[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 123 (Thursday, July 20, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RUSSIAN HACKING AND THE NEED FOR TRANSPARENCY

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                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 20, 2017

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, governmental transparency is a 
cornerstone of our democracy, and the American people deserve nothing 
less than the full disclosure of the Trump campaign's Russian contacts. 
It seems like every week, we find out more information about meetings 
between Russian contacts and individuals within President Trump's inner 
circle. Advisors in President Trump's White House have been forced to 
revise applications for security clearance because of repeated failures 
to report meetings with officials connected to the Kremlin.
   In addition, the Trump Administration's refusal to acknowledge the 
vast scope of Russian interference in the 2016 election is leaving the 
United States vulnerable and exposed, opening the doors for future 
Russian attacks against our electoral system. The CIA, the FBI, the 
Director of National Intelligence, the NSA, and the other intelligence 
agencies in the intelligence community all agree that the Russians 
directed the hacking of the 2016 election. It is time that the Trump 
Administration unequivocally denounces the Russian government's 
meddling in our electoral process. The longer they delay standing up to 
Putin, the longer our country remains susceptible to further cyber-
attacks.
   The integrity of our elections is at stake. It is time for the 
Administration to stop pretending that the hacking did not happen, and 
start working to ensure that it does not happen again. Many Americans 
had to traverse a long, arduous path in their fight to secure the right 
to vote. I represent the 7th Congressional District of Alabama, the 
home to some of the greatest battlefields of the Civil Rights and 
Voting Rights Movement: Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery. My 
constituents overcame insurmountable adversity in order to secure their 
right to vote. They shed blood and sacrificed their lives so that 
future generations would never be turned away from the ballot box or 
denied their sacred, constitutional right to vote. We are doing them a 
gross injustice if we do not take action against the Russian 
government's blatant interference in our election.
   The American people deserve to know the truth, and they deserve the 
assurance that their government is working on their behalf to remove 
barriers to the ballot box. We cannot afford to sacrifice the integrity 
of our elections, nor impugn the veracity of our intelligence community 
and our law enforcement agencies. I urge the Trump Administration to 
accept the facts in front of them so we can begin to move forward and 
ensure that no foreign entity ever has the ability to attack our 
democracy again.

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