July 25, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 126 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
ELECTION SECURITY; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 126
(Senate - July 25, 2019)
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[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. ____________________