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Floor Speech

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Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I come to the floor today in strong support of a bill that I have supported from the very beginning, that being the SAVE America Act.

The SAVE America Act is common sense. At its core, this legislation is about something very simple: protecting the integrity of our elections. All this bill does is it ensures that U.S. citizens vote in U.S. elections and that when you show up to vote, you have to prove who you are. That is not too much to ask of someone who is showing up to vote. It is common sense.

Now, while it is simple, it is also essential. The right to vote is the foundation of our Republic. Trusted, secure elections are what have made us the greatest Nation in the world and the beacon of freedom for nearly 250 years. We cannot take this for granted.

Across the country, we have seen radical groups weaken election integrity and chip away at Americans' confidence in elections. In some places, voter rolls have been padded with noncitizens, and basic verification methods have become an afterthought, which undermine the constitutional rights of the rest of us who are American citizens.

The SAVE America Act puts a stop to this by requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote--something many States, including my State of Idaho, already enforce. Idaho already has some of the most secure elections in the Nation. The SAVE America Act simply holds the rest of the country to the same standard we follow in the Gem State, thus ensuring that all of us in America are held to the same standard and to an election that is a believable election that has the confidence of Americans.

There has been a great deal of misinformation regarding the SAVE America Act, so let me state clearly what this act does and does not do.

First, the SAVE America Act does not federalize our elections. It keeps them squarely in the hands of the States, as it should be.

Second, some of my Democrat colleagues claim this legislation is voter suppression. That is simply false. The requirements to vote in our elections are clear: You must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and a resident of the State where you are registered. That is not too much to ask. It certainly doesn't suppress votes. The SAVE America Act does not change those requirements or add unnecessary redtape. What it does do is to ensure that the most fundamental requirement--U.S. citizenship--is actually verified when someone registers to vote.

Under current law, individuals can register to vote in Federal elections by simply checking a box claiming they are a citizen. The SAVE America Act closes that loophole by requiring proof of U.S. citizenship at the beginning of the voter registration process.

It only needs to be done once. That is not voter suppression. It is basic election integrity.

Third, Democrats are arguing that requiring identification makes voting harder.

But Americans already show identification for countless--countless-- activities in routine, daily life. We need it to drive a car. We need it to board an airplane. We need it to go to work for a job, and so much more. If we expect ID for these basic actions, it is only reasonable to expect the proof of citizenship before someone is allowed to participate in Federal elections.

Poll after poll shows that the vast majority of Americans-- Republicans and Democrats and Independents--support requiring identification and proof of citizenship to vote. So let's do our job and vote for what the American people want.

Every American should have confidence that when they cast a ballot, their vote counts and is not diluted by noncitizens voting in the same election. The SAVE America Act ensures that is what happens.

Safeguarding our elections is not only common sense. It is integral for a country like the United States of America that is a robust democracy to have in order for people to have confidence in the country.

That is why I am committed to doing what it takes to pass the SAVE America Act. I am proud to support this bill and work with my Republican colleagues to get it to the President Trump's desk to be signed into law.

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Mr. RISCH. Mr. President and fellow Senators, this is--I have lost count now--the fourth or fifth time I have come to the floor to once again defend America against these dangerous, obstructive resolutions that the Democrats have been putting out here.

What they are asking us to do is to put our tail between our legs and leave the battlefield and surrender the battlefield to the Iranians. We are not going to do that. Democrats are attempting to stop the administration from keeping Americans safe through these defensive actions against Iran.

They say that Donald Trump started this war or that America started this war. Neither of those is true or even close to it. This war started 47 years ago when this regime, the Iranian regime, broke into our Embassy in Tehran and took as hostage a great number of American diplomats and held them for 444 days. That is how long this has been going on.

If that is all they did--and it was bad--one might say that it didn't deserve this action.

The problem you have is, over these 47 years, the Iranians have again and again and again--when I say Iranians, I am talking about the administration that is there, the regime that is there, not the Iranian people--they have again and again killed Americans.

How many have they killed? They have killed in the thousands of Americans through IEDs and all kinds of other devices that they have used over these 47 years.

This is not right. It needs to come to a stop. It needs to come to an end. And the President did what he did because they were very close to having a nuclear weapon.

Can you imagine if we were having this debate out here, and the Iranians actually had a nuclear weapon? It would be a very different place.

The troops that we have in the Middle East are in danger as a result of this resolution. The resolution would put them further in danger if it passed.

According to the Constitution, it is the President's duty to protect and defend the United States, which he is doing, and he did what he did because it was necessary to defend America.

As I said, for 47 years, the Middle East has been progressing more and more toward peace and security. It is a very different Middle East than when I started this. All countries have moved toward the middle. All countries have moved toward a much more peaceful existence in the Middle East, with one exception, and that exception, of course, is Iran.

The Iranian terrorist regime aims to censor, threaten, murder anyone who questions its radical theology but especially Americans.

The Middle East has a bright future. I am more optimistic today than I have ever been about the Middle East because Iran now stands alone. There were days in the past when Iran did not stand alone, but they are standing alone now.

I think people will look back at what has happened in the Middle East and see the Abraham Accords and see a point in which there was considerable inflection and at a time when things changed. Our Commander in Chief is committed to see this through to the objectives that he has set out.

To our brave men and women who are on the battlefield in and near Iran, we support you. You are supporting Operation Epic Fury. We support you. We have your back here. Your sacrifice does not go unnoticed, and we will continue to have your back.

I have said this before, and I am going to say it again. To Iran, no one is coming to help you. There is no one on this planet--not the Chinese, not the Russians, not the North Koreans, not Venezuela, not Cuba, no one on this planet is coming to help you, except the 47 people that sit over here. They are trying to help you tonight.

They are not going to help you. We are not going to allow these people to help Iran. To our troops that are in the battlefield, I say to you: We have your back. We will see that these people do not do what they are trying to do. We are not going to turn tail. We are not going to leave. The President of the United States is going to continue this until the objectives are achieved.

Mr. President, fellow Senators, I urge you tonight to join me in defeating this resolution as we have done over and over again, as we will do again tonight, to stand by our troops in the Middle East.

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