Suzanne Bonamici Decries SAVE Act: ‘It’s Voter Suppression And It’s Wrong’

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During a debate on the House floor on Thursday, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) slammed the then proposed SAVE Act, which requires voters to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote.  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript   Stay Connected Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield a minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from the

00:04state of Oregon, Ms. Bonamici.

00:07Gentlewoman is recognized.

00:08Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Morelli, for yielding.

00:11I rise today in strong opposition to the SAVE Act.

00:14This bill will make it more difficult to register to vote, and it will prevent millions of American

00:20citizens, including married women who changed their name, and rural Americans, from exercising

00:25their right to vote.

00:27It creates an enormous and expensive unfunded mandate on election offices, and for what?

00:34Federal law already requires people to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S.

00:39citizens when they register to vote.

00:41Non-citizens attempting to register to vote is exceedingly rare, and if they do, they face

00:46severe consequences, including fines up to five years in prison and deportation.

00:52Mr. Speaker, more than 140 million Americans do not have a passport, approximately 70 million

00:59women do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name, and millions

01:04and millions of rural voters would have to travel long distances to try to register to vote.

01:09We don't have to guess what would happen if this bill were to pass.

01:13In 2011, Kansas had a proof of citizenship requirement that actually prevented more than 30,000...

01:19Can I have an extra 15 seconds?

01:21Barred?

01:22Would you extend the gentlelady 15 more seconds?

01:25Mr. Speaker?

01:26The gentleman has extended the gentlewoman from Oregon 15 seconds.

01:29In Kansas, more than 30,000 U.S. citizens, 12 percent of everyone seeking to register to

01:33vote, were barred from voting.

01:35Other states have tried, and in all of them, a significant number of citizens have been wrongly

01:39barred from voting.

01:41It's unacceptable.

01:42It's voter suppression, and it's wrong.

01:44I urge all of my colleagues to vote no on the SAVE Act, and I yield back the balance of

01:48my time.

01:49The gentleman's time has expired.

01:50The gentleman from Wisconsin.

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