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[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.
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