House Republicans have introduced a stopgap spending bill designed to avert a government shutdown at the end of September, but its inclusion of a provision targeting noncitizen voting has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats.
Unveiled on Sept. 6, the proposed legislation would extend federal funding through late March of next year while mandating that states verify U.S. citizenship during the voter registration process. The requirement has ignited heated debate on Capitol Hill.
The bill, titled the “Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2025,” aims to keep government agencies running beyond the Sept. 30 funding deadline. However, the addition of the voter verification provision has intensified partisan divisions, raising doubts about the bill’s chances of passing in its current form.
“Today, House Republicans are taking a critically important step to keep the federal government funded and to secure our federal election process,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement after the draft text of the stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution, was revealed.
“Congress has a responsibility to do both, and we must ensure that only American citizens can decide American elections,” he said.
Democrats swiftly condemned the proposal.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) issued a joint statement saying that “avoiding a government shutdown requires bipartisanship, not a bill drawn up by one party.”
The pair said Johnson was “wasting precious time” with the measure and “making the same mistake as former Speaker McCarthy did a year ago.”
“This tactic didn’t work last September and it will not work this year either,” they said.
“If Speaker Johnson drives House Republicans down this highly partisan path, the odds of a shutdown go way up.”
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) lost his leadership role last year under circumstances related to a stopgap funding measure when he brought a watered down version of the proposed bill to the House floor for a last-minute vote. The draft lacked key border security and spending cut provisions pushed for by hardline Republicans, however, contributing to a vote to remove him from the speakership.
Key Provisions of the Stopgap Measure
The proposed continuing resolution aims to prevent a partial shutdown by maintaining federal funding at current levels until March 28, 2025. The bill would extend funding for essential government services and agencies, including defense, education, health care, and more, giving lawmakers several months of breathing room to negotiate the full-year budget for fiscal year 2025.
The bill also introduces major changes to voter registration through a section titled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
It requires individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or military ID, when registering to vote in federal elections, barring states from processing voter registrations without this documentation. Additionally, the bill requires states to actively remove noncitizens from voter rolls, using databases including the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE system.
Beyond voter registration, the bill includes an additional $10 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to bolster the nation’s disaster relief fund.
Additionally, the bill sets aside $47 million for extra security during Inauguration Day in January 2025, a period that traditionally requires substantial federal resources.
In general, the bill offers temporary funding solutions for numerous federal agencies, based on previous fiscal year allocations. This means it extends funding for items such as defense projects and agricultural initiatives without initiating new programs or allowing increases in production rates for projects that were not previously funded.
