I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THE SANCTIONS THAT WERE JUST ANNOUNCED AGAINST RUSSIA FOR INTERFERING IN THE 2016 ELECTION. IT TOOK 14 MONTHS, MULTIPLE INDICTMENTS, AND A POISONING IN BRITAIN, BUT THE ADMINISTRATION IS FINALLY IMPOSING THE SANCTIONS, THE SAME SANCTIONS THAT WERE PASSED BY THE SENATE 98-2 AND 419-3 IN THE HOUSE LAST YEAR. SANCTIONING RUSSIA FOR UNDERMINING OUR DEMOCRACY IS WHAT WE SHOULD DO. BUT WE MUST REMEMBER THAT IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM FUTURE ATTACKS. THERE IS NO LONGER ANY DOUBT THAT OUR ELECTIONS WILL CONTINUE TO BE A TARGET FOR FOREIGN ADVERSARIES. INTELLIGENCE REPORTS MAKE IT CLEAR THAT RUSSIA USED COVERT CYBER ATTACKS, ESPIONAGE, AND HARMFUL PROPAGANDA TO ATTACK OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS, NOT OBAMA OFFICIALS, TRUMP INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS CONTINUE TO SOUND THE ALARM THAT RUSSIA IS CONTINUING ITS EFFORTS TO ATTACK OUR DEMOCRACY. THE C.I.A. DIRECTOR SAID THAT HE HAS SEEN NO SIGNS THAT RUSSIA HAS DECREASED ITS ACTIVITY AND THAT RUSSIA IS CURRENTLY WORKING TO DISRUPT THE UPCOMING 2018 ELECTIONS. THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, DIRECTOR COATS, WHO WAS ONCE A SENATOR HERE, SAID THAT RUSSIA IS BOULDER -- BOLDER. IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO THINK THE SAINGZ PASSED TODAY ARE ALL WE NEED TO DO TO ADDRESS THESE WARNINGS. THEY WILL NO DOUBT HELP, BECAUSE IF YOU DO NOTHING, THEN YOU JUST EMBOLDEN THEM TO DO MORE. IT IS THE POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES TO DEFEND AGAINST AND RESPOND TO THREATS AGAINST OUR DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM, AND WE NEED TO START ACTING LIKE IT. WE NEED TO BE AS SOPHISTICATED AS THOSE THAT ARE TRYING TO DO US HARM. WE KNOW THAT THE RUSSIANS ATTEMPTED TO HACK INTO 21 STATES' ELECTION SYSTEMS. IN ILLINOIS, THEY ACTUALLY GOT INTO THE VOTER DATA SYSTEM. THAT IS WHY SENATOR LANKFORD AND I HAVE LED A BILL TO TAKE THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WHICH IS JUST 3% OF ONE AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO INVEST IT IN OUR STATES, TO LET THEM ON A DECENTRALIZED BASIS, THEIR OWN DECISIONS ABOUT THE KIND OF EQUIPMENT THEY WANT, TO BE ABLE TO UPGRADE IT, BECAUSE 40 OF OUR STATES HAVE NOT UPGRADED THEIR EQUIPMENT IN TEN YEARS. TEN OF OUR STATES DO NOT EVEN HAVE BACKUP PAPER BALLOTS. SO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY WERE HACKED, AS THEY GOT SO CLOSE THE LAST TIME? WELL, THERE WOULD BE NO WAY TO PROVE WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. YOU WOULD HAVE TO VOTE AGAIN. THAT IS WHY WE HAVE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS SUPPORTING THIS EFFORT. REPRESENTATIVE MARK MEADOWS, THE HEAD OF THE FREEDOM CAUCUS, IS LEADING THE BILL THAT SENATOR GRAHAM AND I HAVE, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO THE ONE I HAVE WITH SENATOR LANKFORD OVER IN THE HOUSE. SENATOR COONS FROM THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE HAS BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER OF THIS EFFORT, AS HAS SENATORS HARRIS AND SENATOR GRAHAM AND A NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE. THIS IS A TRULY BIPARTISAN EFFORT BECAUSE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S NO LONGER ONLY GOING TO BE TRADITIONAL WAYS OF WARFARE WHEN WE'RE ATTACKED. IT'S GOING TO BE CYBER. IT'S NOT JUST GOING TO BE ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S NOT JUST GOING TO BE GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE OUR BUSINESSES, OUR POWER COMPANIES, YOU NAME IT, AND THAT IS WHY WE