(Headline USA) House Speaker Mike Johnson has teed up a vote this week on a bill that would keep the federal government funded for six more months and require states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when registering a person to vote.
Congress needs to approve a stop-gap spending bill before the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown just a few weeks before voters go the polls and elect the next president.
Johnson’s decision to combine the proof of citizenship mandate with government funding ensures that a funded government is one elected by the American people.
The bill is not expected to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Johnson spoke on the bill on Friday.
“Today, House Republicans are taking a critically important step to keep the federal government funded and to secure our federal election process,” Johnson said Friday. “Congress has a responsibility to do both, and we must ensure that only American citizens can decide American elections.”
Democrats, predictably, dislike the bill.
“As we have said repeatedly, avoiding a government shutdown requires bipartisanship, not a bill drawn up by one party. Speaker Johnson is making the same mistake as former Speaker McCarthy did a year ago, by wasting precious time catering to the hard MAGA right, Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Patty Murray of Washington state said in a statement, referring to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. “This tactic didn’t work last September and it will not work this year either.”
The voter registration measure is popular with House Republicans. The House Freedom Caucus, which generally includes the chamber’s most conservative members, called for it to be attached to a stop-gap bill that would keep the government funded into early 2025.
Republicans say that requiring proof of citizenship would ensure U.S. elections are only for American citizens, improving confidence in the nation’s federal election system.
Republicans are arguing that if Schumer will allow a vote, assuming the bill passes the House, then a government shutdown would be on him.
“If Chuck Schumer decides he doesn’t want to bring it, then Chuck Schumer will be deciding that he wants to shut down government. It’s not us,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., during an interview on Fox Business News.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
