Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to express concern over a monumental breach to the Nation's national security infrastructure. Last week, the Washington Post, among other publications, reported hacks of several government agencies by way of the SolarWinds platform over several months. The New York Times, on the 17th of this month, had a headline that included these words: ``Officials Warn of `Grave Risk.' '' But in that report, the New York Times indicated that at least 40 companies, government agencies, and think tanks had been infiltrated. The infiltrated agencies include the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Treasury, Commerce, Energy, and Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, as well as the National Institutes of Health. That is about seven different entities, if you include the Department of Energy as one entity, in the hacking of different parts of the Department, and there could be more. All the reporting indicates that the hackers are affiliated with Russian intelligence. Russia has proven itself both capable and willing to invade and exploit our digital infrastructure for its own ends. While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that Russia was behind this damaging breach of our systems, President Trump is casting doubt-- and that might be an understatement. Even in the waning days of his administration, our national security continues to suffer at the hands of the President's deference to Vladimir Putin.…”