters at a media briefing hosted by the King Publishing Group that he believes it is critical to develop a technological platform for identification cards that is efficient and versatile. He said the department ought to be working toward the creation of a single, secure card embedded with biometric information and capable of working across jurisdictions. Chertoff said a multi-functional identification card could satisfy the conditions and simultaneously serve other security initiatives, such as the Registered Traveler program for moving pre-approved airline passengers through screening more quickly.

The article focuses on the reintroduction of the legislation that would require counterfeit-proof Social Security cards as part of an effort to make it easier to enforce laws regulating the hiring of illegal immigrants. The cards would feature a photo and a computerized strip that employers would use to verify the legal status of a potential employee. The bill is intended to stanch the flow of illegal immigrants crossing borders to seek employment, allowing the Border Patrol to focus on criminal activity.

Focuses on then legislation to safeguard drivers licenses and state-issued identification cards in the United States. Incidence of fraudulent drivers license of September 11 terrorist attackers; Tool of choice for identity thieves and criminals; Issuance of smart ID cards with digitally encoded biometric data specific to each holder.