Luna: This Is How We Make the SAVE Act Law
George Caldwell /
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wants the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and photo identification for voters in federal elections, to become law. For that to happen, she says it might have to be attached to a “must-pass” foreign intelligence bill.
“The Senate has now sat on this for over 300 days,” Luna, R-Fla., told Punchbowl News in an interview published Friday. “Something that … many members of Congress are tired of is ‘messaging bills’ … It doesn’t actually feel like we’re doing much of anything.”
“Messaging bills” are pieces of legislation with little possibility of becoming law that members support to amplify their political messaging.
Next week, the House will vote on the SAVE America Act. A previous version of the bill, the SAVE Act, passed by a 220-208 vote in April 2025.
The new bill, if signed into law, would enforce a national requirement of photo identification in order to vote in federal elections, in addition to requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration.
It would also, as in the original SAVE Act, require states to clear voter rolls of individuals who cannot prove their citizenship for federal elections.
But Luna said that, in order to pressure Congress to approve it, Republicans may have to insert the bill into another bill reauthorizing part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known as FISA.
On April 20, the federal government’s authority to conduct warrantless surveillance on noncitizens will sunset and require renewal from Congress.
“I do believe that the only way voter ID is going to pass is if it is attached to a must-pass piece of legislation. I think that that’s going to be FISA,” said Luna, who noted her previous opposition to FISA.
Asked if she believed Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., agreed, Luna replied, “I think the speaker is with me on this understanding that … we’re going to do it on a stand-alone and hope the Senate does the right thing, but that it’s likely going to have to go in FISA.”
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request from The Daily Signal to confirm or deny Luna’s description of his views.
Luna has also recently called for Senate Republicans to overcome the typical 60-vote threshold for debate to end a bill, the filibuster, by forcing Democrats to speak continuously to stall passage of the SAVE Act, a procedural move known as the “talking filibuster.”
Luna added in the interview, “I don’t speak for the speaker, but that’s based on my conversations.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a supporter of the SAVE Act, recently told The Daily Signal that he believes Republicans must place it in must-pass legislation in order for it to become law.
“If we want any leverage, I think we should attach voter ID … If not the whole SAVE Act, some subset of the SAVE Act should be put into every appropriations bill,” Massie told The Daily Signal on Wednesday.
“If we’re going to have a fight over a shutdown, make it over whether we have secure elections or not.”