Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced legislation Monday that would revive the 60-day Department of Homeland Security funding measure previously passed by the House while attaching the SAVE America Act, underscoring that some House Republicans are continuing to press for the election-security package even as the Senate has shifted toward a reconciliation strategy.
Roy’s bill would combine the House-passed continuing resolution funding all of DHS for another 60 days with the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, voter ID, eliminate universal mail-in voting except in cases of disability, illness, travel, or military service, and codify protections for women’s sports and a ban on transgender surgeries for children.
The legislation, titled “Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026,” contains three divisions: full-year DHS appropriations, a further continuing resolution, and the SAVE America Act. The bill’s continuing resolution section would amend the existing stopgap funding law by extending it through the date of enactment and specifying that it covers the period beginning February 14, 2026, when the DHS funding lapse began.
It rejects the existing DHS funding framework by providing that language in the explanatory statement relating to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP Border Security Operations “shall have no force or effect,” that the amounts listed for those accounts in the “Department of Homeland Security Act, 2026” table “shall all be $0,” and that “no amounts may be transferred” into the CBP Border Security Operations account in the DHS appropriations table.
Roy told Breitbart News exclusively:
The House GOP has acted responsibly, passing the SAVE America Act and fully funding DHS four times. We should not concede to Democrat demands, putting ICE and Border Patrol funding at risk through a reconciliation strategy that sets a bad precedent. Instead, we should double down and pass this bill I just filed, which would fully fund our agents and also pass the SAVE America Act — President Trump’s top priority to secure our elections. Following passage of my bill, we should go on offense and move a reconciliation bill quickly that funds all of DHS along with key America First priorities like defense.
The bill text would additionally enact the SAVE America Act’s citizenship verification provisions. It states that “documentary proof of United States citizenship” would include “a valid United States passport,” a REAL ID-compliant identification showing citizenship, or certain military or government-issued identification showing birth in the United States.
Roy’s proposal comes after President Donald Trump repeatedly said he does not want any DHS funding deal unless it includes the SAVE America Act. On March 22, Trump said Democrats wanted a deal on DHS funding but that he did not think “any deal should be made on this until they approve SAVE America.” Trump later wrote on Truth Social that Republicans should not make a deal with Democrats unless they voted to pass the SAVE America Act.
Trump doubled down on March 26, calling on Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster if necessary to pass DHS funding and the SAVE America Act. He urged Republicans to “TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER” and add “the complete, all five items, SAVE AMERICA ACT items.”
The renewed push also comes after the House and Senate diverged sharply over DHS funding. On March 27, House conservatives rejected the Senate-passed package because it omitted funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement removal operations and Customs and Border Protection. Speaker Mike Johnson then agreed to move a 60-day stopgap measure that funded all of DHS, including ICE and CBP, after meeting with the House Freedom Caucus.
At the time, Roy said, “The Senate bill is a non-starter,” and said the House would send back legislation standing with CBP and ICE. House conservatives argued that DHS funding should be tied to provisions such as voter identification and border security.
The Senate, however, has increasingly moved toward addressing ICE and border funding through budget reconciliation, which would require only 51 votes. Senate Majority Leader John Thune signaled Republicans would likely pursue that route after the Senate passed its DHS package.
Roy previously indicated he could have accepted a compromise funding all of DHS except ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, saying April 1 that he was considering such an approach and then addressing ERO funding later through reconciliation.
Roy has also warned that relying on reconciliation to fund DHS would be “dangerous” because it would move homeland security funding outside the normal appropriations process and might not happen quickly enough. He said reconciliation may ultimately be necessary if Democrats refuse to support DHS funding, but argued it is a risky precedent.
Read the full article here