Housing for the 21st Century Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, later today, we will finish up the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the latest piece of legislation in Republican's affordability agenda. And next week, I will be bringing the SAVE America Act to the floor, and we will be having a full and robust debate.
So what is the SAVE America Act? It is a package of commonsense policies--the kind of commonsense policies that should get an automatic ``yes'' vote from literally every Member of this body.
At the core of the SAVE America Act is the requirement that individuals provide proof of citizenship to register to vote and then show an ID when they go to the polls. In other words, it would require Americans to demonstrate that they are eligible to vote and that they are who they say they are when they go to do so.
Not to keep using the word ``commonsense,'' but it is pretty commonsense, right? We require a photo ID for a whole lot of things in this country, for obvious reasons.
Getting on a plane? Show your official government-issued photo ID.
Go to the doctor? The same thing, provide your government-issued photo ID plus your insurance card.
Get hired for a new job? Provide your government-issued photo ID when you start.
Public libraries ask for a photo ID. In New York City you have to provide some type of photo ID to get a library card. In Baltimore, MD, it is the same thing; in Washington, DC, again, photo ID.
I will stop with the list of libraries, but I think we can all agree that if you have to show photo ID and prove where you live to get a library card, it is not too much to ask voters to show ID to vote in Federal elections. It takes about 10 seconds and protects the security of our elections.
Americans overwhelmingly agree that voters should have to show ID at the polls. Eighty-three percent of Americans--83 percent--in an August 2025 poll supported requiring photo ID at the polls for all voters. That includes 71 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of Black Americans, 77 percent of Asian Americans, and 82 percent of Hispanic Americans.
It kind of feels like the only Americans not to support voter ID requirements are Democrats here in Congress. That is right. We are expecting continued, full-throated opposition to voter ID and the SAVE America Act from Senate Democrats, as well as more of the unforgiveable rhetoric that Democrats have already been engaging in.
The Democrat leader has been calling this bill ``Jim Crow 2.0,'' a phrase that is not only deeply irresponsible and insulting for those who actually lived through that dark chapter in our history but also insults the overwhelming majority of Americans, including minorities, who look at voter ID and see nothing more than commonsense.
In fact, I can really see only two reasons for Democrats opposing this legislation: Either Democrats are just reflexively opposing this proposal because it originated from Republicans, or Democrats believe that there are, in fact, people out there voting illegally; and that it is benefiting Democrats, and they want to keep it going.
I honestly cannot think of another reason to oppose something so eminently reasonable as requiring people to demonstrate that they are eligible to vote and that they are who they say they are when they go to the polls.
Now, I will have a lot more to say about the SAVE America Act next week, including about two other commonsense measures in the bill that would prevent biological males from competing in women's sports and protect minors from gender transition procedures--two other things, I should note, that are supported by the American people.
I can't guarantee an outcome on this legislation, but I can guarantee that we are going to put Democrats on the record and that they will be forced to defend their outrageous positions on these issues and explain to the American people why common sense and the Democratic Party have parted ways.
Republicans are looking forward to this debate, and I look forward to saying much more about the SAVE America Act in the very near future.
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Mr. THUNE. Would the Democrat leader yield?
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Mr. THUNE. So I assume the Democrat leader is aware of the fact that we have tried repeatedly to fund everything temporarily to allow the negotiations over the ICE budget to continue.
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Mr. THUNE. And the reason that hasn't--
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Mr. THUNE. The reason that hasn't worked--
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Mr. THUNE.--is because the Democrats are blocking it.
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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, will the Democratic leader--
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Mr. THUNE.--yield for a question?
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Mr. THUNE. Well, I would say again to the Democrat leader that the Democrats have had multiple opportunities--and will have another one today--to provide funding for all of the Agencies that he just mentioned, under a continuing resolution, to allow us to consider how we are going to resolve the DHS issues that the Democrat leader has raised, which are being negotiated, I might add, at the moment between Democrats and Republicans and the White House. So there will be an attempt. The Democrats will have an opportunity to block--because they have now repeatedly--a continuing resolution that would fund all the Agencies to which you just alluded and allow us more time to negotiate.
So those Agencies will be funded--
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Mr. THUNE.--if the Democrats don't block it.
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Mr. THUNE. I would support a resolution, which will be offered, to fund not just TSA but Coast Guard; Cybersecurity, CISA; FEMA; other Agencies and Departments of our government that are essential not only to national security and homeland security but to making sure that people can move through our airports in this country, that the FEMA-- Federal Emergency Management Agency--has the ability to respond to disasters. Those are things, I would say to my friend the Democrat leader, that could all be funded today, and then we can continue this discussion that he wants to have, which, again, there have been offers made repeatedly, the most recent of which was about 13 days ago, I think, from the White House, and the Democrats have yet to respond.
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