On the recordJuly 11, 2019
I thank the chairman for including my amendment in the en bloc. This amendment is cosponsored by Chairwoman Waters. Russia interfered in our election. To date, our sanctions have been illusory. A few individuals have been told they can't get visas to visit the United States. They will never see Disneyland. This amendment provides real, serious sanctions on the Russian state by saying that no U.S. person can make additional purchases of Russian sovereign debt. It provides a mechanism for removing these sanctions. If the administration concludes that Russia goes just one election cycle without interfering in our election, and if Congress agrees with that conclusion, then these sanctions are lifted. Finally, the amendment narrowly defines interference in our elections. It makes it plain that if Russian television wants to editorialize or Putin wants to put out a press release, that is fine. Rather, it is interference in our election where Russia interferes with voter tabulation or voter registration processes, where Russia steals information for the purpose of influencing our election, or where Russian hackers use false flag communications pretending to be American spokesmen when they are not. We need a serious mechanism to punish Russia for what they did in prior elections and to deter them from interfering in our future elections. This amendment does that, and I am pleased to include it in the en bloc.
