Political Quotes

“Mr. President, much ink has been spilled the past few years over the threat of foreign influence in our politics. It is a topic I have spoken about many times on this floor. This issue has become highly politicized, but it requires bipartisan agreement to address. It is increasingly clear that our adversaries will stop at nothing to influence political discourse in our country. We can all agree that there is a real need to improve our Nation's foreign influence laws. Fortunately, the Senate has a real opportunity today to finally do something about it. In 1938, Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act, referred to by the acronym ``FARA.'' It did this in 1938 to expose Nazi propaganda and identify foreign attempts to influence policymakers and the American public. The bill was last updated in 1966. And it now requires those who lobby on behalf of foreign governments and interests to register their affiliations and activities with the Justice Department. FARA reflects the fundamental principle that transparency brings accountability. Until recently, however, the law had been seldom used, and few on K Street paid much attention to the necessity of registering under this act if they were lobbying for a foreign country. Of course, that was not due to a lack of foreign influence efforts.…”