Action chain to break up the Save America Act and put the parts of it into other bills

 Goal: Break the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act into discrete planks, force on‑the‑record votes, and enact as many planks as possible via standalone bills, amendments to moving vehicles, and conference negotiations.

Action chain

1. Map and segment the policy

• Audit the current text and split into clean planks (e.g., registration standards, list‑maintenance/data‑sharing, enforcement/penalties, federal‑only ballot rules, EAC/HAVA implementation, appropriations/oversight).
• For each plank: define redlines, minimal viable text, and optional bargaining trims.

2. Draft modular text in two formats

• Ask Legislative Counsel to produce:
  a) one‑subject mini‑bills (one per plank), and
  b) amendment text for each plank: (i) simple amendment, (ii) side‑by‑side option, (iii) amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS).
• Add severability, conforming amendments, and effective dates. Pre‑clear with Parliamentarian/committee counsel for germaneness and points of order.

3. Assign committees and champions

• Jurisdiction map: Senate Rules & Administration (elections), Judiciary (criminal penalties), HSGAC (interagency data‑sharing); in the House, Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight.
• Identify a lead and at least one cross‑faction co‑sponsor per plank.

4. Choose vehicles (ranked by probability of floor time)

• Must‑pass: full‑year appropriations (FSGG, DHS, DOJ), NDAA, water/FAA/farm/WRDA if live this year.
• Relevant authorizations: HAVA/EAC reauthorizations or tech corrections.
• Omnibus/mini‑bus, CRs for short‑term riders, and agency reorg/authorization clean‑ups.
• If majority isn’t open to riders, target Senate pre‑cloture amendments on any live vehicle to force votes.

5. Senate floor tactics to force recorded votes

• Rule XIV each mini‑bill to place it directly on the Senate Calendar; hold press and stakeholder pushes when placed.
• Try a motion to proceed and file cloture on a top‑tier plank; even if cloture fails, you have the vote record.
• On live vehicles, file non‑germane amendments pre‑cloture to compel on‑the‑record votes; after cloture, pivot to germane slices.
• Use side‑by‑side and second‑degree amendments to frame contrasts; if agreement allows, employ a clay‑pigeon split to get multiple discrete votes on one filed package.
• Seek a UC that guarantees X amendments per side with 60‑vote thresholds; if blocked, publicize the blockade.

6. House packaging options

• Structured rule making specific planks in order; use ANS to drop a larger bundle into a moving vehicle.
• If leadership balks on germaneness, request a special rule that waives it for specified planks.
• For consensus planks, try suspension if two‑thirds is plausible.
• Use self‑executing rule to “deem and pass” narrow text into the vehicle at adoption of the rule.

7. Conference and ping‑pong leverage

• If either chamber adopts a plank, hard‑lock it as a “must‑retain” in conference instructions.
• Offer motions to instruct conferees (House) and public conference priorities (Senate) to force member records.
• If ping‑ponging, insist the chamber‑passed plank be the base text or a first‑degree amendment to concur.

8. Appropriations rider pathway (if policy fits)

• Draft two versions per plank: enforcement‑focused proviso and reporting/condition‑of‑funds rider.
• Target FSGG, DHS, and DOJ bills; coordinate with cardinals and subcommittee staff early.
• If CRs become necessary, attempt a narrow, time‑limited rider to establish precedent.

9. Budget/reconciliation screen (only if viable)

• If any plank has a direct budgetary effect and can satisfy the Byrd Rule, prepare a narrowly tailored reconciliation variant. Otherwise skip this step.

10. Pre‑butt points of order and legal risk

• Secure CRS/committee memos on NVRA, VRA, and constitutional issues; add fallback language and findings.
• Confirm PAYGO/CBO scoring and include offsets if needed.

11. Vote sequencing and member‑record plan

• Build a vote matrix for each plank: preferred text, acceptable compromise, and poison‑pill detection.
• Schedule high‑salience planks for high‑visibility vehicles; use roll‑call votes where possible.

12. External coalition and whip

• Prepare one‑pagers, legal explainer, CBO/JCT summaries, and state‑impact notes.
• Line up state officials and validators for letters of support timed to filing and floor action.
• Maintain a public “tracker” showing where each senator/representative voted on each plank.

13. Iterate and bank wins

• If a plank fails on a vehicle, refile it on the next one; bank any adopted reporting requirements or studies as beachheads for future expansion.
• When any chamber passes a mini‑bill, immediately Rule XIV it in the Senate (or request immediate consideration in the House) to force a second‑chamber record.

In addition:

here’s a deeper, action‑focused expansion you can pick up and run with right away.

Action chain: advanced steps, templates, and procedural levers

1. Define the breakup map with concrete planks

• Core planks to peel off:
  • Proof‑of‑citizenship for federal voter registration (amend NVRA).
  • Federal‑only ballot rules if state DPOC not met.
  • Interagency data‑matching (DHS/SSA/EAC/HAVA database hygiene).
  • List‑maintenance and periodic verification standards (NVRA Sec. 8 updates).
  • Enforcement: penalties, referrals, and reporting.
  • Funding and implementation: EAC rulemaking, grants, and deadlines.
• For each plank: set “gold,” “silver,” and “bronze” text so you can scale to 60‑vote Senate realities or suspension votes in the House.

2. Commission modular drafting in two formats (mini‑bills and amendments)

• Ask Legislative Counsel for:
  • Mini‑bills, one subject each, with severability, short title, findings, and effective dates.
  • Parallel amendment text sets: simple first‑degree; side‑by‑side alternative; amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS); and a skinny “reporting‑only” rider version.
• Include cross‑walks showing exactly which U.S. Code sections you touch:
  • NVRA: 52 U.S.C. 20501–20511 (esp. Sec. 6 and 8).
  • HAVA: 52 U.S.C. 20921 et seq. (EAC authorities; statewide databases).
  • Criminal/eligibility: 18 U.S.C. 611; 52 U.S.C. 10101(a)(2)(B) (materiality) for pre‑buttals.

