[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 23 (Monday, February 2, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GOVERNMENT FUNDING

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, so last week, the Senate did its job to 
fund 96 percent of the government, while splitting the DHS bill from 
the rest of the funding package so we can rein in ICE and end the 
violence. Now, it is the House's turn to do its job, but a band of MAGA 
radicals want to highjack government funding to push an outlandishly 
toxic bill called the SAVE Act that would disenfranchise millions of 
American citizens.
  Just a few hours ago, Donald Trump said he wants to nationalize 
elections around the country. That is what Trump said--you think he 
believes in democracy? He said, ``We want to take over . . . the 
Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.''
  Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he is saying 
is outlandishly illegal. Once again, the President is talking no 
differently than a dictator who wants elections in America to be as 
legitimate as elections in countries like Venezuela.
  And make no mistake, one of the tools to nationalize elections is 
precisely the SAVE Act that some Republicans are pushing in the House. 
I want to be very clear: The SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the Senate, 
and every single Senate Democrat will vote against any bill--any bill--
that contains it.
  It is outrageous that House Republicans would even consider putting 
in the SAVE Act in legislation to fund the government.
  Democrats have been clear for months. We will never in a million 
years consider this deeply restrictive and overreaching piece of 
legislation. Republicans who are pushing for the SAVE Act are trying to 
kill the funding bill and prolong this shutdown. That is all they want. 
They want to kill the bill, kill the funding bill, and have a prolonged 
shutdown.
  Speaker Johnson should tell these SAVE Act Republicans to stand down, 
or else this shutdown is on the Republicans' shoulders.
  Now, as for the SAVE Act itself, it has nothing to do with protecting 
our elections and everything to do with federalizing voter suppression. 
The SAVE Act is nothing more than Jim Crow 2.0. If the SAVE Act were to 
become law, online registration, registration by mail, and registration 
drives become a thing of the past. If you are one of tens of millions 
of Americans who does not have access to your birth certificate or if 
you are one of the 50 percent of Americans who don't have a passport, 
the SAVE Act could make it impossible for you to participate in 
elections. It would lead to massive purges that inevitably remove 
legitimate American citizens who have a right to vote from voter rolls. 
And even married couples aren't spared from the SAVE Act. If you get 
married and you change your last name, you too would be at risk under 
the SAVE Act of getting booted off the voter rolls.
  This is just an outrageous piece of legislation. It is turning the 
clock back 100 years. It comes out of some rightwing brain that 
believes that certain people really shouldn't vote, that some citizens 
are more valuable than others.
  So let me be clear as I can: The SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the 
Senate.
  Hear that, House rightwingers? It ain't happening. Anyone who is 
trying to push the SAVE Act as part of the government funding is pining 
for a shutdown.

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