Senators offer bill to delay security rules for Canadian border

Two key senators from northern states have introduced legislation that would prevent new border security requirements from going into place until the Homeland Security Department evaluates ways to make implementation easier for U.S. citizens traveling to and from Canada.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Norm Coleman, R-Minn., proposed a bill last week that they say is critical to help U.S. residents comply with requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

Collins is the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Coleman sits on the committee and was chairman the Senate Foreign Relations Western Hemisphere Subcommittee during the last Congress. In addition, both senators' home states border Canada.

The Collins-Coleman legislation would require the Homeland Security Department to evaluate a test program in Washington state to determine if enhanced drivers licenses could be used to meet the new border security requirements -- as opposed to requiring U.S. citizens to apply for and pay for new passports or other identification documents.

"With the recent improvements in driver's license security, we would be foolish not to allow Americans to voluntarily enroll in a program to allow their use for driving to Canada," Coleman said.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires U.S. citizens and foreign travelers to have a secure, government-approved identification document to enter the United States when traveling from any part of the Western Hemisphere. The law went into effect in January for air travelers.

The law was originally set to go into effect for all travelers entering the country by land and sea ports in January 2008. Because lawmakers have been worried about the effect on trade and tourism, Congress granted a deadline extension for air and sea travelers until June 2009.

The Homeland Security Department has the authority to decide when to implement the new requirements any time between January 2008 and June 2009. Homeland Security officials have said they still want to implement the rules starting in January. Current plans call for issuing U.S. residents new passport-like cards to meet the requirements.

But the department also announced in March that it would conduct the Washington state test program to evaluate the use of enhanced drivers' licenses.

Collins and Coleman say, however, the department will not begin the Washington state test program until January. Therefore, their bill requires the test program to be done and analyzed before the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative can go into effect at land borders.

"For many Maine residents, quick and easy border crossing is essential," Collins said. "They need access to vital services, travel to their jobs, attend church, and visit family and friends."

The bill also would require that all ports of entry have the ability to process passport cards and be able to read them. In addition, the measure would waive processing fees for new passport cards in some circumstances, and would codify that children traveling with their parents can cross the border with a birth certificate rather than a passport.