By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Federal officials say they're considering a new border identification option for those crossing the US-Canada border.
Officials are discussing the idea of a family discount-card program and a day-pass program for more spontaneous travel as opposed to requiring a passport to cross from Canada into the US. Some border-area residents don't like the idea of needing a $97 passport or even the alternative of a less expensive $50 ID card.
But the newer day-pass proposal worries those who worry about whether such a measure would be adequate to stop a terrorist from crossing the border.
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter said the debate over alternatives to the passport requirement are part of a bureaucratic fight between the Departments of Homeland Security and State over the rules of the program. Slaughter says she likes the idea of a family discount.
The new requirement is scheduled to take effect in 2008.
Current law requires Americans returning home from Canada to show a driver's license or other government-issued photo ID card.