Grassley Statement at Hearing on Autocracies that Undermine Democracies Throughout the World

 

The first and most important duty of our government is to protect the nation from foreign threats. And among the most important institutions that need to be protected are our democratic elections. Truly free and fair elections are one of the hallmarks that separate democracies like the United States from authoritarian regimes like Russia, China, and North Korea.

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Today, these regimes have increased capabilities and opportunities to conduct influence operations in cyberspace from almost anywhere in the world.  So it shouldn’t be a surprise that they would seek to undermine elections and other democratic institutions that are an inherent threat to them.

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Thankfully, there’s no evidence that voting machines in the United States were tampered with by any foreign power in our recent elections.  Still, the Intelligence Community has assessed that Russia attempted to influence the election to undermine faith in our democratic process. We need to take this threat seriously.

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So it’s important that we take a look at the methods that Russia and other regimes have used in recent years to undermine democracies.  And it’s equally important to consider whether the range of tools we currently have at our disposal to respond to this threat is adequate.  This hearing is an important first step toward those goals. Thank you, Senators Graham and Whitehouse, for calling this important hearing.‎

 

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