CAGW vs. RFID:

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has delivered more than 5,200 petitions to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff, urging DHS not to require a computer chip in drivers’ licenses to comply with the Real ID Act. If you're interested in CAGW, you can contact: Jessica Shoemaker, 202-467-5318, or after hours: Tom Finnigan, 202-253-3852 both of Citizens Against Government Waste.

A story at US NewsWire reports CAGW's positions, including these:

"Congress’s intent was to build on existing technology, not to add to the states’ burden of compliance by requiring a chip," CAGW President Tom Schatz said. "Installing radio frequency identification (RFID) chips or similar technology into every driver’s license will be an expensive, invasive, and less secure way to update identification documents." ...

CAGW’s October 2005 report, Real ID: Big Brother Could Cost Big Money, revealed many flaws in the RFID technology and its implementation. The cost of a drivers’ license could rise by 260-800 percent, from $10-25 to at least $90, while the cost to build a new system to verify, track, and store RFID information would be $17.4 billion.

The extensive storage space on RFID chips also poses a threat to personal privacy. The government could mandate that information other than that contained on current licenses must be stored on the chips, including health records, travel sequencing, relatives’ information, and more. In addition, information on RFID chips can be remotely accessed by unauthorized persons.