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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 in support of H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act – known as the SAVE Act.
I would like to thank my colleague, Chip Roy, for his sponsorship of this bill and his collaboration in working to get this legislation to final form.
I would also like to thank Speaker Johnson, his team, and our Committee staff for all the time and resources dedicated to bringing this bill to the floor.
As Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, I am focused on securing our elections.
We have held numerous hearings on election integrity and spoken with election administrators and experts on federal election law from across the country.
This bill, the SAVE Act, passed the House of Representatives during the 118th Congress with bipartisan support, but unfortunately was not taken up by our colleagues in the Senate.
I am pleased to see the SAVE Act being brought to the Floor once again.
The SAVE Act will help restore Americans’ confidence in our elections.
Through the SAVE Act, we will strengthen our election administration and keep American elections for American citizens.
In recent years, we have seen a growing number of jurisdictions across the country allow non-citizens to vote in municipal elections, including right here in our nation’s capital.
In Washington, D.C., a non-citizen only has to reside in the district for 30 days in order to vote in municipal elections.
Imagine if that policy was applied across the country.
The SAVE Act contains critical reforms and strengthens current law by requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
Two months ago, I held a roundtable with Secretaries of State from across the country to discuss difficulties they encountered while administering the most recent election.
One of their top concerns was the integrity of voter rolls, and we discussed preventing non-citizens from voting.
The SAVE Act contains crucial reforms to election law that will help States conduct free and fair elections.
The National Voter Registration Act currently requires States to give voter registration forms to everyone who receives a driver’s license, regardless of citizenship.
For example, in Illinois, non-citizens can obtain a driver’s license. Under the NVRA, these non-citizens would be given voter registration forms. And just a few years ago, Illinois had to remove hundreds of non-citizens from its voter rolls.
All an applicant has to do is check a box saying they are a citizen, and the citizenship verification process is over. It's almost hard to believe.
Following the 2013 Supreme Court case, Arizona v. Inter Tribal, the NVRA, as it is currently written, prevents States from asking applicants for confirmation of citizenship in federal elections.
The SAVE Act would change the federal language under the NVRA to require and assist States in obtaining documentary proof of citizenship, in person, when an individual registers to vote in a federal election.
State DMVs can no longer take someone’s word for being a citizen. The self-verification method of claiming to be an American citizen does not ensure that American elections are secure.
States have tried to enforce documentary proof of citizenship, but the requirement has been shot down by courts due to preemption.
The SAVE Act would require States to set up a program to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls.
In order to assist with this process, the bill would give States free access to federal and State databases with citizenship information.
By allowing this access, States can streamline registration processes and ensure that non-citizens are not registering to vote.
This has routinely been a top request made by Secretaries of State across the country.
The SAVE Act will also direct the Election Assistance Commission to update any guidance associated with the bill.
The SAVE Act will also ensure that States with same-day registration can comply with the bill.
Finally, the SAVE Act is in line with President Trump’s recent Executive Order on Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.
Many of my colleagues may say that non-citizen voting is already illegal.
That's true- it is in fact illegal for a non-citizen to vote in a federal election.
This bill is focused on enforcing our laws and ensuring non-citizens cannot vote.
It is illegal to evade border patrol and illegally enter our country.
It was illegal under the Biden Administration and it's still illegal under President Trump.
But why have we seen the dramatic drop? It's because of enforcement.
This bill is not simply about altering the law - it's still illegal for non-citizens to vote in this country in federal elections.
This bill is about enforcing the law and getting the result we want which is that U.S. citizens are the individuals that are voting in U.S. elections.
I look forward to our conversation today.
I believe we have to pass the SAVE Act.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I yield back.
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