by Eric Lendrum
The Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives is currently planning to vote on a stopgap spending bill that will not include a key election integrity measure that conservatives are desperately trying to pass.
As Washington Examiner reports, a newly proposed continuing resolution (CR) was released Sunday. The measure would maintain current levels of government spending through Dec. 20, at which point Congress would have to negotiate either a long-term solution or another short-term delay.
Last week, the House voted on a spending bill that included a key element of the SAVE Act, an election integrity bill that previously passed the House but has since stalled in the Senate. The measure would require anyone trying to vote in an election to provide proof of being an American citizen.
However, the bill was defeated when 14 Republicans sided with the majority Democrats to vote against it, while three Democrats broke from their party to vote for it. 14 Republicans ultimately rejected the bill: Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), Nancy Mace (R-Fla.), Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) .), Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas).
On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) wrote a “Dear Colleague” letter to all lawmakers announcing his next steps.
“Because we are so close to the finish line, an alternative plan is now needed. Everyone’s input and ideas have been very helpful, and next week the House will take the initiative and pass a clean, three-month CR to prevent the Senate from blocking us with a bill burdened with billions in new spending and unrelated provisions,” Speaker Johnson explained. “Our legislation will be a very narrow, bare-bones CR that includes only the extensions that are absolutely necessary.”
But the complete lack of an election integrity bill could lead to a renewed boycott of the measure by conservative Republicans. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate and current frontrunner in the 2024 election, has called on Republicans to shut down the government if the funding bill does not include the SAVE Act.
Johnson has not yet said when he intends to put the bill to a vote. If the funding bill is not passed by October 1, funding for the federal government will expire and the government will be shut down.
– – –
Eric Lendrum graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he served as secretary of the College Republicans and founder of the Young Americans for Freedom chapter.
