Rep. Steil on housing bill, voter ID, and defense supplemental (with Joe Mathieu, Kailey Leinz)

Asks Rep. Steil for an update on the bipartisan housing bill that was supposed to be signed yesterday but was canceled by President Trump.

Joe Mathieu

Brian Steil

The housing legislation passed overwhelmingly in both chambers and is a real step to reduce bureaucratic red tape driving up housing costs. The president slowed the signing, but I'm optimistic it will be enacted into law. The pause is about figuring out how to unlock the Senate logjam on other priorities like the Save America Act.

I understand the president's frustration—he wants to get more done, including the Save America Act, FISA, a potential supplemental, and appropriations bills. It's reasonable to pause and reflect on how to move all this forward.

Asks if Rep. Steil would vote to override a presidential veto of the housing bill.

Kailey Leinz

Brian Steil

Hopefully we don't get to a veto. The 10-day clock starts when the House transmits the bill. The hope is he signs it—everyone recognizes it's a meaningful step. There's overwhelming bipartisan support, so I think it will be enacted.

He could easily not sign it and let it become law. The hope is he signs it.

Asks if the president's prioritization of the Save America Act over housing affordability is the right choice.

Joe Mathieu

Brian Steil

The president is trying to get all important legislation done between now and the election. We hold the House, Senate, and White House—this is our opportunity for a robust agenda. We want both the housing bill and critical election integrity legislation across the line.

I hope negotiations unlock the ability to get all of this done.

Asks about the feasibility of passing the Save America Act given Senate filibuster constraints, and whether Rep. Steil's own voter ID bill has a better chance.

Kailey Leinz

Brian Steil

I support the Save America Act's two key provisions: ensuring only U.S. citizens vote and photo voter ID. There's more than one way to get this done. An alternative is to update the Real ID Act to put citizenship status on state IDs, coupled with photo ID and funding for implementation. That could be reconcilable in the Senate and achieve the same policy objective before the election.

The bottom line is we want to get election integrity legislation through, signed into law, and in place before this upcoming election.

Asks about the voter ID bill's fund to reimburse states for free IDs, and whether that could help resolve the impasse.

Joe Mathieu

Brian Steil

I hope we garner the needed support. It's commonsense reform—making it easy to vote but hard to cheat. If someone truly can't afford a state ID, we should help them cover the cost. It's not much money in the federal budget but a huge step for election integrity.

In Wisconsin, we already provide free IDs for those who need them. It's hard to live in America without a photo ID—you can't board a plane, enter many buildings, or open a bank account.

Asks about the $88 billion supplemental funding request and whether it can pass without offsets.

Kailey Leinz

Brian Steil

I would like to see offsets, especially on the defense side. There's more we can do on waste, fraud, and abuse—for example, an individual just pled guilty to millions in Medicaid fraud. Common-sense work requirements in Medicaid provided significant savings. We need to root out waste while ensuring the Defense Department has the funds to keep the country safe with hostile actors active.

The underlying cost to defend the U.S. is significant right now. Maintenance and training budgets get depleted during kinetic action, as we saw against Iran.

Asks whether the supplemental numbers are credible given criticism from groups like Taxpayers for Common Sense and Sen. Collins.

Joe Mathieu

Brian Steil

The cost to defend the U.S. is significant with hostile actors engaged. A lot of this is maintenance and training, which get depleted in kinetic action. We need to make sure the military has those funds for maintenance and paying troops. There's broad understanding on Capitol Hill that funding needs to be in place.

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