October 8, 2012 9:41AM 

# You Can Say it All You Want 

By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) 

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…but that doesn’t make it true.

One of the laws recently signed by the president, which Congress quietly passed before leaving town to campaign, was [Public Law 112–176](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/112_PL_112-176.html). Among other things, it extended the authorization the national background check system, E‑Verify.

A line tacked on to the end of the law speaks to an issue with E‑Verify:

> Nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize the planning, testing, piloting, or development of a national identification card.

Well, you can say it all you want, but that doesn’t make it true.

Maybe Congress is playing a little trick, saying “no national ID *card*,” knowing that E‑Verify is a [cardless national ID system](https://www.cato.org/the-new-cardless-national-id/).

##### Related Tags 

[Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy) 

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