[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 7, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ELECTION SECURITY
(Mr. SCHNEIDER asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, the threat of foreign interference in our
elections is real. Our intelligence chiefs are sounding the alarm that
Russia views the 2018 election as a target for additional interference.
And finally, yesterday, President Trump at last acknowledged Russian
meddling and vowed to guard against it, saying: ``We won't allow that
to happen.''
But, Mr. Speaker, actions speak louder than words, and time and time
again, this administration has proven unwilling to confront this
threat. We learned this week that the State Department is not using any
of the resources they have been given to counter election interference.
U.S. Cyber Command Chief Admiral Mike Rogers said the President has not
granted him authority to disrupt Russian hacking operations. And we are
still waiting on the administration to impose sanctions on Russia
passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in this Congress.
This isn't a future concern. Americans voted in Texas primaries
yesterday, and they are already heading to the polls in my State,
Illinois, where early voting began on Monday.
I urge the administration to get serious about this threat and
support funding for the Election Assistance Commission and resources
for State election officials on the front lines of this battle. This is
not a partisan issue. It is about protecting our democracy and ensuring
the integrity of every American's vote.
____________________