HEALS Act (Cong. Rec., Aug. 3, 2020)
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated August 3, 2020, at page S4654, under the heading HEALS Act. A Senator urges colleagues to attend classified briefings from intelligence officials, the FBI and Homeland Security on foreign efforts to influence elections, saying Congress has provided more than $800 million for State and local election security and must keep classified information from leaking. The Senator says the Democratic leader is refusing to let struggling Americans get another dime unless he gets a massive tax cut for the wealthy in blue States, and that the Speaker and the Democratic leader keep to a wish list. The page ends with remarks on negotiations that cut Members and committees out and on China's espionage.
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“HEALS Act (Cong. Rec., Aug. 3, 2020).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-08-03-crec-2020-08-03-pt1-pgs4654-ddb53a25ab/
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S4654 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 3, 2020
officials from the intelligence commu- As the Democratic vice chairman on So how is it going?
nity, the FBI, and the Department of the Senate Intelligence Committee Well, the Democratic leader is still
Homeland Security will brief us on for- stated in 2016, ‘‘We were caught flat- refusing to let struggling Americans
eign efforts to influence our politics footed.’’ Not anymore. Congress has get another dime unless he gets a mas-
and elections and how the administra- provided more than $800 million for sive tax cut for the wealthy people in
tion is defending us. Every one of our States and localities to shore up elec- blue States that has nothing to do with
colleagues should attend one of these tion security and has passed a number the coronavirus. I am not kidding. This
sessions. of targeted new laws. Since foreign po- is his position. There is nothing for
Sharing sensitive threat information litical interference is so often aimed at schools, nothing for kids, nothing for
with Congress is just one of the ways private sector platforms, like social the PPP, nothing for the healthcare
this administration has outperformed media sites, we have encouraged those fight. Nobody gets a dime unless the
its predecessor. The intelligence com- businesses to step up vigilance as well. Democratic leader gets a massive tax
munity kept Congress much more Through all of this, we have also cut for the rich people in New York and
closely informed about these threats in carefully avoided things that look like California. That is what he is saying.
2018 and now in 2020 than it did in the quick fixes but which would undermine The Speaker of the House and the
runup to 2016. I am sure these briefings our own institutions. In the United Democratic leader are continuing to
will contain details that might seem States of America, it is the States and say ‘‘our way or the highway’’ with the
ripe for cherry-picking and partisan localities, not the Federal Government, massive wish list for leftwing lobbyists
leaks from both sides, but it is essen- that run elections—period. Our lack of they slapped together a few weeks ago
tial that Congress remain a place a one-size-fits-all national system isn’t and called a coronavirus bill—stimulus
where the word ‘‘classified’’ actually just constitutionally appropriate; it checks for illegal immigrants, diver-
means something. Leaking intelligence also acts as a further safeguard. We sity studies for the legal pot industry,
jeopardizes sources and methods. lack a single point of failure. and on and on.
If we learned anything from studying So, in closing, I urge all of our col- When they put out this proposal,
Russian interference in 2016, it is that leagues to attend these important even the media and their fellow Demo-
our adversaries’ ultimate objective is briefings with an eye toward our real crats pronounced this thing dead on ar-
to leave America more divided and less adversaries—not our fellow Americans rival.
confident in our institutions. Members but the foreign agents who love to see Here was one report: ‘‘Neither this
of Congress must take special care not us at one another’s throats. bill nor anything resembling it will
to do Putin’s work for him. Back during the impeachment trial, ever become law—it’s a Democratic
Foreign adversaries have long sought a leading House Democrat asserted wish list filled up with all the party’s
to interfere in our politics and elec- that, if President Trump were to win favored policies.’’
tions. That didn’t start in 2016, and it reelection, the people’s vote would be Remember how Speaker PELOSI’s own
will not end in 2020, but this adminis- presumptively invalid. Members felt about this absurd pro-
tration has put us in a far, far better Just a few days ago, it was reported posal: ‘‘Privately, several House Demo-
position than in 2016. There is, simply, that a leading Democratic strategist crats concede their latest bill feels like
no comparison. The intelligence com- who was war-gaming this election de- little more than an effort to appease
munity is better aware of the threat. cided to experiment with what would the most liberal members of the cau-
Government agencies are more trans- happen if Vice President Biden were to cus.’’
parent with Congress, the State and lose the election but were to, simply, Even Democrats knew Speaker
local jurisdictions that actually run fail to concede. PELOSI’s bill was unserious.
elections, the private sector, and the Once again, this kind of recklessness But now, with the additional unem-
public. achieves our adversaries’ missions for ployment benefit disappearing, with
In 2016, the Obama-Biden administra- them. So I urge my colleagues to listen families still struggling, they are going
tion had to lean on congressional lead- to the civil servants who are defending back to this unserious position and re-
ership to act as a bridge to the States our democracy. Let’s stay united, focus fusing to budge.
because the States so distrusted their on the real dangers posed by foreign in- I can’t imagine this is how Demo-
Department of Homeland Security. telligence, and resist the urge to politi- cratic colleagues really all want this to
Over the last 4 years, this administra- cize these vital subjects. play out.
tion’s DHS has develop its own deep re- f In March, we built the CARES Act by
lationship with State officials. In 2016, Republicans and Democrats working
only 14 State or local jurisdictions had HEALS ACT together at the committee level. This
received high-tech Albert sensors to Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, on time, again, Republicans introduced a
alert them to cyber intrusions. They one final matter, last week, the Senate serious proposal written by our own
are deployed in all 50 States today. Democratic leader brought an end to chairmen and our own Members. But
There were 14 States that had them in the additional Federal benefit for un- this time, the Democratic leader has
2016, and every State has them today. employed workers. The Republicans cut Senate Democrats out entirely. He
It was this administration that stood tried multiple times to extend the has forbidden their committees from
up the new Elections Infrastructure In- money, including at the same dollar even talking to Republicans. He is
formation Sharing and Analysis Cen- level that our colleague himself said he digging in on a House messaging bill,
ter, with participation from more than wanted, but the Democratic leader written with no input from his own
2,600 local jurisdictions and counting. blocked it all. Members, that even House Democrats
This administration has imposed This is the dynamic on the Demo- themselves called absurd.
real, hard costs on election inter- cratic side that killed the subject of These are not the tactics that would
ference and Russia’s other misdeeds: police reform back in June, and it has build a bipartisan result. These are not
shuttering the Kremlin’s consulates in now jeopardized more coronavirus re- the tactics that will get more cash in
San Francisco and Seattle; kicking out lief as well. The Democratic leaders in- Americans’ pockets, more help to the
intelligence officers; sanctioning sist publicly that they want an out- unemployed, more assistance for
oligarchs; helping European partners come, but they work alone, behind schools to reopen.
defend their own elections against Rus- closed doors, to ensure a bipartisan It is time for the Democratic leader-
sia; and sending weapons to Ukraine agreement is, actually, not reached. ship to get serious about making a
We are about a week into the Speak-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
and Georgia, which the Obama-Biden law—making a law—for the American
administration did not supply. er’s and the Democratic leader’s dis- people.
This administration has also con- cussions with the administration—a f
fronted China for what the State De- week into the Democratic leadership’s
partment described as ‘‘massive espio- cutting out all of their Members—all of RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
nage and influence operations,’’ includ- them—cutting out all of their commit- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
ing closing Beijing’s consulate in Hous- tees, and saying that only they can the previous order, the leadership time
ton. participate. is reserved.
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