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[Pages S5152-S5153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ELECTION SECURITY
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on another matter, last week former
Special Counsel Mueller testified that Russian interference in our
democracy ``wasn't a single attempt. They're doing it as we sit here
and they expect to do it in the next campaign.''
The Russians, he said, interfered in the last election and are trying
to interfere again. Mueller said: ``Much more needs to be done in order
to protect against these intrusions, not just by the Russians but by
others as well.''
It was not just Mueller who said these things or agreed with these
ideas and sentiments. FBI Director Wray, appointed by President Trump,
has shared similar sentiments. Departing DNI Director Coats--lifelong
Republican, former member of this body, well respected by all, and
appointed by President Trump--has repeatedly warned about the threat
posed by Russia. The Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by a
Republican, Senator Burr, did the same.
It is with these facts as the backdrop--the testimony of prominent
Republicans, allies of President Trump and friends and allies of our
colleagues here--that Democrats have been pushing for election
security--so far, to little avail. Leader McConnell and the Republican
majority have not allowed a single election security bill to reach the
floor of the Senate. We haven't had a single bill open for amendment
all year.
So, last week, understandably frustrated at the lack of progress,
Democrats asked unanimous consent to pass House legislation to
safeguard our elections. Leader McConnell blocked that request saying
yesterday: ``I am not going to let Democrats and their water-carriers
in the media use Russia's attack on our democracy as a Trojan horse for
partisan wish list items.''
``Partisan wish list items''--really? What are these items on our
partisan wish list, you might ask? Using paper ballots--that is
partisan? Using paper ballots is widely agreed upon as a reform to
protect our elections from manipulation. Does Leader McConnell object
to paper ballots? Does Leader McConnell believe paper ballots are
partisan? They are part of our elections, whoever wins.
How about this one: We want the postelection audits to make sure the
[[Page S5153]]
Russians or any other foreign power didn't interfere. Does Leader
McConnell object to auditing our elections to make sure the outcomes
are accurate? Are election audits partisan?
Making sure the States and localities have adequate resources to
update and maintain election infrastructure--does Leader McConnell
oppose that, when 21 attorneys general have said they don't have enough
money now to guard their election processes and machines from
manipulation by Russia or others?
So that is ``our partisan wish list''--paper ballots, election
audits, and money to protect us from the Russians. If Leader McConnell
opposes these policies, fine, but let him say so. I repeat, protecting
our election from Russian interference is not a Democratic issue or a
Republican issue or an Independent issue, and it is not a liberal issue
or a conservative issue. It is not a moderate issue. It is an issue
that goes to the wellspring of our democracy and something the Founding
Fathers warned about--foreign interference. James Madison, Thomas
Jefferson, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin all were worried
about foreign interference in our elections, and now Leader McConnell
calls it partisan to worry about it? Please.
If Leader McConnell wants to debate other legislation than what we
propose and what has passed the House--legislation like the FIRE Act or
the Duty to Report Act or the Prevention of Foreign Interference with
Elections Act--bring it on. Let's do it. If Leader McConnell wants to
address election security in the appropriations process, we would
welcome his support on an amendment to send more funding to the States.
We want to get something done on election security because this is not
about party. This is a matter of national security. This is about the
sanctity of elections, something for which Americans have died for
generations. It is not partisan at all. It is the wellspring of our
democracy.
But so long as the Senate Republicans prevent legislation from
reaching the floor, so long as they oppose additional appropriations to
the States, so long as they malign election security provisions as
``partisan wish lists,'' the critics are right to say that Leader
McConnell and Republican Senators are blocking election security
because, at the moment, that is true.
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