NEED TO UPGRADE OUR CYBER PROTECTION. THE LAST THING I WOULD MENTION ON THIS FRONT AS WE LOOK INTO THIS NEXT ELECTION AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY IS THE HONEST ADS ACT, AND THIS IS A BILL I HAVE WITH SENATOR McCAIN, ALSO COSPONSORED BY SENATOR WARNER, THE RANKING MEMBER OF THE SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE. THIS IS BASED ON THE FACT THAT WE KNOW RUSSIA SPENT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BUYING ADS. THAT WAS REFLECTED IN THE DIPLOMAT OF 13 RUSSIANS AND WHAT THEY DID AND HOW THEY PLOTTED TO DISRUPT ELECTIONS AND TO SPEND MONEY ON POLITICAL ADS. A NUMBER OF THESE ADS WERE EVEN PURCHASED IN RUBLES. SO WHAT SENATOR McCAIN AND SENATOR WARNER AND I ARE TRYING TO DO IS SIMPLY APPLY THE SAME RULES THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE TO PROTECT AMERICANS IN OUR ELECTIONS BY MAKING SURE THAT WE KNOW WHO IS PAYING FOR THE ADS AND WHAT THOSE ADS ARE. WHO IS PAYING FOR THE ADS, ALTHOUGH THE SIMPLE DISCLAIMERS YOU SEE IN THE ADS WHERE THEY SAY WHOEVER THE CANDIDATE IS, I PAID FOR THIS AD. WHO DISCLOSES THE ADS, WELL, THAT'S JUST SIMPLY WHEN ANY RADIO STATION, TV STATION, YOU CAN GO INTO THE STATION, SEE IT ONLINE, SEE WHAT THE ADS ARE. THAT IS NOT TRUE RIGHT NOW OF SOME OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED COMPANIES IF NOT THE MOST SOPHISTICATED COMPANIES IN AMERICA. COMPANIES LIKE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER THAT HAVE MADE MILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, COMPANIES THAT ARE PROFITING OFF OF POLITICAL ADS. IT IS NO DIFFERENT THAN WHEN A NEWSPAPER ALLOWS SOMEONE TO BUY AN AD OR A TV STATION DOES. THEY MAKE MONEY OFF IT, SO IT'S THEIR DUTY TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ADS DON'T CONTAIN FALSEHOODS, THAT ARE NOT CRIMINAL, -- THAT THE ADS ARE NOT CRIMINAL, THE ADS ARE NOT APPLIED TO EVERYONE. WHEN YOU SEE POLITICAL ADS ON ISSUES OR CANDIDATE ADS -- AND THE F.E.C. DID SOMETHING YESTERDAY BUT IT WAS SO VERY NARROW ABOUT CANDIDATE ADS. WHAT YOU SEE ON CANDIDATE ADS AND ISSUE ADS, THAT YOU ALSO SEE THE SAME DISCLAIMERS AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE DISCLOSURE ON ADS THAT ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES. I USE THOSE WORDS CAREFULLY. MEDIA COMPANIES. NEWSPAPER, PRINT AND RADIO, WE LOVE IT, THEY ARE MEDIA COMPANIES. FACEBOOK, TWITTER, WE LOVE THEM. THEY ARE MEDIA COMPANIES. WE ARE NOT HERE TALKING ABOUT RECIPES AND CAT VIDEOS. WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT FREE STUFF THAT PEOPLE PUT UP. NO, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PAID POLITICAL ADS THAT NEED TO BE TREATED THE SAME. SO WHILE WE ARE PLEASED THESE SANCTIONS HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE, WHILE IT IS GOOD THE F.E.C. IS NARROWLY TRYING TO DO SOMETHING WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION ABOUT DISCLAIMERS ON CANDIDATE ADS, WE MUST PASS THE HONEST ADS ACT, BECAUSE IF YOU THINK IT WAS BAD LAST ELECTION WHEN 1.4 BILLION DOLLARS WAS SPENT ON ELECTION ADS, TRY THIS NEXT ONE OUT. FORECASTS ARE $3 BILLION TO $4 BILLION ARE GOING TO BE SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA ADS AGAINST CANDIDATES ON ISSUES, AND THERE IS NO WAY TO TRACK IT. IT'S JUST GOING TO GO OUT TO YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO KNOW IF IT'S TRUE, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO KNOW WHO PAID FOR IT, AND THE ADS WILL JUST VANISH. I THINK AMERICANS DESERVE SOMETHING BETTER, AND I ASK MY COLLEAGUES TO SUPPORT THE HONEST ADS ACT. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. I YIELD THE FLOOR.