MADAM PRESIDENT, I KNOW THE LEADERS ARE GOING TO BE COMING DOWN SHORTLY, BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD GET STARTED AND RETURN WHEN THEY ARE FINISHED WITH THEIR REMARKS. MADAM PRESIDENT, 271, THAT'S THE NUMBER OF DAYS LEFT BEFORE THE 2018 ELECTIONS. ONLY 271 DAYS TO GO. A LITTLE MORE THAN NINE MONTHS. AND WE STILL CANNOT ASSURE AMERICAN VOTERS THAT OUR ELECTIONS ARE SECURE. THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE, AND THAT'S ON US. WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN 2016. THERE WAS NO DEBATE ABOUT THE FACTS. ON JANUARY 6, 2017, INTELLIGENCE REPORTS MADE CLEAR THAT RUSSIA USED COVERT CYBER ATTACKS, ESPIONAGE, AND HARMFUL PROPAGANDA TO ATTACK OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM. SIX MONTHS LATER, ON JUNE 21, THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CONFIRMED THAT RUSSIA LAUNCHED CYBER ATTACKS AGAINST AT LEAST 21 STATE ELECTION SYSTEMS AND ILLEGALLY OBTAINED E-MAILS FROM LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS.

THIS WEEK, WE ALSO LEARNED THAT VOTER SYSTEMS IN ILLINOIS WERE HACKED, AND THE INFORMATION ON THOUSANDS OF VOTERS WAS EXPOSED TO RUSSIANS. OUR NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS HAVE SOUNDED THE ALARM. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. LAST WEEK, C.I.A. DIRECTOR MIKE POMPEO SAID THAT HE HAS, QUOTE, EVERY EXPECTATION, END QUOTE, THAT RUSSIA WILL TARGET THE U.S. MIDTERM ELECTIONS. FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE JAMES CLAPPER SAID, QUOTE, I BELIEVE RUSSIA IS NOW EMBOLDENED TO CONTINUE SUCH ACTIVITIES IN THE FUTURE, BOTH HERE AND AROUND THE WORLD, AND TO DO SO EVEN MORE INTENSELY. AND YET, WE HAVE MADE NO REAL PROGRESS IN CONGRESS TOWARD SHORING UP OUR ELECTION SYSTEM. JUST 41 DAYS FROM NOW, ILLINOIS, A STATE THAT RUSSIANS SUCCESSFULLY HACKED IN 2016, WILL HOLD A PRIMARY FOR THE MIDTERM ELECTION. SO WHY HAVEN'T WE ACTED?

THERE IS NO EXCUSE, AND THAT IS BECAUSE THERE ARE SIX SOLUTIONS ON THE TABLE. MANY OF THEM ARE BIPARTISAN. FIRST, STATES NEED SUPPORT TO PROTECT THEIR VOTING SYSTEMS FROM CYBER ATTACKS. RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE MORE THAN 40 STATES THAT RELY ON ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS THAT ARE AT LEAST TEN YEARS OLD. THINK ABOUT THAT. TEN YEARS AGO, WE WERE USING FLIP PHONES. NOW WE HAVE SMART PHONES THAT WE UPDATE REGULARLY TO KEEP PACE WITH THE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY. SO WE NEED TO PROVIDE STATES THE RESOURCES TO UPDATE THEIR ELECTION TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE OUR VOTING SYSTEMS HAVEN'T KEPT PACE WITH THE TIMES, MUCH LESS THE SOPHISTICATION OF OUR ADVERSARIES.

