Veterans Accessibility Advisory Committee Act of 2025

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, many of my colleagues have said that this bill, the SAVE America Act, and the constant attempts by Republicans to clamp down on voter fraud solves a problem that doesn't exist. I couldn't disagree more.

The problem is that Republicans are losing at the ballot box. They are losing young voters, voters of color, and women. So there is a problem, that no one is buying into Republican ideas and policies and the only solution is for Republicans to engage in a coordinated effort to silence the American people.

They want to stop people from exercising their most fundamental constitutional right, the right to vote. The SAVE America Act doesn't save anything. Instead, it continues to restrict access to the ballot box, imposing a modern-day poll tax and a dangerous show-your-papers mandate.

Under this bill, Americans would be required to appear in person or by mail, just hoping that the elections clerk accepts their documentation, and present either a passport or a birth certificate to register to vote, and every single time they want to cast a ballot. A passport costs $150, and a copy of a birth certificate could cost up to $60. Many Americans simply can't afford to purchase these documents. Those requirements constitute a poll tax.

The reality is that one-half of Americans, more than 140 million citizens, don't have a valid passport, and as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse's name do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name. Because this legislation has a requirement to show documents, this legislation would eliminate online voter registration.

I want to be very clear. This is how people give up. They quit trying to register to vote, and that results in them not voting, and their voices not being heard. That is the intent of what is going on here. None of this is about election integrity or protecting the ballot box.

When Republicans come to this floor to talk in front of the cameras, they say it is about this, but it is blatantly lying to the American people.

Our job in Congress is to make it easy for people to participate in our democracy, to make it easy for people to vote and not make it harder.

The bottom line is simple. The SAVE America Act and the countless number of other efforts Republicans are pushing will deny millions of Americans their right to vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source