Davis tries license bill again

State officials will have to meet federal standards for verifying people's identities before issuing them driver's licenses, if lawmakers pass legislation that Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) introduced in the House today.

Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, issued a statement saying that the federal government depends on states to issue trustworthy documents that establish without question that people are who they say they are.

The proposed legislation establishes minimum document standards for state driver's licenses and for how they must be issued.

"This is not a national ID," Davis said in a written statement. "This is cooperation and common sense. States and the federal government must work together if we are to provide for the safety and security of the American people."

Davis introduced the same legislation in the previous Congress, but at the last minute it was removed from the intelligence reform bill conference report that was enacted into law.

Davis' bill provides for Homeland Security Department officials, working with Transportation Department officials and state officials, to establish minimum driver's license standards.

The bill gives states three years to comply with the minimum federal standards.