Bipartisan Congressional Bills to Defend Against Cyberattacks and other Russian Machinations and to Support the Rule of Law

There are several bipartisan bills that have been introduced in the majority Republican United States Congress to uphold American sovereignty and independence by defending elections against foreign interference and to defend the rule of law. 

The authoritarian and kleptocratic Russian Federation regime of Vladimir Putin successfully interfered in the 2016 Republican presidential Primary and General Elections to elect Donald Trump President.  Trump has repeatedly threatened to force the firing of the Special Counsel who is investigating Russia’s interference in the U.S. election and the Trump campaign’s possible conspiracy with it.

Last year, the Republican-led Congress overwhelmingly passed punitive economic sanctions on Russia, over Trump’s objection.  This year, it also prohibited recognition of the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, also over Trump’s objection.  The Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency Act of 2017 passed, in slightly different versions, the House and Senate and is now in conference.  It coordinates the federal response to cyberattacks in terms of command.  However, in addition to giving final approval to this bill, much more is necessary to defend against Russian machinations and cyberattacks by Russia or other hostile actors, like Iran, North Korea, China, Islamist terrorists or “hacktivists.”

Although Congress has completed its legislative session, there could be a lame duck session after the November 6 General Election.  Otherwise, the bills would have to be reintroduced in the next Congress in January.  Nevertheless, building momentum for support of them now can lead to their passage then.

In addition to other related bills, there are two such bills that have been introduced only in the Senate that are particularly worthy of support.  The Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act would punish the Russian Federation for interference in the U.S. presidential election in 2016, establish further sanctions to deter foreign interference in American elections, and address Russian responsibility for the use of chemical weapons by its Syrian ally and require the State Department to determine whether Russia should be added to its list of state sponsors of terrorism, among other provisions.  The Protect Our Elections Act would prohibit foreign ownership or control of election service providers and require and requiring such providers to conduct annual audits of foreign ownership or control.

There are three such bills, among others, that have been introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  The Honest Ads Act would require all political advertisements on the Internet over a certain minimal monetary value to express who paid for the ad, consistent with the requirement for print and television ads.  Russians had purchased ads on the Internet to influence the 2016 election without disclosing they had paid for them.  The Secure Elections Act would foster coordination between the federal and state governments in regard to cyberattacks on the elections process and require states to defend against such attacks by enabling voting machines to be audited.  A bipartisan commission in Pennsylvania last month recommended the replacement of all voting machines that do not have paper backup.  The Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act would prevent the unjust firing of the Special Counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.  It would uphold the rule of law by eliminating partisanship from federal criminal prosecutions.

Pennsylvania’s U.S. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick and Ryan Costello are among the Republican co-sponsors of the Honest Ads Act and the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act.  Former Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican from Pennsylvania, was the author of the latter bill.  Rep. Fitzpatrick also is the author of a bill to require the Internal Revenue Service to disclose publicly the federal tax returns of the previous ten years, with certain privacy protections, of certain candidates for President and Vice President.  A bipartisan bill he co-sponsored, the Cyber Deterrence and Response Act, passed the House, but has not yet passed the Senate.  It establishes procedures for the identification, response and deterrence of cyber attacks and requires the President to name as “critical cyber threats” those who act maliciously in cyberspace and to impose sanctions against those who carry out hostile cyber acts against the U.S. 

These bills should be approved by the Congress and signed into law as soon as possible.