Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Republicans Working On Voter Suppression Legislation Instead Of Working To Lower Costs

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor as Republicans focus on passing a radical voter suppression bill, the SAVE Act, instead of working to lower prices and rein in Trump's deadly war in Iran. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks, which can also be viewed here:

The Senate is in session today, and all we are really doing is wasting time on a voter suppression bill written only to appease the fringe elements of the MAGA base.

With so many problems facing our country, with the cost of living so high, with people struggling to make ends meet, with the war going on in Iran, Republicans instead are choosing to spend time making it harder for citizens to vote. That is exactly what the SAVE Act is designed to do-it is designed to make it harder for citizens to vote.

Do not listen to the Republican talking points about voter ID. That is a ruse.

Underneath the surface, the SAVE Act is a voter purge bill. Most of its core elements don't even talk about voter ID.

They want to make it harder to register to vote than it is to register buy an AR-15.

MAGA Republicans want to force every single state in America to submit their voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security.

They want Americans' information to be run through an algorithm that Elon Musk and DOGE could use to kick eligible citizens, eligible American citizens, off the voter rolls without them knowing they were kicked off. When you show up at the polling place, they'll say, "Mr. Jones, Ms. Smith, you're not on the registry, you're no longer on the registry." And you say, "Why?" And they say, "Well, you will have to go find out."

That is a disgrace. That is un-doing what is deeply American, the right to vote.

They want to make registering to vote a bureaucratic nightmare.

They want to end vote by mail, end registering online, end registering on college campuses and in churches, and even end registering at the DMV, where of course you have to show ID.

That is what the SAVE Act is. And Republicans know it. They know that if the American people are given a fair chance to make their voices heard, Republicans are in trouble.

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