Congressional Democrats, led by Rep. Elijah Cummings, have introduced a bill to create an independent commission investigating Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Citing the declassified intelligence report concluding that Russia sought “to undermine public faith in the US democratic process” and the possibility it could happen again, Cummings on Monday emphasized that the bill “is not just about the past. It is about the future.”
These Russian attacks on our electoral process were attacks on our Constitution, our people, and our nation. And our intelligence agencies are warning us that if we do not respond now, the Russians will attack us again.
We are all Members of the Congress of the United States of America. We have taken an oath to protect and defend our Constitution and our nation. That is what this legislation is about. It is not about Donald Trump, or Hillary Clinton, or Republicans, or Democrats. It is not even about 2016. It is about our future. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from our solemn duty. We cannot allow foreign attacks on our electoral process to become normal or inevitable. They are neither.
This legislation attempts to rise above politics. This commission is intended to be truly bipartisan. To have an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.
To examine how Russia and any other foreign powers interfered in our elections, including hacking federal and state political parties and disseminating fake news stories intended to warp public opinion. Most importantly, this bipartisan and independent Commission will make recommendations to try to prevent any foreign power from interfering in our elections again in the future.
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have already made clear they’re not really interested in investigating Russian hacking, but If Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham want to look serious about it, here’s their chance—they can sign on to a Senate version of this bill.