Rep. Burgess Owens says SAVE Act is a ‘no-brainer’ but will not pass

The government shutdown deadline is less than a week away. The Republican Conference’s latest plan is to pass a clean stopgap bill to keep federal agencies funded through Dec. 20.
In the last month, House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed to push for a short-term continuing resolution attached to a proposed GOP bill that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. But his plan fell apart when at least 14 Republicans voted against it. Johnson later told reporters he was “disappointed” in the legislative outcome.
Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, in an interview with the Deseret News Friday said passing the SAVE Act is a “no-brainer.”
“That’s the thing about the Republican Party, we’re not the collective so we’re gonna have different thoughts,” Owens, who represents Utah’s 4th District, said. “Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t, but that’s why we have to have a much bigger majority.”
Johnson in a “dear colleagues letter,” obtained by Politico, said the House plans to pass a three-month continuing resolution.
“Our legislation will be a very narrow, bare-bones CR including only the extensions that are absolutely necessary,” he said.
Owens reiterated Johnson and the rest of the Republican Conference’s desire to avoid a shutdown, saying, “We will find a way out.” A continuing resolution would push the spending fight past the presidential election in November.
While some of the more conservative lawmakers may not be on board with Johnson’s new plan, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., indicated Democrats will support a clean continuing resolution before the shutdown deadline. He also blamed Johnson for not coming to an agreement sooner.
“While I am pleased bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement free of cuts and poison pills, this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago. Instead, Speaker Johnson chose to follow the MAGA way and wasted precious time,” Schumer said.
A clean continuing resolution is unlikely to increase funding for the Secret Service, an agency under deep scrutiny following two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.
Two months ago, a bullet grazed Trump’s ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, while Trump was golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, a Secret Service agent, shot at a suspect with a rifle, which was poking out of the tree line.
Following the second incident, congressional leaders called for increasing funds for the Secret Service.
But Owens argued the law enforcement agency does not need more funding, but different leadership.
“This is not a money issue. These guys (are) getting billions and billions of dollars,” he said. “What does it take to protect the president and a future president?”