[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 126 (Thursday, July 25, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5074-S5075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ELECTION SECURITY
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, we all know that yesterday former
Special Counsel Mueller testified before two House committees. I
believe it was crucial for the American people to hear straight from
Robert Mueller's mouth that the President was not--underline ``not''--
exonerated by his report, despite what the President claims. It is
utterly amazing. Mueller says something, and the President says the
exact opposite to the media. We have never had a President who has lied
so often. He knows what Mueller said, but he thinks he can dupe people
when he says it, and I hope it is not true.
It is important for the American people to hear straight from Robert
Mueller's mouth that the President is not telling the truth when he
claims that Mueller found no obstruction. Mueller did not. Anyone who
watched the hearing saw it. It was as plain as could be, but that is
not the subject of my remarks today.
My remarks are about election security. Above all, it was important
for all of us to hear straight from Robert Mueller's mouth that the
threat from Russia and other foreign adversaries seeking to meddle in
our elections was very real and still very much ongoing.
When asked about Russian interference in our democracy, Mr. Mueller
responded:
It wasn't a single attempt. They're doing it as we sit
here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.
Leader McConnell, let me read you those sentences, if you care about
America. Mueller said about Russian interference:
It wasn't a single attempt. They're doing it as we sit
here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.
He went on to say that many more countries were developing
capabilities similar to what Russia has. He reminded members of the
House Intelligence Committee that Russian fake images reached nearly
126 million people on Facebook alone.
As if it even needed to be spelled out, Mr. Mueller added: ``Much
more needs to be done in order to protect against these intrusions, not
just by the Russians but by others as well.''
Mueller's testimony was a clarion call for election security.
Mueller's testimony should be a wake-up call to every American--
Democrat, Republican, liberal, and conservative--that the integrity of
our elections is at stake and to be manipulated by a foreign power.
This is all about the future of this country. If we lose faith in our
electoral process, democracy begins to walk away from us, and we will
be a different country than the glorious country we have been since
1789. Yet our Republican colleagues put their heads in the sand.
Donald Trump, as usual, with his enormous self-ego, doesn't want to
admit the Russians interfered--even though he encouraged it publicly--
because he feels it will cast some illegitimacy on his election. The
election is over. He is President. I wish he weren't. But that is not
the issue here.
The issue is the future of our democracy. And our Republican
colleagues, who, once again, either are afraid of President Trump or,
even worse, seeking advantage from Russian interference, are keeping
their heads in the sand.
We have tried. We have worked with our Republican colleagues to craft
several bipartisan bills--Democrats and Republicans alike--to safeguard
our election infrastructure and deter any foreign adversary from
targeting our democracy in 2020. We have asked the Republican majority
on the Appropriations Committee to devote more resources to harden
their election systems but to no avail.
Leader McConnell has refused to bring these bills to the floor.
Republicans have rebuffed our request for additional appropriations
this year. Election security goes into McConnell's legislative
graveyard, even though it should be the most nonpartisan of issues.
He has refused--refused--to let us consider anything, using his power
as majority leader. And he is backed up by every single Republican who
is complicit in not stopping the Russians, as Putin seeks to stretch
his long arm and delve into the sacred process of how we elect our
officials.
What could possibly be the downside of ensuring our elections are
fair and
[[Page S5075]]
free from foreign interference? Why would Leader McConnell and every
one of our Republican colleagues, who now have failed to step up to the
plate even though some of them work with our colleagues on bills,
ignore the admonitions of the Founding Fathers, who said that foreign
interference is a grave danger to democracy? What could be the downside
of ensuring our elections are fair and free? I ask that question of
Leader McConnell.
The only excuse I have heard is he says that additional action isn't
necessary. Well, Mr. Mueller, who has done far more investigative work
on this than just about anybody else, cleared up all of that yesterday.
He didn't say we have done enough already. He didn't say we are on top
of it. He said that much more needs to be done.
Leader McConnell, do you disagree? Is Mueller wrong? Are all the
experts wrong--the FBI, appointed by President Trump; the NSA,
appointed by President Trump; and all those leaders who say we need to
do more? We have heard them.
We are going to continue our fight for election security. We are not
going to let Leader McConnell put the bills passed by the House into
his legislative graveyard without a fight. You are going to hear from
us on this issue over and over again.
The legislative graveyard of Leader McConnell is known from one end
of the country to the other. Americans know he doesn't want to help
them. He doesn't want to help middle-class Americans.
The graveyard of our Republican colleagues, in obeisance to powerful
and special interests, gets larger, more stunning, and more
debilitating to this country every day.
Yesterday, Democratic Senators requested unanimous consent to pass
some election security legislation that they have worked on, much of
which was bipartisan. The Republican majority blocked them. Soon--I
believe in about an hour--I will be asking unanimous consent on the
House-passed election security bill. It is sitting here. It is in the
leader's drawer. Is he going to let this go to the legislative
graveyard? We will see in an hour. I hope at least one of my Republican
colleagues will come to the floor and urge that we vote on this or at
least debate it and amend it--one.
The Republican leader's intransigent resistance to this effort is
inexplicable. Why he wants to put election security in his legislative
graveyard is impossible to explain on a logical basis. I believe his
intransigence and his resistance are untenable.
When I move in about an hour for unanimous consent to bring the House
bill to the floor, maybe something will be chirping in some of the
brains of some of my colleagues here and say: We can't allow the
Russians to interfere, and we have to do something.
If they don't agree with what the House passed, let them propose
amendments or let them propose an alternative, but let us debate. This
is a national security issue of paramount importance.
I urge my friend the leader to stand down and let election security
come to the floor. If he doesn't, all of America will know, when Russia
interferes, why.
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