IN ADDITION, OUR ELECTION OFFICIALS NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE UP AGAINST. IT TOOK THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NEARLY A YEAR TO NOTIFY THOSE 21 STATES TARGETED BY RUSSIAN-BACKED HACKERS, AND TODAY MANY STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS STILL FEEL LIKE THEY ARE IN THE DARK. THAT'S WHY SENATORS LANKFORD, HARRIS, GRAHAM, AND I HAVE INTRODUCED LEGISLATION THAT WILL BRING STATE AND LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS, CYBERSECURITY EXPERTS, AND NATIONAL SECURITY PERSONNEL TOGETHER TO PROVIDE RESOURCES AND GUIDANCE ON HOW STATES CAN BEST PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM CYBER ATTACKS. SECOND, WE NEED RELIABLE BACKUP MEASURES IN PLACE WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG. EACH STATE ADMINISTERS ITS OWN ELECTIONS. OUR DECENTRALIZED ELECTION PROCESS IS BOTH A STRENGTH AND A WEAKNESS. IT'S A STRENGTH TO HAVE MULTIPLE STATES USING MULTIPLE SYSTEMS. THEN THERE CAN NEVER BE ONE CENTRALIZED PLACE TO HACK. WE SAW THIS IN 2016. RUSSIAN HACKERS ATTEMPTED TO BREACH THE SYSTEMS IN MANY STATES BUT WERE ONLY SUCCESSFUL IN ONE. SO I AM GOING TO CONTINUE MY REMARKS, MR. PRESIDENT, AFTER THE LEADERS ARE FINISHED. I KNOW THEY HAVE A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT, BUT I WOULD JUST END WITH THIS. THIS IS A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR OUR COUNTRY. WE WILL NOT GIVE UP ON OUR FREE ELECTIONS AND THE FREEDOM OF THE ELECTIONS PRESERVED. IF THE WORST HAPPENS IN 2018, IT'S ON US, NOT JUST RUSSIA. HOW DOES THE SAYING GO? HACK ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU. HACK ME TWICE, SHAME ON US. WE KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO. WE MUST PUT THE RESOURCES INTO THE STATE ELECTIONS, AND WE MUST PROTECT FREE ELECTIONS. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. I YIELD THE FLOOR.

CONTINUED:

THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. WE'RE VERY PLEASED BY THIS BIPARTISAN WORK AND WHAT THIS WILL MEAN FOR OUR COUNTRY. I WANT TO THANK BOTH LEADERS FOR THEIR WORK. SO I WANT TO FINISH THE REMARKS THAT I STARTED BEFORE THE LEADERS TOOK THE FLOOR, PERTAINING TO ANOTHER ISSUE THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO THIS COUNTRY, AND THAT IS THE ISSUE OF A FREE ELECTION IN 2018. I MENTIONED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BILL THAT SENATOR LANKFORD AND I ARE LEADING, ALONG WITH SENATORS HARRIS AND GRAHAM THAT WOULD PUT, ALONG WITH HOUSE SUPPORT, REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT, SOME MUCH-NEEDED RESOURCES TO THE STATES TO HELP THEM WITH THEIR EQUIPMENT. MANY OF THE STATES HAVE NOT UPDATED THEIR ELECTION EQUIPMENT FOR OVER TEN YEARS.

I MENTIONED THE RELIABLE BACKUP MEASURES THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED FOR THINGS LIKE A PAPER BALLOT SYSTEM. TEN OF OUR STATES DON'T HAVE THAT. IF THEY WERE HACKED, THERE WOULD BE NO BACKUP TO PROVE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THAT MUST CHANGE. THIRD, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE OUR ELECTIONS ARE FREE FROM FOREIGN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGNS. WE KNOW THAT THE RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION REACHED0 MORE THAN 1 -- REACHED MORE THAN 126 MILLION AMERICANS THROUGH FACEBOOK. WHILE MONEY WAS SPENT ON POLITICAL ADS IN 2016, WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH RUSSIA USED TO PURCHASE THOSE ADS. WE DO KNOW THEY BOUGHT FACEBOOK ADS. TODAY ONLINE PLATFORMS ARE DWARFING CABLE, SATELLITE, THE LARGEST INTERNET PLATFORM HAS OVER 210 MILLION AMERICAN USERS, THE LARGEST CABLE PROVIDER HAS ONLY 22 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS, THAT'S WHY SENATORS KAINE, WARNER AND I HAVE AN ACT SO THAT MONEY SPENT ON POLITICAL ADS THAT THE SAME RULES THAT ALIE TO PRINT, RADIO, TV, APPLY TO ONLINE MEDIA COMPANIES. THAT IS A DISCLAIMER AND SIMPLY A DISCLOSURE OF CANDIDATE ADS AND THEN ALSO ISSUES DEFINED BY STATUTE OF NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE IMPORTANCE. IF MY RADIO STATION IN THIEF RIVER FALLS, MINNESOTA, IS ABLE TO TRACK THE ADS AND OPPONENTS IN CAMPAIGNS ARE ABLE TO SEE THEM, THAT SHOULD BE DONE BY SOME OF AMERICA'S MOST BRILLIANT COMPANIES. WE MUST FIX THAT.

