WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Marco Rubio of Florida announced new cosponsors of the bipartisan Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER) Act, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Chris Coons of Delaware, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Maria Cantwell of Washington.
The DETER Act uses the threat of powerful sanctions to dissuade hostile foreign powers from meddling in our elections by ensuring that they know well in advance that the costs will outweigh the benefits. Grassley has been following the implementation of sanctions on Russia since the passage of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act signed into law by President Donald Trump on August 2, 2017. Grassley is co-chair of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus and recently wrote a Q&A about U.S.-Baltic relations and Russia sanctions. The DETER Act urges the European Union to enact similar legislation and to work with the United States to prevent future Russian meddling.
“While no vote tallies were changed in the 2016 presidential election, Russian cyberattacks and propaganda efforts undermined confidence in our democratic process. Vladimir Putin would like nothing more than to continue sowing discord and meddling in Western democracies without consequence. Passing this legislation would help improve Americans’ faith in their system of government and send an unmistakable signal to the Kremlin that it’s not worth trying it again,” Grassley said.
“In the face of unequivocal evidence that Russia worked to undermine our elections in 2016 and continued aggression from the Kremlin just four months until our next federal elections, we must take action. The DETER Act would send a clear signal that attacks on our democracy will not be tolerated. We’re proud to announce this new support from our colleagues, and we hope the Senate will take up this bipartisan legislation without delay,” Van Hollen said.
“The most meaningful measure that we can take right now to protect our democracy is to pass the bipartisan DETER Act, which imposes specific and serious sanctions against foreign countries that meddle in our future elections. We must make sure Putin understands that we will not overlook his hostilities, and he will face punishing consequences if he tries to interfere in our elections again,” Rubio said.
BACKGROUND
Reporting Requirements
Actions That Will Elicit Retaliation
Russia-Specific Sanctions
Preparing for Other Potential Attacks
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