[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4745-S4746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Election Security

  Mr. President, now on election security, later this afternoon, 
Members from both sides of the aisle will take part in an all-Senate 
briefing on the threats faced by our elections in the 2020 campaign 
cycle. We are all no doubt aware of the general threat to our elections 
from foreign interference. It is crucial to hear from our law 
enforcement, defense, and intelligence communities about the specific 
nature of those threats and, just as important--probably more 
important--how we can counteract them and how we can prevent foreign 
interference in the 2020 election, which everybody, regardless of 
party--Democratic, Republican, liberal, or conservative--should be 
against. This is one of the things the Founding Fathers were most 
afraid of, that foreign powers would seek to

[[Page S4746]]

interfere in our elections. It didn't seem too much of a problem for 
decades and centuries, but it has now reared its ugly head--by the way, 
showing the amazing wisdom of the Washingtons and the Madisons and the 
Franklins and the Founding Fathers.
  The briefing we are going to have should serve as a turning point for 
this Chamber. It should focus our attention and spark an urgent debate 
on how to protect our democracy from future attacks. The briefing this 
afternoon should be a springboard for action. So I was amazed to listen 
to Republican Leader McConnell this morning, who, before the briefing 
has even taken place, seems to be prejudging the results of the 
meeting, saying that another Washington intervention in this matter is 
misguided. I was amazed to hear Leader McConnell take credit for the 
election security funding which Democrats fought tooth and nail to 
include in the Appropriations bill and which was initially opposed by 
many of our Republican colleagues. They skip over the fact that Leader 
McConnell and Republicans are right now blocking our efforts to include 
additional resources this year.
  Leader McConnell, if you are bragging about having put it in in 2016 
and the FBI says the threat in 2020 will be greater, why aren't you 
letting us put more money in now? Why aren't you supporting that?
  It makes no sense--a contradiction once again.
  And here, amazingly enough, we hear Leader McConnell echoing 
President Trump blaming President Obama for the interference in the 
2016 election--blaming President Obama. The Russians interfered. They 
certainly had conversations with the Trump administration. Donald Trump 
encouraged them to interfere, publicly. And now Leader McConnell has 
the temerity to blame President Obama? What a remarkable feat of 
revisionist history.
  Let's be clear on two things. First, President Putin interfered in 
our elections, and he is to blame. Second, the Trump administration has 
not done enough to hold him and his oligarchs accountable. President 
Trump recently, when he met with President Putin, sort of made a joke 
of it. That is disgraceful. That is un-American. That is not defending 
the security of America.
  Now, according to reports, we learn that the majority leader refused 
to work on a bipartisan basis to warn the public about Putin's 
interference in our elections in the midst of the 2016 election. And he 
blames President Obama when he was the one who didn't want to make it 
public? Give us a break.
  We have a duty to the country to take this seriously and not 
whitewash the facts or prejudge the conclusions. This is about 
protecting the wellspring of our democracy--it is not political--and 
ensuring Americans have absolute faith that our elections will be free 
and fair.
  It is unbelievable that in this Trump administration, unlike any 
other administration--Democratic or Republican--before it, interference 
in the election by a foreign power is made political. It is a disgrace.
  I hope today's briefing provides Members with specific information 
about what the departments and agencies are doing to combat the threat 
to our elections and what we ought to do next. After it concludes, we 
cannot let this issue sit on the back burner. Democrats and Republicans 
alike must roll up their sleeves and get to work--the majority leader 
included.