On the recordOctober 22, 2019
Mr. President, I come to the floor today to urge the Senate to take action on election security legislation immediately. It has been 1,005 days since Russia attacked our elections in 2016, and we have yet to pass any kind of comprehensive election security reform. The next major elections are just 378 days away, so the clock is ticking. We must take action now to secure our elections from foreign threats. Let's review what happened. In 2016, Russia invaded our democracy. They didn't use bombs, jets, or tanks. Instead, they spent years planning a cyber mission to undermine the foundation of our democratic system. This mission has been called ``sweeping'' and ``systematic'' by many, including Special Counsel Mueller. Our military and intelligence officials from both Democratic and Republican administrations, as well as Special Counsel Mueller, made clear and confirmed over and over again that Russia launched sophisticated and targeted cyber attacks that were authorized by President Putin. This includes former Director Coats, President Trump's former intelligence head; Director Wray, the head of the FBI; and the head of Homeland Security. One by one, officials in the Trump administration have confirmed that this happened. What exactly did Russia do? They conducted research and reconnaissance against election networks in every single State.…





