[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 161 (Thursday, September 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5682-S5683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, our Democratic colleagues have sought 
to spend this week discussing election security. Well, they really have 
sought to discuss absolutely anything besides pandemic relief since 
their leaders are still blocking bipartisan negotiations that could 
actually get a result.
  So our friends across the aisle have tried to change the subject to 
election security or immigration from Venezuela or anything besides the 
hundreds of billions of dollars in relief they have been filibustering.
  But the integrity of our democracy is a crucial issue. We are fewer 
than 50 days from November 3. Every voter deserves to know their State 
and local authorities are as well equipped as possible to oversee fair, 
safe, and secure elections.
  So let's discuss the progress made since back in 2016, the threats 
still before us, and how it is when this nonpartisan issue gets 
hijacked--literally hijacked--for partisan point-scoring.
  Here is how the Democratic vice chair of the Intelligence Committee 
described our vulnerability to foreign influence in 2016 during the 
Obama-Biden administration. This is the Democratic vice chairman of the 
Intelligence Committee about 2016. He said: ``We were caught flat-
footed.'' ``We were caught flat-footed.''
  That administration's relationships with State governments were 
dysfunctional; information sharing was weak; cross-sector partnerships 
hardly existed; and 8 years of weak foreign policy had emboldened Putin 
to push the envelope.

[[Page S5683]]

  Now, for the last 4 years, thanks to the actions of this Senate and 
the leadership of the current administration, a huge number of 
dedicated experts have worked hard to improve our defenses and regain 
America's trust.
  In 2016, the Department of Homeland Security was on an island, but 
under this administration, DHS officials have built partnerships with 
State and local officials who run our elections and stood up massive 
intelligence-sharing efforts that connect them with Federal 
authorities, the intelligence community, as well as the private sector.
  In 2016, the outgoing administration hid their limited grasp of the 
threat from Congress and the American people. The Trump administration 
and intelligence experts have been far, far more transparent.
  In 2016, only 14 State or local authorities had high-tech sensors to 
detect cyberattacks. Now all 50 States--all of them--have them. The 
Trump administration has imposed real pain on Russia: closing 
consulates, expelling spies, sanctioning oligarchs and agents of 
influence, and equipping neighbors that are threatened by Moscow to 
deter further aggression.
  Here in the Senate, multiple committees have become major players in 
this effort. Our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee spent, 
literally, years producing their 5-part, 1,300-plus-page report on what 
happened back in 2016. Some of their bipartisan recommendations are 
already taking effect.
  And then there is funding. The Senate has led the efforts to set 
aside more than $1 billion in extra election assistance, from foreign 
interference to COVID-19. Through the end of the primaries, more than 
70 percent of the huge sum we provided in the CARES Act is still 
unspent. As recently as a few months ago, more than 60 percent of the 
first tranche we provided all the way back in fiscal 2018 was still 
unspent. So we have made sure money is not an obstacle.
  So these threats are still with us, and they have evolved. Not only 
Russia but also China, Iran, and other adversaries are looking 
constantly for ways to interfere in our politics, divide Americans, and 
erode confidence in our institutions. That is a fact.
  The work goes on, but we certainly aren't flat-footed any longer. 
This progress should be cause for bipartisan celebration, but one side 
of the aisle seems to prefer pretending--pretending--there hasn't been 
any progress at all.
  Frankly, while nonpartisan experts worked around the clock to fight 
our adversaries' destabilizing efforts, too many Democrats have been 
undermining America's confidence in our democracy to the degree that 
those adversaries could only dream of: baseless accusations that the 
last election was stolen; casual assertions that this one, too, must be 
illegitimate if they don't win.
  On a monthly basis, we have heard new, hysterical pronouncements that 
our democracy was on death's door. Even sensitive intelligence became 
grist for the partisan mill.
  This has not been universal. There has been good bipartisan work in 
some committees, but the Democratic leadership appeared to make a 
conscious choice: Instead of treating election security like the 
unifying, bipartisan issue it ought to be, they would use it as a 
partisan cudgel to hit the other side, playing right into our 
adversaries' hands.
  This week, the Democratic leader attacked Republicans and basically 
questioned our patriotism because we did not rush to meet his latest 
demands for empty theatrics. He proposes to crowd out 4 years of 
bipartisan work from actual committees by inventing a brandnew Senate 
committee and pull experts off the frontlines during the home stretch 
for theatrical hearings here on Capitol Hill.
  He says we must allocate more money. Never mind that the millions and 
millions of dollars we have already set aside remain unspent. He 
proposes that the administration pull experts off the frontlines to 
continue briefing him. Never mind that ODNI alone has supported 53 
election security briefings to Congress since 2018--53 election 
security briefings to Congress since 2018. I am sure 54 will be the 
magic number that finally makes our colleague a reasonable voice on 
this issue.
  The truth is, briefings are ongoing; the Intelligence and Armed 
Services Committees will be briefed this week; and all Senators will 
have access to written intelligence analysis by career professionals if 
new developments arise since last month's all-Senate briefings.
  The Democratic leader's demands aren't solutions. These aren't what 
the experts say we need; they are just empty gestures concocted so the 
Democratic leader can complain that Republicans hate democracy and 
apple pie when we don't go along with them.
  So remember, fear and division, reduced confidence in our democracy, 
Americans divided against ourselves: that is exactly what Russia 
wants--exactly. That is what China wants too. That is just what our 
adversaries want to achieve, and it is exactly what the Democratic 
leader helps them achieve when he turns a bipartisan national issue 
that should unite us into one more pretext for partisan finger-
pointing.
  Our colleague from New York said recently that ``Republicans are the 
enemy of the good.'' No, Republicans and Democrats are not enemies. No 
fellow Americans are enemies.
  Our people, our democracy, have real enemies in some corners of the 
world. I expect they are absolutely thrilled to hear our own 
politicians talking that way.

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