Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Government ID Card Pushed by DHS

Federal agencies will have until March 31 to have in place a standard secure ID that can be used across agencies, as required by the Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12, according to a draft Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo.

According to a draft memo obtained by Federal News Radio, the DHS is giving agencies just two months to implement a six-year old mandate to issue credentials that can be used for identification across agencies. The memo is expected to be sent out shortly, according to the report.

Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), issued Aug. 27, 2004, requires that a “government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification” be issued by the federal government to its employees and contractors.

Most agencies have already implemented the secure ID, according to the draft memo. But those agencies that are lagging now have only two months to catch up.

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