To the editor:

Severe delays in some of the most essential government services – getting a state I.D. –continue to cripple our citizens in Virginia. Even as our federal and local officials spend hundreds of billions to get life back to normal, too many Virginians cannot get a state I.D. card from the Department of Motor Vehicles without waiting for months. Lack of a state I.D. card prevents people from finding jobs, getting married, traveling, and opening bank accounts.

Right now, my 18-year-old son has an appointment to get a state ID card at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles – in July. He made the appointment back in April. An appointment for a passport could be arranged in four weeks, but that is a very costly identifying document. He has a high school I.D. card, but too many places require a government-issued I.D., which Virginia is now very slow to provide.

State I.D. cards are an essential government service that needs to be a high priority for the Virginia government. Too many people cannot otherwise have a normal life. A three-month delay for an appointment is simply not helping anyone in the state of Virginia.

-Marjorie Leong Greenberg, Alexandria