Sun Community News - The Mueller Investigation Is Complete. Let's Look Ahead to Preventing Russian Interference in Our Elections.

Op-Ed

By Elise Stefanik

Now that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation is complete and his report has been released to Congress and the American public, policy makers on both sides of the aisle have an opportunity to come together and take actionable steps to combat Russian interference.

I have continued my record of fighting for the resiliency, security and transparency of our electoral system by introducing four bipartisan pieces of legislation to combat Russian meddling in just the last four months.

Here is where we are:

The Mueller investigation produced findings consistent with the conclusions of the House Permanent Special Committee on Intelligence's extensive, bipartisan Congressional investigation. The report outlined Russia's systematic approach to targeting our elections, not only through Facebook ads and fake Twitter accounts, but through a sophisticated hacking operation targeting committees, candidates and campaigns.

After months of scrupulous inquiry, it is imperative Congress takes its findings seriously: Russia interfered in our elections with the intent to undermine the democratic process.

My colleagues and I continue to work to counter and prevent Russian and other adversarial actions. I have been an ardent supporter of transparency -- transparency about elected officials, transparency in foreign financial ties and transparency in political advertisements. The American electoral process is the envy of the world, and Congress must do everything in our power to ensure that does not change.

Here is what I am doing to protect our democracy along with my colleagues in the House:

We know that Vladimir Putin is at the helm of nefarious activities targeting the U.S. in Russia. Earlier this Congress, I introduced the bipartisan Vladimir Putin Transparency Act, which instructs U.S. intelligence agencies to collect and submit a report to Congress on Putin and his associates' financial assets and secretive networks that seek to weaken democracies by consolidating political control through unethical means.

Voters and the entire American public have the right to know if a candidate or their campaign is intentionally or unwittingly engaged with foreign influence at any point during the election. Just over two months ago, this bill successfully passed the House with strong bipartisan support.

Today's elected officials and candidates have an incredible technological advantage with the ability to reach their voters through social media and digital advertising. However, these tools can also be vulnerable to the influence of malign actors who propagate misinformation, create false news stories and run influential ad campaigns.

That is why I introduced both the Honest Ads Act and PAID AD Act, which enhance the integrity and transparency of American democracy and national security by requiring the source of funding be disclosed for online political advertisements and prohibiting foreign entities from participating in certain election activities.

Last month, with the support of my colleagues, I authored the Counterintelligence Accountability Act, which directs the FBI to notify Congress when a candidate for federal office, a political campaign or an individual known to be associated with the campaign is being investigated.

I decided to do this after my questioning of then-FBI Director James Comey at a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing last Congress, where he revealed that he did not follow the proper protocol of notifying Congress about opening a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign in 2016.

This loophole in the law allows the FBI to circumvent Congress and unilaterally conduct investigations without any congressional oversight. My bill will ensure that the right congressional overseers are informed of sensitive counterintelligence investigations into campaigns for federal office. I'm proud that every Republican on the House Intelligence Committee is a co-sponsor of this bill.

Additionally, I've been a longtime leader in cybersecurity policy and avidly encouraged cybersecurity operations focused on elections to consider the entire campaign process, not a single election day. I co-authored the Defend Against Russian Disinformation and Aggression Act to improve cooperation between the U.S. and NATO allies and partners in cyber-countermeasures linked to Russian government corruption. I was an original co-sponsor to the bill that increases Congressional oversight over military cyber-operations.

Finally, I co-sponsored the Promoting Good Cyber Hygiene Act of 2017, which requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish best practices to defend against common cybersecurity threats and risks and requires the Department of Homeland Security to assess cybersecurity threats and provide recommendations for addressing threats.

I have consistently called for bipartisan action to interdict foreign influence, specifically Russia. We must continue to ensure the United States uses a whole of government approach to counter Russian disinformation to protect the integrity of the United States' electoral process.

I am proud to lead the way with the support of so many of my colleagues in combating Russia's and any other foreign threats to our democracy.

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