[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 122 (Thursday, July 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5096-S5097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Trump-Putin Summit

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss what is on so many 
Americans' minds today and the last couple of days--President Trump's 
recent trip to Europe, his meeting with Vladimir Putin, and his 
comments about Russia's interference in our elections.
  So many Pennsylvanians--and I am sure this is true in every other 
State--have called or written to our office this week in complete 
disbelief asking: What is next? Where do we go from here?
  These are good questions. They are critically important questions.
  This President's views on Russia's past actions and the way forward 
have seemed to change every day this week.
  Rather than focus on the news cycle following the Helsinki summit, I 
want to take a minute to review where things stood before--before--the 
President went to Europe.
  Relations between the United States and Russia have been 
deteriorating for some time. We know that. The Russian Federation is 
clearly and unequivocally our adversary. Vladimir Putin envisions a 
world more closely resembling the Cold War era, certainly, than 
compared to today's realities, and he works toward a resurgence of 
Russian power and influence every day.
  Just take a few examples. Russia attacked, annexed, and continues to 
illegally occupy Crimea. Russian-backed forces continue to violate 
cease-fire agreements in Ukraine and destabilize other parts of that 
country, preventing the Ukrainian people from fulfilling their dream of 
a secure and prosperous nation.
  Russia is backing and enabling the murderous Assad regime in Syria. 
The conflict has emboldened terrorist groups, had dramatic humanitarian 
impacts, and has threatened the region's stability. As many as a half 
million people have been killed, and half the country has been 
displaced.
  Just imagine if half of our population, say 150 million people, were 
displaced from their homes, sometimes to another part of the country 
and sometimes to a completely different country. That is the reality in 
Syria since

[[Page S5097]]

2011, and Russia has prolonged and exacerbated the Syrian people's 
suffering for its own power projection.
  No. 4, Russia is also developing a stronger relationship with the 
Iranian regime and is reportedly considering arms sales and boosting 
their economic relationship. This threatens not only our national 
security interests in the Middle East but also those security interests 
of our staunchest ally, Israel.
  Finally, Russia continues to have a substantial nuclear arsenal. It 
has violated the INF Treaty, and according to the Defense Department, 
is developing low-yield, nonstrategic nuclear weapons that could 
threaten our allies and partners.
  Russia uses any number of tools, from manipulation of the energy 
supply to arms sales, to loans and aid to promote its brand of corrupt 
authoritarian governance around the world. It also employs nefarious 
means like hacking, espionage, and sowing false information to meddle 
in the most fundamental parts of our great democracy--our elections 
and, of course, those of other countries.
  I don't think it is wrong for a United States President to meet with 
a hostile foreign leader. That is part of the job.
  What is dead wrong is to sit across from a hostile foreign leader, 
one on one, with no notes, no staff, and to fail completely--
completely--at your core mission, your job, which is protecting the 
national security interests of the American people.
  To many people, it might seem odd to be focused on who was or wasn't 
in the room or whether any notes were taken, but without them, there is 
absolutely no accountability for what was said. We hear that the 
Russian military--let me say that again--the Russian military is ready 
to start implementing the agreements reached between President Trump 
and Vladimir Putin in that room.
  We have to ask the President of the United States, what agreements? 
What did you agree to in that room? What did the leader of our Nation 
agree to that the Russian military is so eager to start implementing?
  Further, there seems to have been some discussion between President 
Trump and Vladimir Putin about the Russian Government's interest in 
interrogating U.S. citizens, like former Ambassador to Russia Michael 
McFaul. Yesterday, we heard the White House say the President was 
giving that absurd proposal serious consideration. Of course Putin 
wants to question Ambassador McFaul. He is an expert on Russia who 
served our country honorably as Ambassador and as a public servant. He 
stood up to Russian aggression and promoted U.S. national security 
interests, especially when they contradicted Moscow's agenda.
  The idea that we would entertain handing over an American citizen to 
an authoritarian Russian Government with no rule of law and no history 
of treating people fairly--and, of course, with a history of 
interrogating and torturing political opponents--that is not only 
insulting to our values, it is dangerous and it is wrong. That is not 
America. No official in our government--of any branch of government--
should support that. If the administration tries it, the Congress 
should take every effort to stop them from doing that.
  The Russian threat is serious and persistent. It isn't solved by one 
meeting and a press conference. It will take sustained commitment from 
the national security professionals across our government, and it will 
take real vision and leadership from the President and his Cabinet. I 
do not object to meeting with an adversary, nor does anyone. That is 
part of the job of being President. Instead, what I am concerned about, 
what a lot of Americans are concerned about, is this President's 
conduct during and after that meeting, especially his unwillingness to 
say without reservation or caveat that Russia was responsible for 
hacking our elections in 2016 and continues to meddle in our democratic 
process. This isn't a political judgment; it is the judgment of our 
intelligence and law enforcement experts, and it led to the indictment 
of 12 Russian military intelligence hackers this past Friday.
  Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats reaffirmed this judgment 
just this week, saying:

       The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the 
     best information and fact-based assessments possible for the 
     President and policymakers. We have been clear in our 
     assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and 
     their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, 
     and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective 
     intelligence in support of our national security.

  So said the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats.
  Why can't the President say this and say it repeatedly, that he 
agrees with their assessment and is working to stop Russia from doing 
it again?
  My constituents, like so many Americans, were right to ask: Where do 
we go from here? There is no playbook for this scenario.
  I believe we must act in a bipartisan fashion to make clear to Russia 
that the U.S. Congress will not stand for continued interference in our 
elections and will work to counter them on other fronts.
  First, we should enact new legislation to levy sanctions on Russian 
entities responsible for this malicious behavior and demand the 
administration fully implement legislation that was passed with an 
overwhelming bipartisan majority last year. No. 2, we must pass 
legislation to protect the special counsel and to shine a bright light 
on the dark money in politics. No. 3, we must fully fund State and 
municipal efforts to shore up our electoral systems. No. 4, we must 
speak out in support of our alliances. Many of our closest 
international partners are right on the frontlines of Russia's 
destabilizing actions. Finally, we should insist that the 
administration answer the questions so many of us have about what 
happened in that room in Helsinki and what they plan to do to counter 
Russia and protect our national security interests.
  We are in uncharted waters in terms of the actions of the President. 
His actions the last 2 weeks have made us less safe. I will say it 
again--less safe. He must take decisive action to guarantee our 
security by confronting malign Russian aggression against the United 
States and our NATO allies and partners. At the same time, Congress, 
both parties, both Houses, must act to protect our security and make it 
clear to the President that this branch of government will continue to 
discharge its constitutional duties.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. TILLIS. Thank you, Mr. President.
  I would like to acknowledge that the Senator from Pennsylvania has 
made a number of good points on the subject of Russia and the way we 
need to go with Russia.
  People have asked me about what I think about Mr. Putin and whether 
he is trustworthy, and I tell them no. The way that I know he is 
misleading the public on the issues of meddling is because his lips are 
moving. He is not just telling the truth. Any time he talks about it, 
it just flies in the face of Federal investigations, oversight 
hearings, and classified briefings we have been involved in. I think it 
is an example of where Members of Congress have really come together on 
an issue.