Russia's Interference with American Democracy

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, there is one other matter. I know my colleagues from North Carolina are waiting, and I salute them for being here in praise of a former member who just passed from their State, Billy Graham.

Yesterday, the commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, ADM Michael Rogers, testified that Putin's efforts to interfere with American democracy have not abated since the 2016 election and likely have intensified. According to several reports, Kremlin-linked bots continue to stoke political divisions in the United States via misinformation on social media. Here is what Admiral Rogers said:

President Putin has clearly come to the conclusion that there's little price to pay and that therefore [he thinks] `I can continue this activity.' Clearly what we have done hasn't been enough.

He is absolutely right. It is extraordinary, confounding, and dangerous how little the Trump administration is doing about Putin's campaign to undermine our grand democracy. President Trump refused to punish Putin after he took office, despite the consensus view of 17 American intelligence agencies that Putin interfered in our elections. President Trump has still refused to fully implement the package of sanctions passed by this Congress with only five dissenting votes combined in both the House and Senate, two here and three there. Yesterday, when my friend, the Senator from Rhode Island, asked Admiral Rogers, the Director of NSA, if the Trump administration had directed him to counter Russian meddling, he replied: ``No, I have not [been directed].''

That is astonishing. A hostile foreign power interferes in our election, continues to interfere with our democracy, is planning to interfere in our next elections, and the President of the United States is hardly lifting a finger. It is as if they were preparing for war and tanks or planes were lining up, and we decided to do nothing. Cyber attacks and manipulation of the news media are other ways that hostile powers attack us.

People have to wonder why President Trump is so soft on Russia, so unwilling to criticize President Putin, and so slow to stand up for America and protect our democracy.

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