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Chairman Steil's full opening statement as prepared for delivery:
Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member McGovern, Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today in support of S.1383, the SAVE America Act.
I would like to thank my colleague, Chip Roy, for his work on this important legislation, and his collaboration as we worked to get this bill to its final form.
I would also like to thank Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Scalise, Whip Emmer, their teams, and our Committee staff for all the time and resources dedicated to preparing this bill for the floor.
In front of the Committee today is a Rules Committee print, or RCP, which is still the SAVE America Act.
We are still implementing a documentary proof of citizenship and voter ID requirement.
The RCP clarified the voter ID language from the original text.
Now, I have also submitted a manager's amendment with a few additional changes:
First, deployed service members, or absent uniformed voters, their spouses and their dependents under UOCAVA, are exempt from the SAVE America Act.
And second, the Manager's amendment makes the SAVE America Act effective upon enactment.
This legislation is an enhanced version of previous legislation, the SAVE Act, which passed the House on a bipartisan basis last April, but to date, has not been taken up by our colleagues in the Senate.
Now, thanks to the collaboration of Senator Mike Lee and Representative Chip Roy, the bill is even stronger.
The SAVE America Act is commonsense, and it does two main things:
One - it requires photo ID to vote.
And two - it requires states to confirm U.S. citizenship when someone first registers to vote.
Let's address the need for citizenship verification first.
Under President Biden, over ten million illegal aliens poured into our country.
We know it's illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections in the United States.
The bill in front of us today is about enforcing the law.
Under current law, citizenship verification is just checking a box.
What's to stop a noncitizen from claiming they're a citizen and registering to vote?
The current law is not strong enough.
The lack of safeguards under current law and reports of noncitizens casting ballots undermines Americans' confidence in our elections.
Under the SAVE America Act, states will need to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering new individuals to vote in a federal election.
Now let's touch on voter ID.
Currently, only 36 states require a form of ID when someone casts a ballot.
Requiring photo identification is commonsense.
That's why it's popular!
It's time we make this standard.
Now, some of our colleagues may say this is "voter suppression" or "Jim Crow 2.0."
It's not the first time we've heard this argument.
In 2021, when the state of Georgia passed their comprehensive election integrity law, Democrats and the mainstream media decried the bill.
Former President Joe Biden called it, you guessed it, "Jim Crow 2.0."
The allegations were false.
Georgia has now held two statewide elections since passage of their election integrity law.
Turnout has actually been incredibly high.
A University of Georgia survey found 95% of voters reported an "excellent" or "good" experience voting in the 2022 midterm.
The statements by my colleagues across the aisle are misguided.
It's an insult to the intelligence of the American people.
The SAVE America Act has safeguards to make sure every eligible U.S. citizen can cast a ballot.
If a voter forgets their necessary ID on Election Day, they can still cast a provisional ballot.
The bill also has a specific section addressing "name discrepancies" so that no eligible voter is disqualified due to a name change.
This bill takes a strong piece of legislation, the SAVE Act, and makes it even stronger in the SAVE America Act.
It's time that Congress ensures the integrity of our elections.
It's commonsense legislation.
I thank you all, and I look forward to your questions.
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