[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.