FOURTH, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE OUR ELECTIONS ARE FREE FROM FOREIGN MONEY. $143 MILLION OF DARK MONEY WAS SPENT IN THE 2016 ELECTION. THERE IS A BILL TO BAN COMPANIES THAT ARE OWNED BY FOREIGN NATIONALS AND SENATOR BLUNT AND I HAVE TO VERIFY THAT ONLINE DONATIONS ARE ONLY COMING FROM AMERICANS. IF AMAZON CAN CHECK YOUR CREDIT AGAINST YOUR HOME ADDRESS, CAMPAIGNS SHOULD BE DOING THE SAME TO MAKE SURE THAT ONLINE DONATIONS ARE TRULY FROM THE U.S. FIFTH, WE MUST SEND RUSSIA A MESSAGE THAT THIS BEHAVIOR IS UNACCEPTABLE. WE NEED TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO RUSSIA THAT WE WILL NOT TOLERATE THEIR INTERFERENCE IN ELECTIONS. THAT'S WHY I HAVE SAID TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT WE NEED TO IMPOSE THE RUSSIAN SANCTIONS THAT PASSED THE SENATE WITH OVERWHELMING BIPARTISAN APPROVAL. THIS IS ABOUT SENDING RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT A MESSAGE. THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU INTERFERE WITH OUR ELECTIONS. WE WILL IMPOSE SANCTIONS AGAINST THOSE WHO ENGAGE IN BUSINESS WITH THE RUSSIAN DEFENSE AND INTELLIGENCE SECTORS. TWO PARTS OF THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR ORCHESTRATING THE ATTACKS ON OUR ELECTION SYSTEMS. THE SENATE VOTED 98-2 FOR THOSE SANCTIONS AND THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THEM. IT MAKES NO SENSE TO ME THAT THE ADMINISTRATION DOES NOT STAND WITH 98 SENATORS ON THIS. 98 OUT OF 100. WE ARE ANNOUNCING TO THE WORLD WHEN WE DON'T DO THE SANCTIONS THAT THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS WHO INTERFERE IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS. BY DOING THAT WE SIMPLY EMBOLDEN THEM. MY COLLEAGUES ALSO RECENTLY INTRODUCED A BIPARTISAN BILL THAT WOULD REQUIRE MANDATORY SANCTIONS AGAINST COUNTRIRIES WHO INTER -- COUNTRIES WHO INTERFERE IN U.S. ELECTIONS. DETENSER IS KEY. SANCTIONS WOULD SEND A STRONG MESSAGE TO RUSSIA AND ANY OTHER COUNTRY THAT SEEKS TO UNDERMINE OUR DEMOCRACY. AND, SIX, WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE FULL EXTENT OF RUSSIA'S ROLE OF OUR 2016 ELECTION. THAT'S WHY SENATOR CARDIN INTRODUCED AL BILL TO ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION WITH ONE GOAL, TO EXAMINE RUSSIAN CYBER OPERATIONS IN THE 2016 ELECTION. BECAUSE UNDERSTANDING WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST WILL HELP US PREVENT ATTACKS IN THE FUTURE. ALL OF THESE TOOLS WOULD HELP SECURE OUR ELECTIONS AND SO MANY HAVE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT. I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS SUPPORT THESE POLICIES. REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC STATE AND LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS WANT FEDERAL RESOURCES TO PROTECT ELECTION SECURITY. REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES DO TOO. REPRESENTATIVE MEADOW, LEADER OF THE HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS, AND DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVE JIM LANGIMAN, INTRODUCED A COMPANION TO ONE OF THE ELECTION SECURITY BILLS THAT I'M LEADING. IT WAS REPUBLICAN SENATOR MARCO RUBIO WHO SAID ONCE THEY WENT AFTER ONE PARTY IN ONE ELECTION, THE NEXT TO IT WILL BE THE -- THE NEXT TO IT WILL BE THE OTHER. OUR OUR WHOLE COUNTRY IS BASED ON FREE ELECTIONS AND THE FREEDOM TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR DEMOCRACY. OUR FOUNDING FATHERS SET UP A SYSTEM SO WE WOULD BE FREE OF FOREIGN INFLUENCE. IN FACT, OUR WHOLE COUNTRY BEGAN BECAUSE OUR COUNTRY WANTED TO BE FREE OF FOREIGN INFLUENCE. NOW IS THE TIME TO PUT POLITICS ASIDE AND COME TOGETHER TO SECURE THE FUTURE OF OUR ELECTIONS. WHETHER YOU'RE A FOUR STAR GENERAL, A FOURTH GRADE TEACHER OR A COMPUTER ENGINEER AT FOURSQUARE, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT SHOULD UNITE US.

