WASHINGTON The continuing soap opera over adopting new rules for U.S. citizens crossing the U.S. and Mexican borders and traveling in the Caribbean has taken a couple of new twists. Heres the latest.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff now says his department will consider allowing use of secure drivers licenses as a means of identification at U.S. ground border crossings.

The Department of Homeland Security is close to publishing its full rules governing document requirements for land border crossings, starting next year.

The department continues to insist it will require secure documents, meaning passports or passport-like cards, starting Jan. 31, with full implementation coming later in the summer of 08. Between January and July 2008, however, the department is hinting it may accept something less than a passport.

Earlier in June, Chertoff and other Homeland Security Department spokesmen faulted those who want to derail the new border crossing rules, saying national security is at stake.

But members of Congress, officials from states and cities along the Canadian border, and many business and tourism executives are worried about delays and the effect on travel and the flow of commerce.

Chertoff met last month with state officials in New York and visited the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, to hear their concerns about the pending rules. He said he would consider possibly delaying them if New York and other states commit to quickly developing a secure license.

The Peace Bridge, which runs between Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ont., is the third busiest commercial crossing and second busiest passenger vehicle crossing along the northern border, handling $20 billion in trade annually between the United States and Canada.

Congress seeks delay

Congress is considering legislation that would require the Department of Homeland Security to delay starting the next phase of its Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which provides the impetus for the border crossing rules.

Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, who is among those leading the fight in Congress to delay the rules, said the current legislation 'simply asks DHS to slow down and get it right this time.'

Under an amendment to the DHS funding bill proposed by LaTourette, DHS would be forced to push back the start date from January 08, to June 2009. A Senate committee has added a similar provision to its version of the DHS funding package.

President Bush has threatened to veto the DHS spending bill, citing concerns about its overall size and other provisions

The border crossing rules being developed by the departments of Homeland Security and State reportedly may include the introduction of a smaller, cheaper card that would function as a passport.

As part of the latest developments, U.S. and Canadian citizens would be able to cross the land border with a government issued photo ID card, along with proof of citizenship, until summer 2008. This would include, for example, a driver license and birth certificate.

Oral declarations will not be accepted after Jan. 31.

Passport push

Meanwhile, about 350 young diplomats and new civil servants who have the necessary security clearances have been ordered to help clear the backlog of passport applications. They are being given a week-long training course and will report for about two months of duty at passport facilities in Louisiana, New Hampshire and Washington.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and deputy John Negroponte issued the order because other steps taken to process millions of applications were not working fast enough, said a State Department spokesman.

Last month, the department appealed for volunteers from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad to return to the US for the summer to help clear the backlog.

The current wait for a new passport is as long as three months; it previously took about six to eight weeks. The long waits are a result of a rush for passports triggered by the security rules for air travelers that took effect in January.

Travelers were required to present passports when returning by air to the US from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The requirement was suspended until the end of September. Travelers must show proof that they have applied for passports.