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[Page S1642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ELECTION SECURITY
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now, on a final matter, this
afternoon all Senators will have the opportunity to attend a briefing
on election security from administration experts who tackle the issue
every day. The FBI Director; the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security;
General Nakasone of the NSA and Cyber Command; the Director of
Counterintelligence at the DNI; and a number of other senior leaders
will come here to the Capitol to discuss this critical subject.
I look forward to hearing more about the significant and strong steps
the Trump administration has taken over the past 3 years to secure our
democracy and punch back against the real and varied foreign efforts to
interfere. I look forward to hearing more about the unprecedented level
of coordination that has connected nonpartisan Federal experts in all
50 States, U.S. territories, thousands of local jurisdictions, and
private sector leaders to make sure the unpreparedness and inaction
that defined the Obama administration's failures in 2016 was not
repeated in 2018 and will not be repeated in 2020 or beyond.
I look forward to hearing about how the record sums of money,
hundreds of millions of dollars that Congress has put aside for direct
grants so States and local election officials can shore up their
systems, are making our democracy safer. I expect I will have more to
say following the briefing. I expect many of our colleagues will, but,
beforehand, I would like to say this: The American people have
confidence in our democracy, as they should. Just last month, a survey
found that more than 70 percent of Americans are confident their State
or local government will conduct a fair and accurate election this
November. Let me say this again. Just last month, a survey found that
more than 70 percent of Americans are confident their State or local
government will conduct a fair and accurate election this November, and
they should be confident about the resilience of our institutions.
Our Nation is strong. The Trump administration has made huge strides.
After 8 years of weakness, this administration's foreign policy has
made it clear to our adversaries that the United States of America is
not going to be pushed around, but the American people also know we
must remain vigilant. As long as Russia and other nations seek to
meddle, we need to be ready.
Election security is critically important to our Nation, and it can
only be handled right if it is handled with good faith and
bipartisanship.
When Washington Democrats use this particular topic as a platform for
demonizing the other side or for pushing tangential policy proposals,
which the left had sought many years--many years--before 2016, everyone
can see right through it. It only signals unseriousness.
So I encourage all my colleagues to attend the bipartisan briefing
today, and then let's preserve that bipartisan spirit and that unity.
Let's focus on fighting against foreign interference, not fighting each
other.
We should not just snap right back into tired, old partisanship. We
should not let Putin or anyone else bait Americans into talking down
our own democracy or sowing more fear and discord among ourselves than
other adversaries could ever hope to do themselves.
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