Political Quotes

“in reserving the right to object, let me thank Senator Grassley for his work on this issue, and I agree with him that our current foreign regime is in need of updating. I look forward to working with him and Senator Cornyn and with Senators Whitehouse and Shaheen, who both came to speak to me about this, as well as with Chairman Risch and the cosponsors of this legislation, on engaging in a comprehensive effort to do just that. FARA, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, is perhaps the most critical tool we have for shining a light on foreign influence efforts in the United States. Its aim is to ensure that the public knows the source of foreign-directed efforts that are intended to influence American public opinion, policy, and laws. I agree with the Senator that the past few years have demonstrated that changes are sorely needed to FARA, but they also demonstrate that the statute may need more than a few tweaks. And before we have determined exactly what the most needed reforms are, it seems shortsighted to provide additional enforcement tools before we have figured out what that regime should look like. Indeed, adopting ad hoc changes rather than looking at more comprehensive reform could actually create more problems down the road. Many have noted that FARA's definitions and requirements are broad and sow confusion over exactly when and under what circumstances an individual must register and report covered activities.…”