Weekly Democratic Address -- Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren

In this week’s address, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren highlights House Democrats’ passage of the Securing America’s Federal Elections (SAFE) Act to address the urgent need to strengthen election security and prevent foreign interference in the 2020 election.

Below is a full transcript of the address:

“Hi. I’m Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and I’m proud to represent the 19th District of California.

“The Mueller report made clear that our country suffered ‘multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election’ in 2016.

“The report details that Russian Military GRU officers: ‘targeted individuals and entities involved in the administration of elections. Victims included U.S. state and local entities, such as state boards of elections, secretaries of state, and county governments, as well as individuals who worked for those entities.’

“We now know that all 50 states were targeted in this attack.

“In Illinois, the Mueller report confirmed that the Illinois Board of Elections network was hacked.

“In Arizona, malware was installed in the State elections’ website.

“Voters in Georgia and Texas saw electronic voting machines deleting votes and switching them to other candidates.

“We should all be able to agree that we need to protect our democracy, and with a sense of urgency.

“This is not a partisan opinion. Nothing less than our national security is at stake.

“That is why Democrats’ first act in the Majority was to advance H.R. 1, the For The People Act, which would help secure our elections.

“Now, House Democrats are building on that progress with the Securing America’s Federal Elections, or, the SAFE Act, which takes decisive action to secure our federal elections from outside interference and brings our security into the 21st Century.

“The SAFE Act makes meaningful investments to upgrade the security of voting systems across the country by replacing outdated, vulnerable voting machines; requiring paper ballot voting systems; enacting strong cybersecurity requirements for election technology vendors and voting systems; and more.

“The SAFE Act represents an urgent, critical step to securing our election infrastructure and protecting the integrity of the ballot and our democracy.

“Yet, the President openly invites foreign interference and refuses to hold Russia accountable for its continued efforts to undermine our elections.

“House Democrats will continue to honor the oath we take to defend America’s security against all threats, both foreign and domestic.

“As American families across the country prepare to celebrate our nation’s independence this Fourth of July, we call upon Leader Mitch McConnell and the Senate to join with House Democrats and pass these essential, bipartisan bills.

“Together, we can and must defend our national security.

“This July Fourth recess, House and Senate Democrats will launch a Week of Action to highlight the beauty of our democracy and the urgent need to protect it from foreign interference and safeguard it for years to come.

“There’s no time to waste.

“Thank you, and Happy Fourth of July!”