WASHINGTON - Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) moderated today's debate on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and delivered remarks on the House floor.

Chairman Steil's full floor remarks as prepared for delivery: 

Madam Speaker, 

I rise in support of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act, introduced by my colleague, Representative Chip Roy of Texas. 

As Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, I’ve been focused on improving election integrity and increasing confidence in our elections. 

In recent years, we have seen an increasing number of jurisdictions across the country allow noncitizens to vote in their elections.  

Right here in our nation’s capital, noncitizens are eligible to vote in municipal elections.  

In Washington, D.C., a noncitizen only has to reside in the district for 30 days in order to register to vote.  

Last month, 143 Democrats voted to approve noncitizen voting in D.C.  

We cannot allow this to spread across the U.S. 

Let me be clear - Noncitizen voting reduces confidence in our elections.  

American elections are for American citizens, and we intend to keep it that way. 

Today, we will consider the SAVE Act and we will see if my Democratic colleagues are once again in support of noncitizen voting. 

The SAVE Act will strengthen our election administration and restore Americans’ confidence in our elections. 

The SAVE Act contains critical reforms to update the National Voter Registration Act – an Act that requires States to give voter registration forms to everyone who receives a driver’s license – regardless of citizenship status.  

The bill before us will help States prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections by requiring States to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identity in-person when registering an individual to vote in federal elections.  

You are sure to hear from my colleagues on the other side that noncitizen voting doesn’t exist, or that it rarely happens so we don’t need to do anything about it.  

First, I’d point you to a 1996 Congressional race in California where an investigation by this body revealed that 624 noncitizens voted.  

I’d also point you to a race less than four years ago with our colleague from Iowa who won her race by just 6 votes. 

Every illegal vote cancels out the legal vote of an American citizen.  

Illegal voting risks swaying elections. 

Ensuring our laws are being enforced to prevent noncitizen voting is critical.  

Some will say that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. But it is also illegal to evade Border Patrol and illegally enter the country.  

Yet that hasn’t stopped almost anyone.  

In the last three years, Border Patrol has encountered over 7 million illegal migrants at our southern border. 

We must strengthen our election laws are being properly enforced

On top of the previously mentioned examples of noncitizen voting, we have also seen examples of noncitizens on the voter rolls of different States. 

Just a few years ago, Illinois removed almost 600 non-citizens from its voter rolls. 

A Georgia audit recently determined that more than 1,600 non-citizens had attempted to register to vote. 

And in Pennsylvania, almost 10,000 noncitizens were removed from their rolls. 

Every State needs access to the tools necessary to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. 

A crucial element of the SAVE Act would provide States with cost-free access to existing federal and State databases so they can perform this important voter list maintenance.  

Today, we see the Biden Administration has weaponized our border and they are weaponizing federal agencies to conduct a partisan voter registration scheme using taxpayer dollars under an Executive Order.  

I have subpoenaed each agency’s strategic plan, yet so far, no agency has produced their strategic,  secretive scheme to get-out-the-vote for the left and whether they are registering only American citizens. 

By passing the SAVE Act, we can ensure only eligible Americans are registering to vote.  

Americans deserve confidence in their elections.  

We must pass the SAVE Act to prevent noncitizens from voting.   

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.  
 

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