News

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) filed their Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER) Act as an amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). While provisions of this bipartisan legislation were included in the FY20 House-passed NDAA, and the Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging NDAA conferees to include the DETER Act in the conference report, the provisions were dropped in conference. The DETER Act sends a clear and powerful message to Russia and any other foreign actors seeking to disrupt our elections: If you attack American candidates, campaigns, or voting infrastructure, you will face swift and severe consequences.
 
“Hostile foreign actors – including Russia, China, and Iran – will continue to attempt to sow division and undermine our democracy,” Rubio said. “It is critical that the United States establish meaningful consequences for election interference by any foreign state. The NDAA contains provisions designed to protect our nation from foreign adversaries, and it is a commonsense opportunity for the Senate to take action on our DETER Act, which will defend the integrity of our democratic process from outside attacks.”
  
“We know that foreign adversaries are already planning to interfere with our upcoming elections so we must act now to protect the integrity of our democracy – before it’s too late,” Van Hollen said. “That’s why we must enact bipartisan legislation to deter interference by making it crystal clear in advance that any attempts to undermine our elections will be met with swift and severe consequences. Failure to pass this would be a gross dereliction of duty. I urge the Congress to include this needed provision in this year’s defense authorization bill.”