[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2517-2518]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                         LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, if you would have asked me when I first got 
elected to Congress, would I ever expect to be in a position, months 
after a Presidential election, about whether or not the integrity of 
that election was at stake, I would have said ``of course not.''
  Our democracy's strength is that any adult has an equal say in it 
through their vote; that the wealthiest or the poorest, the youngest or 
the oldest adult, regardless of their gender, race, religion, or sexual 
orientation, we all have an equal say in our democracy via our vote; 
which is why the vote is so important. It is the great equalizer and it 
gives us confidence in our government, that whoever the people select 
to be President should be the force of the majority.
  But the concern I am speaking about today is the concern that somehow 
the election this past November might have been interfered with by 
another government.
  Now, I know we have all heard about the intelligence community's 
classified report regarding Russian hacking and interference in our 
elections. I have read it and so have many of my colleagues. And, 
allegedly, President Trump has read the document as well.
  My concern is that we seem to have different interpretations of a 
document that is very clear about unprecedented outside interference. 
For those of us who have read it, shock. Shock that another country 
would be so cavalier in their approach to interfere with an election, 
to manipulate the truth, to go farther than we have ever seen in trying 
to get the outcome they wanted and ultimately got.
  There is no secret that President Trump has an unnerving affection 
for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has called Putin ``very 
smart.'' He claimed Putin was a better leader than Barack Obama. And 
Trump even defended Putin in a recent interview with a FOX News talk 
show host.

[[Page 2518]]

  The connections to Russia and his Cabinet are equally unnerving. 
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had numerous business dealings with 
Russia, and was even recognized by Putin with the Order of Friendship 
in 2013.
  But it doesn't stop there. Just last week, U.S. investigators 
confirmed that parts of the 35-page intelligence dossier, compiled by a 
former British spy, were accurate. The dossier contained still 
unconfirmed details of an all-too-cozy relationship between Russian 
President Vladimir Putin and the Trump Cabinet.
  Just yesterday, President Trump's own National Security Adviser, 
Michael Flynn, resigned after being busted for having potentially 
illegal conversations with the Russian Government regarding lifting 
sanctions on the country prior to President Trump taking office; 
conversations he had previously misled to the FBI and the Vice 
President.
  Who else knew about Flynn, and when did they know about it?
  Now, I don't bring this up as an effort to get back into a Cold War 
with Russia, as some seem to condone. I am disgusted by the Russian 
Government's scapegoating of the LGBT community and their authoritarian 
approach to civic affairs. I think getting back into a Cold War would 
be a terrible idea, and there are some areas around the globe where we 
could welcome cooperation to solve humanitarian crises.
  My concern lies in that the Russian Government did something, hacking 
and interfering in our elections with the intent of electing their 
choice for President, Donald Trump. That must be addressed through 
sanctions and safeguards to make sure it never happens again.
  If anyone in the executive branch is suggesting lifting any sanctions 
after what just happened, there needs to be a public dialogue about 
why, because if they read the same report that I did, there is no way 
that would be the appropriate response.
  But given President Trump's unwillingness to accept the reality of 
the Russian interference in our election, given the closeness of 
several leading members of the President's Cabinet to Russia, and given 
the recent resignation of our National Security Adviser over his 
dealings with Russia, I feel it is imperative that the American people 
get all the facts.
  Should we be lifting sanctions against a country our intelligence 
community tells us intentionally, and in multiple ways, tried to 
interfere with our elections and, ultimately, get the person they 
wanted elected? Or should we be doing even more to guarantee the 
sovereignty of our country and the integrity of our elections in every 
possible way?
  Currently, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are 
investigating Russian interference with our elections, and I applaud 
them for taking the issue so seriously. Personally, I would love to see 
an outside, nonpartisan, independent review as well.
  However, we need to take this right to the people. The classified 
report about election interference by the Russians could, in my 
opinion, with appropriate protections, be declassified so that the 
American people could see it for themselves.
  Mr. President, I request you ask for that report to be fully 
declassified. If your administration's assertions are correct, let the 
American people see it. Let the truth come out.
  But my guess is, when they see the totality of the report, there will 
be a lot of explaining for this administration to do, both about our 
response to Russia and how we protect our elections in the future.
  It is really that simple. Let the people decide. Declassify the 
report.

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