Illegal Border Crossings Today:

House Speaker Pulls Spending Bill that Includes a Measure to Stop Illegal Alien Voting

voting booth and migrants at border

FAIR Take | September 2024

Last Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pulled a short-term spending bill that includes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, legislation FAIR supports to protect against noncitizen voting. The path forward for the SAVE Act remains unclear, although Speaker Johnson has indicated he will continue to strongly support it. Now, congressional leaders must determine how to pass a government spending bill, or face a shutdown starting October 1.

The House’s continuing resolution, which would have extended federal funding through March 28, 2025, ran into strong headwinds almost immediately after it was unveiled by Republican leaders. While many conservative House members have long publicly supported the move, other members prefer a so-called “clean” continuing resolution to simply continue Fiscal Year (2024) funding levels. Another issue dividing members is how long the short-term spending measure should last (i.e., until after the election or until new members are sworn in next year). In particular, some members have expressed concern that the Department of Defense will not be adequately funded if the government extends FY 2024 funding for a significant period of time. Finally, several members are opposed to passing a stopgap spending bill at all, instead arguing that federal funding should proceed through the regular committee process. That committee process has faced roadblocks since late July.

To complicate the situation, almost all Democrats oppose including the SAVE Act in the spending package. The SAVE Act:

  • Requires state elections officials to verify registrants’ citizenship using documents such as a U.S. passport, a birth certificate, or a REAL-ID compliant form of identification;
  • Requires states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls and provides for states to utilize existing federal databases to verify citizenship status; and
  • Creates a private right of action for citizens to bring civil suits against election officials who fail to uphold proof of citizenship requirements.

Although five Democrats voted for the SAVE Act when it passed the House in July, only one has publicly said he would support the spending package with it included. For his part, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has referred to the SAVE Act as a “poison pill,” while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has characterized it as “Republican extremism.” On top of opposition from congressional Democrats, the White House announced September 9 that President Biden would veto the legislation.

Speaker Johnson, however, remains supportive of a funding bill that includes the SAVE Act. Last week, Johnson said of the bill: “The whip is going to do the hard work and build consensus. We’re going to work through the weekend on that.” He also emphasized the need for “consensus building” given Republicans’ slim majority in the House. Thursday evening, Speaker Johnson said that “[p]rotecting the security of our elections is vital for the future of our republic, and Congress has a duty to ensure that only U.S. citizens decide U.S. elections…The SAVE Act is a critical and obvious part of that answer.”

Stay tuned for updates on the SAVE Act and government funding bill. As always, FAIR will continue to support commonsense measures like the SAVE Act and fight to ensure that Americans’ votes are not undermined by mass illegal immigration.