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Update on the SAVE Act + the Continuing Resolution: 

Stopping illegal immigrants from voting in our elections is still my top priority—that’s why House Republicans should absolutely use our leverage in the September spending fight to protect our elections! The good news is Congress already passed the SAVE Act on a bipartisan basis back in July. The bill simply requires states to check citizenship status before registering an individual to vote and gives states tools to identify and remove non-citizens that are already registered to vote. 

The problem now is that we are right up against the September 30th deadline to vote on government funding for the next fiscal year, while all 12 appropriations bills haven’t been passed yet. This year just like most, Congress will have to pass a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government. Although I would have preferred passing 12 fiscally responsible appropriations bills through regular order last spring, this is the reality we are now facing.

If Republicans must vote on a CR (which is the most likely scenario at this point), I am calling for it to run through early next year with the SAVE Act attached. This way, we can freeze spending at current levels and prevent another year-end omnibus from further entrenching liberal policies and undermining the efforts of a new administration. 

Regardless of who our next President is, we know it won’t be Joe Biden since he dropped out of the race. So why should the disastrous current administration get to make critical decisions on government spending for next year, when we will have a brand-new administration starting in January? 

Punting new government spending into 2025 when we have a new President and attaching the SAVE Act ensures House Republicans avoid a Biden-Harris lame duck omnibus and secures our elections at the same time. We must use our leverage and put the burden on the Senate to act. The Senate can either ensure only eligible American citizens are voting in our elections – or shut down the government. To me, it’s a no-brainer.