U.S. Congress approves 17-month passport delay for Canadians

Canada has long argued the time frame for the new ID - a passport or another tamper-proof document - was too tight to implement properly without causing major tie-ups at the border.

It was originally supposed to go into effect Jan. 1, 2008.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has lobbied hard for a reprieve, warning it would damage relations between the countries just when they need to work more closely than ever to defeat terrorism.

A bipartisan committee of top senators and representatives agreed early this week to a delay.

But Republican leaders in the House of Representatives raised objections, led by Wisconsin's James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House judiciary committee and a security hawk.

Sensenbrenner blocked a vote for days, arguing the original deadline is crucial to securing the country's borders. He was a key architect of the original measure passed by Congress in 2004 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The delay was a hard sell among some in a mid-term election year, since legislators want to show voters they're tough on terrorism and doing everything they can to secure the country.

Observers said the political spat became personal because Sensenbrenner felt blindsided by the committee's announcement of an agreement on a delay before he'd seen any details.

At the same time, Senate leaders refused to back down and threatened to withdraw support for the overarching legislation: a key US$35-billion funding bill for new fencing along the U.S. border with Mexico that also authorizes studying the feasibility of a security barrier at the Canadian line.

The passport delay has had widespread support among politicians from northern border states and others where Canadians spend a lot of money.

They're backed by business and tourism groups on both sides of the border.

Many say it will take the U.S. government as long as June 1, 2009, to get everything in place for the ID program.

But some officials disagree.

"I think it could very well be considerably earlier than that as we meet certain certification requirements that Congress is setting for us," said Frank Moss, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for passports.

"The sooner it is done, the better, in terms of both travel security and facilitation," he said in Ottawa.

The delay does not affect people entering the United States by plane or ship. They'll still require passports starting Jan. 1, 2007.

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