Bryan Steil: ‘It Is Congress’s Responsibility To Help Restore Confidence In Our Election System’
On Monday, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) delivered remarks on election confidence during a House Rules Committee hearing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Objection any prepared statements that our witnesses may have will be included in the record
00:05I do want to call up our first panel chairman Brian Steele and ranking member Joe Morelli from the committee on house administration
00:19Chairman Steele I welcome your testimony
00:21Chairman Burgess, ranking member McGovern, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify in support of HR 8281 the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act known as the SAVE Act.
00:36I'd like to thank my colleague Congressman Chip Roy for his sponsorship of this bill and his collaboration working to get this legislation in final form.
00:44I'd also like to thank Speaker Johnson, his team, and our committee staff for all the time and resources dedicated to bringing this bill to life.
00:51As chairman of the committee on house administration I've been diligently focused on elections.
00:56Our committee's introduced over 50 pieces of legislation and marked up 15 elections bills.
01:01We've held 12 hearings, heard from 60 witnesses, and even held a field hearing in Georgia to hear from Americans directly on what is going right and what their concerns are about our election system.
01:12We've raised awareness on private election funding, commonly known as Zuckerbucks, and its potential to influence our elections administration.
01:19We've passed legislation to close a loophole that allows foreign nationals to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to influence American elections.
01:26As a house, we've passed legislation to prevent non-citizens from voting in Washington, D.C.'s local elections.
01:32This bill, the SAVE Act, is one of many we hope to bring to the floor.
01:36In the past few decades, Americans' faith in the integrity of our elections has eroded.
01:41It is Congress' responsibility to help restore confidence in our election system.
01:46The SAVE Act would do just that.
01:49Through the SAVE Act, we'll strengthen our elections administration and keep American elections for American citizens.
01:54In recent years, we've 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.
02:02In Washington, D.C., a non-citizen only has to reside in the district for 30 days in order to vote.
02:08Imagine if that policy was applied across the country.
02:11The SAVE Act contains critical reforms to existing legislation and strengthens current law by requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
02:22The National Voter Registration Act currently requires states to give voter registration forms to everyone who receives a driver's license, regardless of citizenship.
02:31For example, in Illinois, like many states, non-citizens can obtain a driver's license.
02:36Under the NVRA, these non-citizens would be given voter registration forms.
02:41And just a few years ago, Illinois had to remove hundreds of non-citizens from its voter rolls.
02:46All an applicant has to do is check a box saying they're a citizen, and the citizenship verification process is over.
02:53Following the 2013 Supreme Court case, Arizona v. Intertribal, the NVRA prevents states from asking applicants for confirmation of citizenship.
03:04The SAVE Act would require states to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identity in person when registering an individual to vote in a federal election.
03:15The change to the NVRA would direct states to establish a process for applicants who do not have documentary proof of citizenship,
03:21but are in fact U.S. citizens, under a process developed by the Election Assistance Commission.
03:27The SAVE Act would require states to set up a program to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls.
03:33In order to assist with this process, the bill would give states immediate and free access to federal and state databases with citizenship information.
03:41In a recent committee hearing, we heard evidence of non-citizens appearing on voter rolls in states across the country,
03:47and it's critical that we provide the resources states need to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls.
03:52By allowing this access, states can streamline registration processes and ensure that non-citizens are not registered to vote.
04:00Lastly, the SAVE Act will direct the Election Assistance Commission to update any guidance associated with the bill.
04:07The SAVE Act will also ensure that states with same-day registration can comply with the bill.
04:12American elections are for American citizens, and it's our duty to make sure it stays that way.
04:17Through our work on the Committee on House Administration, Republicans have worked tirelessly to protect American elections.
04:23President Biden issued an executive order directing federal agencies to use taxpayer money to register people to vote.
04:29By passing the SAVE Act, we can make sure that only eligible American citizens are registered to vote.
04:42As we approach the 2024 election, election integrity is more important than ever.
04:46We must ensure Americans have confidence in our election system and that their vote will count according to the law.
04:52We must get the SAVE Act to the floor of the House of Representatives to vote to protect our elections.
04:57Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.