美式新闻英语第 62 课：Privacy Concerns, Cost, Jeopardize Plans for US Identity Card
美国身份证计划受阻于隐私问题和制卡成本-1

The law, known as the REAL ID Act, was passed in 2005 by a Republican-led Congress. 《真实身份法案》于 2005 年在共和党领导的国会下投票通过。

It standardized the way states issue drivers' licenses, and established a more robust verification process for applicants and tamper-resistant security features, thus making it more difficult for terrorists to fraudulently obtain such identification documents. 法案要求规范驾驶执照的发放方式，并加强申请人的核查过程及防伪安全性能，从而使防止恐怖分子骗取身份证明文件。

But the Congress did not fund the measure. Eight states have enacted statutes or resolutions opposing implementation of the law because they cannot afford to comply with it. 但是国会并没有为此提供资金。已经有八个州出台法规或决议来反对该法案的实施，因为他们无法提供资金以执行该法案。

In addition, civil rights groups oppose the measure on grounds it undermines privacy rights. 另外，公民权利组织也反对该法案的实施，因为它破坏了隐私权。

The Senate Judiciary Committee explored the concerns about the law at a hearing Tuesday. Allen Gilbert is executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont. 在星期二举行的听证会上，参议院司法委员会探测了公众对该法案的关注程度。艾伦·吉尔伯特是佛蒙特州美国公民自由联盟的执行理事。

ALLEN GILBERT : Increasingly, Vermonters are worried that too much data is being collected about too many things. It is not just a sense that privacy is eroding, Vermonters are worried that their identities will be stolen by identity thieves. 艾伦·吉尔伯：越来越多的佛蒙特州人担心，目前收集的数据信息太多了。他们不仅觉得自己的隐私正受到侵犯，而且还担心自己的身份信息会被身份证窃贼所盗用。

Jim Harper, director of information policy at the CATO Institute, estimates the cost of implementing the REAL ID program at $23 billion, and says there is little evidence it would boost security. 吉姆·哈珀是加图研究所的信息政策理事，他估计执行《真实身份法案》将会花费 230 亿美元，他还说即使这样也不见得能增加多少安全性。

JIM HARPER : REAL ID is a loser: it costs more to implement than it would add to our nation's security protections. 吉姆·哈珀：《真实身份法案》是失败的：实施这个法案所需要的费用比它给我们国家带来的安全性要大得多。

Because of such concerns, the chairman of the committee, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, has introduced a bill that would repeal the law, and replace it with a previous system under which federal and state officials would make improvements in how drivers' licenses are issued. 鉴于这些顾虑，委员会主席、佛蒙特州的民主党参议员帕特里克·莱希递交了一项议案，该议案提议用在这之前联邦及州政府官员们在改善驾驶执照发放上采取的制度来取代该法案。