[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 130 (Wednesday, July 31, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ELECTION SECURITY

  Mr. SCHUMER. Looking back on this work period, it is a shame that the 
Senate, once again, has made no progress--none--on the issue of 
election security.
  Only a week ago, Special Counsel Mueller called Russia interference 
one of the greatest threats to democracy he has seen in his career, a 
threat that he said continues ``as we sit here.''
  Despite Mueller's warning--a warning echoed by prominent Republicans, 
Trump appointees, such as FBI Director Wray, Director Coats, and our 
entire Senate Intelligence Committee led by Richard Burr, a colleague 
of ours--Leader McConnell has not brought election security to the 
floor. In fact, he has blocked Democratic requests for a debate on 
election security, dismissing our ideas as a ``partisan wish list.'' 
That is political rhetoric to avoid a problem that shouldn't be 
partisan at all.
  Using paper ballots is not partisan. Making sure that our election 
machines are safe from hacking is not partisan. Giving the States 
resources to better manage their elections is not partisan. That is 
American. Our elections are sacrosanct and these are commonsense, 
widely agreed-upon reforms that will make our elections safer, 
particularly in this dangerous new world where powers that have malice 
toward the United States--Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea--can use 
new technology to reach into our election structure.
  This is not 1940 or even 2005. We need to strengthen our election 
security, and it should not be a partisan issue. When Leader McConnell 
calls it a partisan issue, he is ducking to avoid it for reasons 
unknown to almost anybody.
  Recent Republican opposition to election security has been 
disappointing. I say to my Republican colleagues: Where are you? Why 
aren't you telling the Republican leader that we ought to do something? 
Every one of our Republicans is complicit when Leader McConnell blocks 
election security because they could join with us. If they began to 
join with us, my guess is that Leader McConnell might put some 
legislation on the floor. We want to debate it. We want to discuss it. 
Leader McConnell and our Republican colleagues may not exactly agree 
with our ideas--although many are bipartisan--but we should at least 
bring things to the floor, discuss them, and get something done. 
Unfortunately, we don't see much action.

  It was precisely a year ago that the Democrats last sought to secure 
funding for election security when the Senate Republicans voted down 
our amendments. Unfortunately, it appears that Leader McConnell will 
not take action before the August work period. Yet I assure the 
American people and Leader McConnell that this issue is not going away. 
The Democrats will press for election security when we return and again 
when the Senate debates appropriations bills.
  This is about protecting the wellspring of our democracy, the 
vitality of our democracy, and the sacrosanct nature of our democracy. 
To call it political demeans everything. Young men and young women from 
Bunker Hill on--for hundreds of years--have died to protect our 
elections. You have to protect them in a different way now with there 
being technology and cyber threats, but the idea of protecting them 
burns just as brightly in the American heart, and Leader McConnell is 
somehow impervious to all of that.

                          ____________________