3. Pre‑clear with gatekeepers to avoid procedural traps

• Senate Parliamentarian/committee counsel: check germaneness post‑cloture, Rule XVI on appropriations, scope‑of‑conference (Rule XXVIII), Budget Act points (302(f), 311(a), 313 Byrd).
• House Parliamentarian/Rules staff: strict germaneness; special‑rule waivers; self‑executing rule options.
• CBO/CRS preview memos: confirm negligible outlays or add pay‑fors; prepare legal/federalism analysis under the Elections Clause.

4. Ready‑to‑use statutory building blocks (drop‑in text)

• Severability (standard):
  • “If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this Act, and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected.”
• Effective date ladder:
  • “This Act shall take effect 180 days after enactment, except that the Election Assistance Commission shall issue implementing guidance not later than 90 days after enactment.”
• NVRA DPOC insertion (mini‑bill or amendment outline):
  • “Section 9 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20508) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘(i) A State shall require documentary proof of United States citizenship for applicants registering to vote in elections for Federal office…’” (Follow with an enumerated list of acceptable documents, fallback verification via DHS/SSA match, and a safe‑harbor if agencies do not timely respond.)
• Federal‑only ballot backstop:
  • “Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a State to provide a ballot for State or local offices to an applicant who fails to satisfy State documentary requirements; such applicant may receive, solely for elections for Federal office, a ballot as provided by State law consistent with this Act.”
• Interagency matching authority:
  • “The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Commissioner of Social Security shall, upon request of a State election official, verify citizenship status for the limited purpose of voter registration eligibility, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding that—(A) limits data fields to full name, date of birth, and last four digits of the Social Security number; (B) logs queries; (C) returns a yes/no/unable‑to‑determine code; and (D) prohibits retention beyond 90 days except for audit.”
• Appropriations rider (condition‑of‑funds template):
  • “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Election Assistance Commission to approve or administer a Federal voter registration form that does not require documentary proof of United States citizenship for applicants for elections for Federal office.”
• Reporting‑only foothold:
  • “Not later than 180 days after enactment, the EAC shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations and authorizing committees a report on State practices for citizenship verification… including recommendations and draft regulatory text.”

5. Senate floor tactics to manufacture recorded votes

• Rule XIV each mini‑bill to the Calendar; hold a press hit when each receives a calendar number.
• On any live vehicle, file pre‑cloture non‑germane amendments to force 60‑vote tests; after cloture, pivot to germane slices.
• Use side‑by‑side: file your plank plus a narrower alternative; seek a UC for paired votes to frame the contrast.
• Clay‑pigeon split: negotiate a UC to divide one comprehensive amendment into multiple discrete votes.
• Motion sequencing: ask for the yeas and nays; if blocked, use motions to table to create on‑the‑record tallies.
• Expect the majority to “fill the tree”; prepare a UC offering equal numbers of amendments per side with 60‑vote thresholds to reopen the tree.

6. House pathways beyond a straight standalone

• Special rule with self‑executing adoption of one or more planks into a moving bill.
• Queen‑of‑the‑Hill rule to maximize recorded choices among variants.
• Suspension for consensus slices (e.g., reporting and EAC grants) with two‑thirds.
• If bottled in committee, prep a discharge petition text and a public whip plan (30 legislative‑day clock plus 7 for the motion).

7. Must‑pass vehicle targeting and timing

• Highest probability: FSGG, DHS, and DOJ appropriations; continuing resolutions near fiscal year deadlines; NDAA often includes election security/federal workforce titles that can host narrow pieces.
• Prep two versions per vehicle: a legislative plank (if waivers are likely) and a pure condition‑of‑funds or reporting rider (to survive Rule XVI challenges).

8. Conference and ping‑pong leverage

• If either chamber adopts any slice, lock it in via House motions to instruct and Senate public conference priorities.
• Police scope of conference: ensure adopted plank language is clearly “in difference” to survive Rule XXVIII points of order.

9. Reconciliation screen (use only if it truly fits)

• Run a Byrd test. Only carry a plank if: it changes outlays/revenues; the policy effect is not incidental; it stays within instructed committee jurisdiction; and it doesn’t worsen the deficit outside the window. If it flunks any prong, don’t try to jam it.

10. Legal risk and durability guardrails

• Draft findings under the Elections Clause; acknowledge and tailor around Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council (2013) by expressly amending NVRA federal‑form standards.
• Anti‑commandeering: keep State duties tied to federal elections; provide federal funding for any new administrative burden.
• Materiality: ensure any denial is tied to citizenship status, not immaterial paperwork errors; include a cure process and notice timelines.

11. Data‑privacy and accuracy standards (to head off opposition)

• Mandate limited data fields, encryption, audit logs, match‑confidence thresholds, and an appeal/cure protocol.
• Require annual IG audits and GAO review; sunset the authority unless reauthorized after a formal effectiveness report.

12. Coalition, comms, and whip artifacts you can prep now

• One‑pagers per plank with section‑by‑section, state impact tables, and FAQs.
• Draft UC and Rules Committee asks; letter templates for Secretaries of State, prosecutors, and validators.
• A public vote tracker matrix listing every mini‑bill and amendment, with running tallies by member and state.

13. Contingency “bank the win” strategy

• If a narrow rider or report lands, immediately refile the underlying policy on the next vehicle, citing newly required findings or data as justification.
• Don’t wait for final enactment—turn failed 49–51 or 57–43 votes into earned media and pressure for the next vote.