Head of Governors’ Association Seeks to Delay Real ID Deadline

(Bloomberg) -- National Governors Association Chairman Larry Hogan has asked the White House to extend an Oct. 1 deadline for most travelers to have new federal identification cards to fly.

Hogan, the Republican Governor of Maryland, said he requested the extension for all states in a letter to President Donald Trump. The identification card, Real ID, was required by an act of Congress following the 2001 terrorist attacks as a measure to force states to exert greater oversight of identification.

Beginning Oct. 1, air travelers 18 years of age and older will need a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or other acceptable identification to board a commercial aircraft or enter federal buildings.

In requesting the delay, Hogan joins Democratic lawmakers such as House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi who have also requested a delay in the implementation deadline citing the “challenges presented by the coronavirus out break.”

“For implementation to go smoothly, DHS would need tens of millions of Americans to get new identifications over the next several months,” they said in a statement. “Creating lines at Departments of Motor Vehicles would be foolish during a pandemic.”

The Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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