To amend title 23, United States Code, to withhold apportioned surface transportation funding from a State if such State fails to enact certain requirements for proof of citizenship for individuals to register to vote in Federal elections, and for other purposes.
Key claim: HR9897 would withhold apportioned federal surface transportation funding from any state that fails to enact proof-of-citizenship requirements for registering to vote in federal elections.
Abstract
(HR9897 · 119th Congress) Latest action (2026-07-23): Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Why this matters
HR9897 illustrates a growing pattern of using unrelated federal funding streams — here, surface transportation dollars — as leverage to compel state adoption of proof-of-citizenship voter registration requirements. For affected groups, the practical effect would fall on eligible voters (particularly naturalized citizens, rural voters, and those without ready access to citizenship documents) in states that decline to comply, while states themselves face a fiscal tradeoff between highway funding and control over election administration. The approach raises contested federalism and Spending Clause questions familiar from prior conditional-funding fights.