Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about something that unifies our country.

Here in the Senate, often, we talk about things we disagree on. We are going to talk today about something Americans agree on. The American people overwhelmingly want election security. They want our border to be secure. They want our elections to be secure. They want to feel that their government is acting with integrity and fairness and to have a representative government that protects its people.

I rise in support of the SAVE America Act. For many of us, this isn't a new fight. My good friend Senator Lee and I have been working to pass the SAVE America Act for years because we know this isn't just about election security; it is about protecting the future of our Nation for all American families.

The SAVE America Act is very simple. First, you need an ID to vote. Second, you need proof of citizenship to register in our elections. These aren't controversial ideas. In fact, a vast majority of Americans, no matter their party affiliation, their race, their gender--you name it--support these ideas. Why wouldn't they? Americans want to know that our elections are both free and fair and that our democracy is safe. They believe in our country and that citizens can make good decisions. They want to know that their votes count and are not diluted by someone who is not a U.S. citizen.

Americans deserve that because this question cuts to the very core of who we are as a country. To survive, a republic needs its citizens to know and trust that their vote is secure, that their vote matters, and that they can trust the outcome. People have died for the sacred right to vote, and that sacred right should not be diluted by non-U.S. citizens.

And if Americans can't trust their elections or who is legally allowed to vote in them, then they can't trust that their elected officials actually represent them.

Yet, somehow, congressional Democrats, funded by George Soros and forever cowering to the radical left, are ignoring--they are ignoring-- the will of the American people. The minority leader tried to say this bill was a ``dagger at the heart of our democracy,'' even though the mayor of the largest city in the State he represents requires not one but two forms of ID just to shovel snow. I would say not passing this bill and allowing illegals to vote and the integrity of the election to be undermined is the real dagger.

That is why the SAVE America Act is crucial. The fact is, so much of what Democrats are saying about this bill simply--it is not true. Democrats are lying to all of us, and they know it. It is the same tired playbook they have tried time and time again.

So let's unpack their arguments. You are going to hear them say this is ``Jim Crow 2.0.'' Yep, that is right. We have once again reached the point where Democrats claim the thing that they don't like is racist.

It is wrong, it is insulting, and the Democrats know it. Everyone knows it, but they hope the American public won't notice. And here is why this is so wrong: What Democrats are really saying is that the 83 percent of Americans who support voter ID laws are all racist.

And let's remember, it was the Democrats who passed Jim Crow law, not Republicans.

Everyone who is paying attention can see what they are doing. Democrats are openly calling most of America racist, and the mainstream media acts like that is normal.

But the Democrat attacks on hard-working Americans aren't done. After they call us all racist, they double down and say: The SAVE America Act is an attack on married women.

There has been a lot of talk recently about what is fair to women in America. The Democrats have said that the SAVE America Act is bad for married women. Liberals have also claimed that biological women need to shut up and accept that biological men can compete against them, shatter their dreams--sometimes their bodies--and steal their championships. Democrats somehow say that is fair, but it is sure not fair to biological women.

And the most deranged members of the radical left have now convinced Democrats in Congress it is OK to tell little girls that God made them wrong and allow the mutilation of their bodies before these children can truly comprehend or consent to the consequences of hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery.

Now, I am not a woman. I can confidently say that because, unlike the Democrats, I know what a woman is. And I am married to an amazing woman. We have raised two incredible, smart, and strong women who now have families of their own. They are independent and can make decisions for themselves. They don't need anyone to tell them how to run their lives. And I am lucky enough to have one little girl in my life who calls me grandpa. Even at 5, she is very comfortable telling me what to do.

While I am not a woman, I do have pieces of advice for the Democrats: One, stop telling Americans that women can't figure out how to register to vote because you want to keep illegals voting. Women are smarter than Democrats think they are, much smarter. And, two, stop destroying women's sports by telling Americans that women can physically compete with biological males.

Stop telling Americans that just because a little girl wears shorts instead of dresses and wants to hang out with the boys instead of the girls that it is OK to permanently disfigure her. It is disgusting, and every Democrat here knows it, but they are too cowardly to tell the truth to the radical lunatics running their party.

