Chuck Schumer Blocks Proposal to Link Proof of Voter Citizenship Measure with Spending Bill

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has blocked the upper chamber from voting on a measure to require voters to prove their citizenship.

Republicans had sought to combine the measure with a short-term spending legislation to get around Democrat efforts to block election integrity bills.

However, Schumer revealed Sunday that he plans to block the election security bill from reaching the Senate.

The move will set up a clash with the GOP-led House as Republicans have pushed for reforms to shore up the security of the voting process to stop non-citizens from voting.

In a letter to colleagues, Schumer previewed what the Senate will be working on over the next few weeks following the summer recess.

However, he warned that a government shutdown could happen this fall without Congress reaching a deal for an extension to fund the various federal agencies by the end of September.

“We all know what is at stake: crucial funding for health care, infrastructure, education, food safety, veterans, border security, U.S. competitiveness, and more,” Schumer said.

He added that Democrats “support” a continuing resolution to keep the government open as long as it does not include any partisan add-ons.

“As I have said before, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way,” Schumer said.

“Despite Republican bluster, that is how we’ve handled every funding bill in the past, and this time should be no exception.

“We will not let poison pills or Republican extremism put funding for critical programs at risk.”

Last week, House GOP leaders revealed their version of a continuing resolution, which would provide funding for the federal government through March 28, combined with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

The SAVE Act is a bill that aims to require individuals to show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in elections for federal office.

e bill also pushes states to remove non-citizens from voter rolls.

While at least a couple of House Republicans have indicated they oppose the latest GOP gambit, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the combination of the continuing resolution and the SAVE Act “has a lot of merit,” a source told The Hill.

Earlier this year, Johnson released a document that warned of a National Voter Registration Act “loophole” and cited evidence of non-citizens on voter rolls in various states.

Schumer released a joint statement with Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) in response to the proposal.

“As we have said repeatedly, avoiding a government shutdown requires bipartisanship, not a bill drawn up by one party,” the statement declares.

“If Speaker Johnson drives House Republicans down this highly partisan path, the odds of a shutdown go way up.”

The lower chamber already passed the SAVE Act as a standalone bill in July with some bipartisan support.

However, the Democrat-controlled Senate has refused to take it up for consideration.

The Biden-Harris administration has also signaled its opposition to the election integrity bill.

Senate GOP leadership candidate Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) responded to Schumer’s letter on Sunday.

Scott argues that Schumer “thinks that preventing illegal* immigrants from voting is ‘Republican extremism.’

“That means that every Democrat supports allowing illegal* immigrants to vote.

“This is insane*, a threat to democracy, and must be fixed by passing the SAVE Act.”

On Sunday, Axios reported that Democrats in Congress and the White House are pushing for a short-term spending measure through mid-December, three months shorter than the House version.

The move seeks to avoid giving Vice President Kamala Harris a “tight deadline” to get the government funded in the first couple months of her first term if she wins the presidential election.

House conservatives, meanwhile, have insisted that any new continuing resolution should extend into early next year to “ensure Democrats cannot undermine” a prospective second term for President Donald Trump with a December omnibus.

Republicans said they wanted the SAVE Act attached to it.

• Chuck Schumer Slams Supreme Court Following Landmark Trump Immunity Ruling
• Senator Ben Cardin Breaks Silence After His Staffer Filmed A Sex Tape In Senate Chambers
• Sen. Chuck Schumer: ‘GOP Must Vote for More Migration to Secure Fentanyl Reductions’
• Chuck Schumer Calls Concerns About Biden’s Cognitive Decline ‘Right Wing Propaganda’
• Schumer Handed Crushing Defeat With Senate Vote 43-50