IN 1923, JOSEPH STALIN, THEN THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE SOVIET COMMUNIST, WAS ASKED ABOUT A VOTE IN THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF HIS PARTY. STALIN WAS UNCONCERNED ABOUT THE VOTE. AFTER ALL, HE EXPLAINED, THAT WHO VOTED WAS, QUOTE, COMPLETELY UNIMPORTANT. WHAT WAS, QUOTE, EXTRAORDINARILY IMPORTANT, END QUOTE, WAS WHO WOULD COUNT THE VOTES AND HOW. IT IS 95 YEARS LATER AND SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE BACK AT SQUARE ONE. WHO VOTED IS IMPORTANT AND IF WE SUPPRESS THE VOTE OR IF PEOPLE AREN'T ALLOWED TO VOTE OR IF THE WRONG PEOPLE HAVE VOTED OR THEY ARE KALG LAID THE -- CALCULATED THE WRONG WAY, THAT MEANS THEY HAD THEIR WAY. WHAT HE ACKNOWLEDGED IS THAT WHO COUNTS THE VOTE MATTERS. WE HAVE TO DECIDE WHO IS GOING TO COUNT AMERICA'S VOTE. IS IT GOING TO BE AMERICA OR ARE WE GOING TO LET ANOTHER COUNTRY INFLUENCE OUR ELECTIONS AND COUNT THEM THEMSELVES? RUSSIA, AS WE KNOW, IS NOT OUR ONLY THREAT. OUR ADVERSARIES WILL CONTINUE TO USE CYBER ATTACKS. THESE MAY NOT INVOLVE TRADITIONAL WEAPONS OF WAR, BUT THEY CAN BE JUST AS DISRUPTIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE.

SO AS I SAID IN CLOSING BEFORE THE LEADERS TOOK THE FLOOR, THE 2018 ELECTIONS ARE JUST 271 DAYS AWAY. WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR ELECTION SYSTEMS. SECRETARY OF STATE REX TILLERSON SAID IN AN INTERVIEW JUST YESTERDAY THAT RUSSIA IS ALREADY TRYING TO INFLUENCE THE U.S. MID-TERM ELECTIONS AND THAT RUSSIA HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT TOOLS AT ITS DISPOSAL. SO I ASK MY COLLEAGUE, WHY DON'T WE START HAVING TOOLS AT OUR DISCLOSURE, LAWS AT OUR DISPOSAL THAT WILL ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, RESOURCES SUPPORTED BY THE HEAD OF THE FREEDOM CAUCUS IN THE HOUSE IT THAT WILL HELP TO STRENGTHEN OUR STATE ELECTION EQUIPMENT. THAT IS WHAT WE NEED. HACK ME ONCE, IT'S ON THEM, HACK ME TWICE, IT'S ON US. THE 2018 ELECTIONS ARE JUST HUNDREDS OF DAYS AWAY. IT IS TIME WE TAKE ACTION. WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS TO PUT SOME RESOURCES INTO THIS. I WILL REMIND YOU THAT THE COST OF THE BILL THAT SENATOR LANKFORD AND I HAVE WHICH WE HAVE PAID FOR WITH UNSPENT RAT MONEY IS 3% OF THE COST OF ONE AIRCRAFT CARRIER. IF THESE OTHER COUNTRIES ARE VIEWING THIS AS A FORM OF WARFARE, AT LEAST WE CAN PUT THE RESOURCES OF 3% OF ONE AIR CARRIER INTO THIS CHALLENGE. THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. I YIELD THE FLOOR.