Thankfully, when we pass the SAVE America Act, we will end these dangerous attacks on women by Democrats for good.

Look around and acknowledge what the Democrats are doing. They are saying to women: Don't support the SAVE America Act. You will never figure out how to register to vote again.

Do you realize how insulting that is? Do you think I would ever look at my wife or my daughters and granddaughter and think they aren't smart enough or, in the case of my granddaughter, won't be smart enough to do what they need to do?

Now, I am not going to stand here and let Democrats in Washington claim that these amazing, strong, smart women cannot figure out how to register to vote. This is nothing but a made-up talking point from Democrats because they want to allow illegals to vote. It is real simple.

I am tired of hearing Democrats use every excuse in the book to allow illegals to vote in our election.

Now, we all know the Democrats can't win on their radical ideas, so they have to try to weaponize our elections. That is wrong.

Americans who are perfectly capable of showing their ID to board an airplane, visit a doctor's office, and prove their citizenship deserve secure elections.

We are only here today because Democrats have created a system in this country that has totally failed the American people, and Americans want secure elections. We must make sure Americans can have the faith that their vote counts and that the election results reflect the will of the people. We must put simple standards in place that a majority of Americans approve of and that will help Americans trust that our elections are free and fair.

And why wouldn't Democrats want to make certain that elections in the United States of America are free and fair? We want that for every other country in the world. Why wouldn't we want it here?

The fact is, over the last decades, Democrats' priorities are totally out of whack with what Americans want. Under the Biden administration, Democrats purposefully opened our borders, and our country was flooded by illegal aliens, the same illegal aliens that Democrats are now putting above Americans as they do everything in their power to destroy this bill.

Then when Democrats saw how enraged the American people were about their wide-open borders and all of the crime they were allowing into this country, the left claimed we needed new laws to fix it. As we all know, in the case of our border security, that was a complete lie.

But for election security, we do need new laws because the ones we have aren't strong enough. And President Trump, on his own, can't secure elections.

President Trump secured our border, and now, Congress must secure our elections.

The facts are simple: Illegal aliens should not vote in American elections. We know it is happening, and we must do everything we can to stop it.

Democrats still say it is racism, but they say everything is racism when they don't like it. Is it racist that before I board a plane, I have to show my ID? Is it racist that in order to buy certain medicines, apply for a job or a bank account, check into a hotel, rent a car, purchase a lottery ticket, order a drink at a bar, or get into the DNC convention--or shovel snow for goodness' sake--that we, as Americans, have to show ID? Absolutely not, and anyone telling you otherwise is lying.

Now here is my simple question for Democrats: Why should voting in our elections, something that dictates the direction of our country and is essential to building trust in government, have a lower ID standard than buying a six-pack of beer or a lottery ticket? The answer is simple: It shouldn't.

When the minority leader isn't calling minorities and women too stupid to show ID and register to vote, he has claimed that we can't pass this bill because President Trump is trying to rig the elections.

He is lying, and he is telling on himself. The minority leader and the Democrats think that stopping illegal aliens from voting in American elections is rigging the system. Now that is a remarkable thing for them to admit, but when they tell you who they are, we have to listen.

What is clear to me is Democrats don't think they can win. They don't think they can win unless we allow people who are not legally allowed to vote to cast a ballot.

Clearly, the minority leader is more concerned about what passing the SAVE America Act would mean for his future as majority leader than he is about election security, faith in our democracy, or delivering for the American people.

Democrats, George Soros, and the radical left will try to convince you that their opposition to this bill is about fairness and integrity; it is about protecting American democracy. Don't listen to them.

It is not fair for illegals to vote in American elections. I don't get to vote in the French elections or the British elections or the Canadian elections.

It is not fair to let men compete in women's sports. It is not fair to allow the mutilation of children with gender reassignment surgery for minors.

The fact is that fairness, integrity, and our future are on the line. It is this bill that will protect them, and it is what Senator Lee and I and so many others are fighting for today as we once again call on this body to pass the SAVE America Act. I urge my colleagues to support it.

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