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Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick says Senate Republicans can still pass key parts of the SAVE America Act — including mandatory voter ID and proof of U.S. citizenship — with a simple majority, using a third reconciliation package in the lame-duck session, and he is willing to stay in Washington to get it done.
McCormick made the case on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle on Wednesday night, November 11. "A reconciliation 3.0. This is something I'm glad the House is talking about it. I think there's a real shot we could get something done in the Senate," he said, naming "funding defense and potential agriculture supplements for agriculture, and potentially SAVE America."
The appeal of reconciliation is the vote count. A reconciliation bill needs only a simple majority — 51 votes, or 50 senators plus the vice president's tie-breaking vote — instead of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
McCormick laid out the same path in an interview with The Center Square on October 15, as Congress headed into its final weeks of the session. "Historically, the lame duck sessions are some of the most productive sessions in the history of the Senate, regardless of what happens in the election, because there's an opportunity to sort of make a deal and get a bunch of big things done," he said. "I'm hoping three big things get done."
The first two, he said, are funding the National Defense Authorization Act and passing permitting reform. The third is the reconciliation package.
"Reconciliation 3.0, that allows us, I think, to pass the Save America Act or portions of the Save America Act," McCormick said. "It's a really big deal for Republicans, but it's a really big deal for all voters."
"The reason the reconciliation is important — that's a 51," McCormick explained. "You need 51 votes to pass that, as opposed to the traditional 60 votes."
The SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and a photo ID to cast a ballot. The House passed the bill in February, but it stalled in the Senate, where the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster were never there.
McCormick has pushed the bill for months. In a post on X on July 29, he said he had "pushed relentlessly for months to pass the SAVE America Act" and supported "multiple paths to achieve this, from the talking filibuster to Reconciliation 3.0," adding that he stood "ready to stay in Washington and work through August if that's what it takes to get this bill passed."
McCormick argued the measures have broad public support. "83% of Americans agree on voter ID. 71% of Democrats agree on voter ID. Keep it basic: PHOTO ID to vote," he said.
Sen. John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has increasingly found common ground with McCormick, has also spoken in favour of voter ID in principle. In March, Fetterman said: "83% of Americans agree on voter ID. 71% of Democrats agree on voter ID. Keep it basic: PHOTO ID to vote." But he opposes the broader bill as it stands, calling it a "Christmas list" and saying: "If the GOP wants real reform over a show vote — put out a clean, standalone bill and I'm AYE."
Supporters of the bill say it is a necessary step to secure elections. Opponents argue it could federalize election oversight and create barriers for voters.
Axios reported in July that the reconciliation package also includes a $10 billion fund aimed at incentivizing states to adopt elements of the SAVE America Act, $73 billion for the war in Iran and $12 billion in farm aid.
McCormick made the remarks before the November 3 midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of the House and the Senate. The lame-duck session is the outgoing Congress's last chance to act before the new Congress is seated in January.
"So, that's my hope, and I actually think there's a real shot at all three of those," McCormick said.