On the recordOctober 23, 2019
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4617, the SHIELD Act. Mr. Chairman, the world knows that our democracy was attacked in 2016 by foreign actors. We have a responsibility as a Congress to fight back against foreign cyber intrusions into our democracy and protect the sanctity of our elections. The SHIELD Act does just that. Mr. Chair, right now, our country is facing an existential crisis. The question for each of us is: What are we going to do? What are we going to do to defend the principles and the Constitution upon which this country was founded? The vote today on the SHIELD Act will be one of those moments that, some years from now, we will all look back on, and each of us will have to give an account for what we did. We must take a vote to defend our democracy from foreign interference and ensure that every American vote counts. The words of my good friend and our dear colleague, Congressman Cummings, are swirling around this Chamber today. He said the following: ``When we are dancing with the angels, the question will be asked: In 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say nothing? Did we play games?'' Mr. Chair, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.
