It increasingly looks like all the talk of people from certain states not being able to travel after January is more of a way for the Department of Homeland Security to push their preferred PASS ID legislation than a real possibility.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman told KRQE that that the DHS has a plan in place for states, like New Mexico, that do not meet the standards of the REAL ID Act.

Matt Chandler told KRQE that an extension, “is a temporary approach that does not advance our security interests over the long-term, and DHS continues to urge Congress to enact a permanent solution to fulfill this key 9/11 Commission recommendation.”

However, Chandler reiterated something that DHS officials have been saying for weeks; that they prefer the passage of the PASS ID Act to an extension on the time for states to comply with the REAL ID Act.

A majority of states have applied for an extension to the REAL ID Act, saying that they cannot reach the standards of the REAL ID Act.

With the Senate currently debating the contentious health care bill, and no guarantee that they will finish by the end of the year, the PASS ID Act will be a longshot to pass by the end of the year, making an extension for states to comply with the REAL ID Act more likely.