#71: CIVICS 101: The Legislative Branch
Q&A #71: When does a bill, introduced at the beginning of a Congress, become ‘‘dead’’ and no longer open to considerations?
Our American Government
Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.
The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.
Think of it as your adult Civics class but without the test!
Let’s keep at it.
SECTION: The Legislative Branch: The Congress
Congressional Rules and Procedures
Q&A #71: When does a bill, introduced at the beginning of a Congress, become ‘‘dead’’ and no longer open to considerations?
A bill may be introduced at any point during a two-year Congress, and remains eligible for consideration throughout the duration of that Congress until the Congress ends or adjourns sine die.
My Thoughts
When a legislature, in this case the U.S. Congress, is adjourned sine die, it means that there is no appointed day or time to reconvene. The term literally means adjourning “without day.” For Congress, it’s quittin’ time …
An adjournment that terminates an annual session of Congress. A “sine die” (“without day”) adjournment sets no day for reconvening, so that Congress will not meet again until the first day of the next session. Under the Constitution, adjournment sine die (except when the next session is about to convene) requires the agreement of both chambers, accomplished through adoption of a concurrent resolution, which in current practice also authorizes leaders of either chamber to reconvene its session if circumstances warrant.
To give a current example, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) was introduced in the current Congress on January 3, 2025, the opening day of the 119th Congress (2025-2026.
The SAVE Act was also introduced in the 118th Congress (2023-2024) and passed the House on July 10, 2024 - it died in the Senate.
Here’s the summary text of the bill from congress.gov:
This bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections.
Specifically, the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
Further, the bill (1) prohibits states from registering an individual to vote in a federal election unless, at the time the individual applies to register to vote, the individual provides documentary proof of U.S. citizenship; and (2) requires states to establish an alternative process under which an applicant may submit other evidence to demonstrate U.S. citizenship.
Each state must take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, which shall include establishing a program to identify individuals who are not U.S. citizens using information supplied by specified sources.
Additionally, the bill requires states to remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters.
The bill allows for a private right of action against an election official who registers an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
The bill establishes criminal penalties for certain offenses, including registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
The Election Assistance Commission must, within 10 days, adopt and transmit guidance for implementing the bill's requirements to chief state election officials.
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The bill was introduced by Rep. Chip Roy and he prepared a one-page summary for public consideration. You can download the .pdf here or simply read the text of the one-pager below.
Note that there’s a deep partisan on the issue of Voter ID in the United States. Generally speaking, the Republicans support it, and the Democrats reject it. Left leaning news outlets lampoon the bill and the concept generally speaking on the grounds it disenfranchises those who cannot afford to get an ID, while right leaning outlets promote the virtues of what they believe is a long overdue measure for election integrity.
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THE ONE-PAGER
Radical progressive Democrats are taking drastic steps to fundamentally remake America through open borders, the release of millions of illegal aliens into our communities, and by waging a full-scale assault on election integrity laws.
The Problem
Since taking office, Joe Biden’s administration has released at least 4.6 million illegal aliens into the country, with 1.8 million known “gotaways.” In many states, these illegal aliens are eligible for driver’s licenses and other benefits, providing ample opportunities to illegally register to vote in Federal elections. In some jurisdictions, non-citizens are even able to vote in local elections.
While only U.S. citizens can legally vote in Federal elections, Federal law has generally preempted and undermined state laws requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in such elections.
Rep. Chip Roy’s SAVE Act would fix this problem, thwart Democrat efforts to cement one-party rule, and uphold and strengthen current law by requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in Federal elections.
Amends the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which has governed state voter registration since 1993, to require states to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identity – in person – when registering an individual to vote in a Federal election.
This requirement applies regardless of whether an individual is registering to vote at a DMV, a voter registration agency (such as a welfare office), or by mail.
Directs states to establish an alternative process for applicants that may not have documentary proof of citizenship but are in fact U.S. citizens (due to religious reasons or otherwise), subject to minimum standards set by the Election Assistance Commission and signed attestations and affidavits by both the applicant and official making the determination.
Directs states to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled Americans and applicants that have discrepancies on their documentation due to a name change.
Requires states to establish a program to remove non-citizens from their existing voter rolls and gives states no-cost access to Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration databases to do so.
Empowers citizens to bring civil suits against election officials that fail to uphold proof of citizenship requirements for Federal elections by expanding the NVRA’s existing private right of action, and adds penalties for election officials that register non-citizens to vote in Federal elections.
Directs the Election Assistance Commission to promptly update any guidance associated with the SAVE Act and streamlines updates to federal forms by exempting the updates from the Paperwork Reduction Act.
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Back next time with Q&A #72: What are the stages of a bill in Congress?
Meanwhile, don’t forget that we’re organizing the post links on a single page available here.
xo,
Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team
March 31, 2025