Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York appears unwilling to budge on recent demands from conservative Republicans to include a voting measure backed by President Trump in a stopgap spending bill that must be passed later this month.
Asked if the bill was impossible for Democrats to pass, Schumer said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “As I have said every time Congress has passed a CR, the only way to get things done is through bipartisanship, and that has happened every time.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, announced a six-month spending plan, known as a continuing resolution (CR), on a lawmaker-only conference call Tuesday morning. The plan would hold current fiscal year spending levels constant through March and would also include the Protect American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, according to three sources familiar with the call.
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Chuck Schumer said the spending bill needs to be bipartisan. (Reuters)
A spending agreement is necessary to avoid a partial government shutdown scheduled for later this month, and several conservative Republicans in the House and Senate have been pushing for the SAVE Act to be included in any deal since weeks before Congress returned from its August recess.
Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about Schumer's remarks by press time.
Former President Trump supported the SAVE Act and recently indicated his support for a six-month short-term spending bill like the one Johnson introduced, which would include the SAVE Act.
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Republicans are pushing a bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who authored the SAVE Act and spearheaded the effort to include it in a stopgap spending bill, told Fox News Digital in a statement: “The Majority Leader's comments are encouraging, given that the SAVE Act passed in the House with bipartisan support.”
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Roy introduced the bill in the House of Representatives. (Getty Images)
It is worth noting that the bill passed the House in July by a vote of 221 to 198, with five Democrats joining the Republicans. Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Davis (D-Nashville County), and Marie Grusenkamp Pérez (D-Washington) all voted in favor of the bill, effectively making it a bipartisan bill.
But with relatively little support from House Democrats, Schumer's hopes for a bipartisan agreement may go unfulfilled.
The bill has not yet been voted on in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the majority leader is unlikely to schedule one.
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The Biden-Harris administration opposed the bill. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
The Biden-Harris administration has previously opposed the bill, arguing that it serves no purpose because it is already illegal for foreign nationals to vote.
“This is a violation of federal law, punishable by prison time and fines,” a July administration policy statement said. “The purported basis for this bill is based on easily disproven lies.”
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Supporters of the bill believe including the SAVE Act in a stopgap spending bill is a way to force Governor Schumer and Senate Democrats to vote for the bill and put their position on the record.
Johnson supports the call from conservative lawmakers, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not voiced similar support. A Senate Republican aide told Fox News Digital last week that the Kentucky Republican's top priority is keeping the government open and avoiding a shutdown.
