[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 26, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         COUNTERING AMERICA'S ADVERSARIES THROUGH SANCTIONS ACT

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                               speech of

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 2017

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
3364.
  I rise in support of the Countering America's Adversaries through 
Sanctions Act, to strengthen sanctions against Russia, North Korea, and 
Iran. These sanctions have been a long time coming.
  Russian aggression towards the United States and our allies is at a 
level not seen since the Cold War. Although you wouldn't know it from 
the conduct of our president, Russia is unparalleled in its willingness 
to use illicit ``active measures'' to try to weaken the rules-based 
international order that has benefited the world for decades. Although 
the techniques in many ways aren't new--we saw similar tactics during 
the Cold War--the power of social media and the Internet have only 
amplified Russia's capabilities.
  It's thought that Russia has been behind the hacking of the attempted 
hacking of campaigns, infrastructure systems, and government entities 
in many of our European allies, including Denmark, France, Georgia, the 
Netherlands, Germany, Ukraine, and Estonia. In Ukraine, Russia is 
thought to be behind a power blackout in 2015.
  Many of Russia's attempts have failed, but in Russia's influence 
campaign in the 2016 presidential election, it was partially 
successful. Russia and its government-backed hackers have undermined 
the integrity of our democratic processes and our system of 
representative government, the foundation of our country, since its 
inception. It may not have succeeded in changing the outcome of the 
election, but it has accomplished one of its goals, to sow discord and 
mistrust in an already-divided country. We must not let it accomplish 
its other aims.
  President Trump has often seemed more admiring of Vladimir Putin and 
Russian officials than he has of his own country. In many cases, he's 
been friendlier to the Russian government than to his own advisors. As 
president, astonishingly, he's talked about a joint cyber-security task 
force with our biggest cyber adversary.
  This bill is a crucial step in ensuring that we make clear to Russia 
that we will not accept the meddling of foreign governments in our 
democratic processes or the endangerment or intimidation of our allies 
and our people. We must make sure that Russia is not emboldened by our 
president's apparent determination to improve relations with Russia at 
any cost, and that it does not continue to endanger our democracy, our 
infrastructure, or our allies.
  Make no mistake--Russia poses a huge threat to the United States. If 
the U.S. government fails to respond, Ukraine's power blackout should 
serve as a warning of what is to come, to ignore at our peril. Russia's 
appetite for cyber and information warfare and its willingness to 
employ criminals and malicious hackers forsworn by other countries make 
it especially dangerous. We must protect our people and our 
infrastructure, and this bill makes sure that Congress has the ability 
to do that.

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