House Republicans are moving to attach the SAVE Act to the National Defense Authorization Act, forcing the Senate to vote on voter ID legislation after the House passed it three times.
Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) told Breitbart News Daily the maneuver puts proof-of-citizenship requirements back before the Senate — and this time, senators can’t ignore it.
“We are constantly consistently held hostage to the inaction of the Senate,” Moore said.
“We have passed the Save America Act three times in the House. The SAVE Act is going to be attached to the National Defense Authorization Act.”
Moore said the SAVE Act — the original voter ID bill — will be merged into the NDAA’s base text through the rules process. Once the bill is engrossed in the House, the language becomes part of the defense authorization.
If the Senate rejects it, the House and Senate would go to conference and “fight over putting that language back into the bill.”
That forces senators to take “the action of removing this from the National Defense Authorization Act.”
The West Virginia Republican said pressure should fall on GOP senators.
“We got 53 Republicans in the Senate, their margin is better than ours in the House,” Moore said. “They need to vote for this National Defense Authorization Act with the Save Act in it.”
Asked whether Democrats could be persuaded to support the legislation, Moore was blunt: “I don’t think Democrats are going to vote for this.”
He pointed to California’s automatic voter registration system as an example of the problem.
“State of California has automatic voter registration when you go get a driver’s license,” Moore said. Driver’s licenses are available to people in the country legally and illegally.
Moore asked whether anyone believes there are not noncitizens voting in U.S. elections.
The federal government should ensure that “U.S. citizens are voting in our elections,” Moore said. If Republicans cannot stand up for that principle, “That is a sad state of affairs for the Republican Party.”
Moore drew a distinction between the SAVE Act and the Save America Act. The SAVE Act is “primarily dealing with voter ID,” while the Save America Act addresses “voter ID and the mail-in ballot question.”
On mail-in ballots, Moore said Democrats have “eroded trust and confidence in the elections” by allowing vote-counting to continue well after Election Day.
“Why would you not have an erosion of trust in the process when it drags on for weeks, if not months?” Moore asked.
He pointed to India as an example. The country has “over a billion people” and “got their election results in a day.”
California sometimes cannot produce results “within five, six weeks.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. I lack trust in results from California because delayed counting contributes to doubts about whether elections are all above board.”
Moore also criticized Republicans who argue that continued focus on election integrity undermines confidence and turnout.
“They are the ones that are hurting Republican enthusiasm and turnout,” Moore said.
“It goes back to that point that I just made, the erosion of trust in the election cycle. Why would voters show up when I don’t even know my vote even matters?”
Moore said election integrity remains a major concern among Republican voters, calling it “a core tenant” of why Republicans “won in 2024.”
The issue comes up at “any Lincoln Reagan Day dinner in any county in America.”
“This will be a top issue for any Republican that you talk to,” Moore said. The concern spans “moderate to MAGA” Republicans who do not understand “why you can’t get this done.”
