[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 122 (Thursday, July 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S5110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SENATE RESOLUTION 582--PROTECTING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

  Mr. SANDERS (for himself and Mr. Whitehouse) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 582

       Whereas Senator John McCain stated, ``[It] was one of the 
     most disgraceful performances by an American president in 
     memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump's naivete, 
     egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is 
     difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in 
     Helsinki was a tragic mistake.'';
       Whereas, on July 17, 2018, in response to the international 
     backlash, President Trump, while claiming he misspoke and 
     blaming the media for reporting what he said, still sowed 
     doubt about the electoral interference by the Russian 
     Federation by claiming it ``could be other people also'' and 
     not just the Russian Federation;
       Whereas the United States faces an unprecedented situation 
     in which the President of the United States refuses to 
     acknowledge an attack on the democracy of the United States;
       Whereas the Russian Federation has been interfering not 
     only in the elections of the United States, but also in the 
     elections of other democracies, such as the United Kingdom, 
     France, and Germany, to name a few;
       Whereas the goal of the Russian Federation is to advance 
     its own interests by weakening the transatlantic alliance of 
     democracies that arose after the Second World War, while also 
     inflaming internal divisions in each of those countries;
       Whereas, on July 13, 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller 
     announced indictments of 12 members of the military 
     intelligence service of the Russian Federation known as the 
     Glavnoe Razvedyvatel'noe Upravlenie (referred to in this 
     preamble as the ``GRU'');
       Whereas, on July 13, 2018, Director of National 
     Intelligence Dan Coats raised the alarm on growing 
     cyberattack threats against the United States in a range of 
     areas, including Federal, State, and local government 
     agencies, the military, business, and academia, stating that 
     the situation is at a ``critical point'', adding, ``In 
     regards to state actions, Russia has been the most aggressive 
     foreign actor. No question. And they continue their efforts 
     to undermine our democracy.'', and comparing the warning 
     signs to the signs the United States faced ahead of the 
     September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks;
       Whereas the cyberattacks by the Russian Federation 
     represent a threat to the democratic system of the United 
     States and the democratic systems of the allies of the United 
     States;
       Whereas, domestically, President Putin has undermined 
     democracy in the Russian Federation, crushing free speech, 
     jailing political opponents, harassing and assassinating 
     journalists who criticize him, and increasingly persecuting 
     ethnic and religious minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
     transgender, and queer citizens;
       Whereas, in terms of foreign policy, the Russian Federation 
     has meddled in the elections of democratic countries, stoking 
     political tensions by promoting hatred and suspicion of 
     immigrants and minorities, and trying to undermine 
     longstanding alliances between democratic allies;
       Whereas, in 2014, in violation of international law, the 
     Russian Federation invaded neighboring Ukraine, and annexed 
     the Crimea region;
       Whereas the Russian Federation has assassinated political 
     opponents abroad, most recently through the use of poison in 
     Salisbury, England, on a former spy and his daughter, an 
     atrocious chemical attack that endangered the lives of 
     hundreds of civilians and which, according to news reports, 
     the Government of the United Kingdom concluded was likely 
     carried out by the GRU; and
       Whereas President Trump had an opportunity to raise the 
     issues described in the preceding clauses with President 
     Putin at the July 16, 2018, summit in Helsinki, Finland, but 
     chose not to: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) accepts the assessment of the United States 
     intelligence community with regard to interference by the 
     Russian Federation in elections in the United States and in 
     other democracies;
       (2) must move aggressively to protect the election systems 
     of the United States from interference by the Russian 
     Federation or any other foreign power, and work closely with 
     the democratic partners of the United States to do the same 
     for elections in those countries;
       (3) demands that the sanctions against the Russian 
     Federation that were enacted in the Countering America's 
     Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (Public Law 115-44; 131 
     Stat. 886) be fully implemented by the President;
       (4) will not accept any interference with the ongoing 
     investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, such as the 
     offer of preemptive pardons or the firing of Deputy Attorney 
     General Rod Rosenstein; and
       (5) declares that the President must cooperate with the 
     investigation of Special Counsel Mueller.

                          ____________________