[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7074-S7075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



     Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, it is hard to read or to listen to the 
news these days without hearing about Russia's interference in our 
American democracy, its influence peddling, and about the 
misinformation that has

[[Page S7075]]

been spreading on social media. I have bipartisan legislation that 
would address an aspect of this. This legislation is cosponsored by 
Senator Todd Young, and it is legislation that would give law 
enforcement the tools they need to create greater transparency about 
foreign individuals and entities that are operating in the United 
States in the interest of other governments. It would make it easier 
for the public to better track information they are receiving, 
particularly from governments that are hostile to the United States.
  This bill would give the Department of Justice necessary authority to 
investigate potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration 
Act, which is also known as FARA. We have heard a lot about that. This 
was legislation that was passed during the thirties, as there was fear 
about the rise of Nazism and Hitler in Germany and the effort to spread 
propaganda in the United States.
  This would allow the American public to clearly trace where 
information is coming from and who is paying for it. I think, in this 
age of misinformation, that is especially important to the public.
  At a time when our law enforcement officials, foreign policy experts, 
and leaders continue to grapple with the extent of Russia's intrusion 
into our democratic elections, this legislation is more urgent than 
ever. The need for this legislation is perhaps most clearly 
demonstrated by the case of Russian propaganda networks like RT America 
and Sputnik International. Both networks continually propagate and 
share content and programming that are designed to very subtly confuse 
and influence audiences worldwide. If you have ever listened to either 
of those channels, you will know there is just this subtle difference 
in how they present information.
  In the United States, RT America is available on cable TVs across the 
country. It is considered to be one of the most high-profile assets in 
Vladimir Putin's vast $1.4 billion propaganda machine.
  According to an assessment made public by the U.S. intelligence 
community in January, RT is the Kremlin's ``principal international 
outlet,'' and it is integral to Russia's information warfare operations 
across the globe. The Kremlin selects the staff for RT and closely 
supervises RT's coverage, including disinformation and false news 
stories designed to undermine our democracy. If you have any question 
about that, watch RT here. It is on the cable network here in the DC 
area.
  RT News has publicly boasted that it can dodge our laws by claiming 
to be financed by a nonprofit organization and not by the Russian 
Government. Recently, the Department of Justice asked RT America to, in 
fact, register as a foreign agent. RT rejected an entirely reasonable 
request from the Justice Department to respect our laws. They refused 
to register.
  How did we respond? Well, we continued to allow RT America to spread 
its disinformation and false narratives. This is unacceptable. We 
responded that way because we don't have the teeth we need in the law 
to be able to enforce it. That is what my legislation with Senator 
Young will do. That is why it is so important. It would strengthen FARA 
by giving the Department of Justice authority to compel foreign 
organizations to produce documentation to confirm funding sources and 
foreign connections. This new investigative authority was requested by 
the Department of Justice, and it is supported by the Government 
Accountability Office, the Sunlight Foundation, and the Project on 
Government Oversight. This is a good government piece of legislation.
  In fact, if this authority that we have in our legislation were in 
place today, the Justice Department could immediately investigate RT 
America and publicly expose its ties to the Kremlin. In the absence of 
such authority, all the Justice Department can do is ask RT to 
voluntarily adhere to FARA regulations and hope the propaganda outlet 
complies. What are the odds of that? Pretty slim. Clearly, based on 
RT's refusal to comply with FARA, the Kremlin is well aware of the 
limitations that are inherent in our law.
  As we wait for this commonsense legislation to move forward, the 
Kremlin, RT America, and Sputnik continue to wield their harmful 
propaganda and attempt to influence the American public.
  Since the publication of the intelligence community's January report 
on Russia's interference in our 2016 Presidential election, we have 
learned that Moscow spent millions of dollars buying ads on social 
media sites and search engines, often using the very clips that had 
been aired by RT on its YouTube channel.
  Last week, representatives of American social media companies 
testified before Congress and illustrated the lengths the Kremlin went 
in order to deceptively spread divisive propaganda, all seemingly 
without a trace or any clear indication about the origins of these ads 
and RT's news blasts.
  The misinformation included numerous reports run by RT News on 
supposed U.S. election fraud and voting. So they spread, and they 
clearly intended to spread confusion about our elections in 2016 to try 
and encourage people to believe our elections don't work, to undermine 
our election process. They talked about machine vulnerabilities. They 
claimed the results of U.S. elections could not be trusted and did not 
reflect the people's will. Sadly, too many people saw those stories and 
believed they were real.

  These are not just random examples of fake news. These stories are 
part and parcel of a broader influence campaign designed and directed 
by the Kremlin's leadership and pedaled by government-funded trolls in 
St. Petersburg and other front organizations. So in the same way that 
Russia is building up its military force, its navy, its ability to 
operate in space, and its missile program, it has also built up its 
propaganda campaign in ways that are designed to undermine Western 
democracies. If we don't pay attention to this, then shame on us.
  We are, of course, a resilient democracy. We are confident that our 
values and institutions will prevail in the free marketplace of ideas. 
Our Constitution, unlike Russia's, protects the right of individuals 
and organizations to spread Russian viewpoints, disinformation, and, 
even, outright lies. But no organization, including RT America or any 
other front outlet for a country that is hostile to the United States, 
has the right to conceal a foreign funding source and thumb its nose at 
requests from our Department of Justice.
  The American people have a right to know if RT America is a Russian 
propaganda organization that takes its direction from the Kremlin. They 
have a right to know who is funding those programs and what kind of 
misinformation they are spreading.
  To that end, I urge my colleagues to put an end to the Kremlin's 
charade by supporting the Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and 
Enforcement Act. Let's give the Department of Justice the tools it 
needs to investigate and expose RT America and to fight back against 
the Kremlin's interference in our democracy.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sullivan). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for up to 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.