July 19, 2018

Castro, House Democrats Introduce the Secure America from Russian Interference Act

WASHINGTON– Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, today joined House Democrats in introducing the Secure America from Russian Interference Act (H.R. 6437), bipartisan legislation to hold Russia accountable for its malign activities and safeguard our country.

“From the full-fledged cyber operation to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, to the invasion of Crimea and government-sanctioned attack on British soil, the government of Russia has conducted aggressive actions for which they must be held accountable,” said Rep. Castro. “I’m pleased to join this legislative effort with my colleagues in the House that seeks to secure our election systems ahead of midterms, holds Putin accountable for their malign activities that run counter to international norms, supports U.S. alliances, especially with our NATO partners, and seeks productive dialogue with the Russian people. Putin has consistently worked against the interests of the United States, and Congress must send a clear signal that we will not tolerate such behavior.”

Full text of the bill can be viewed here and an overview of the bill can be found here. H.R. 6437 is composed of 18 pieces of legislation, eight of which are bipartisan including Rep. Castro and Rep. Turner’s Stand with the UK Against Russian Aggression Act (H.R. 5428).

The legislation is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of Members: House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Ranking Member Eliot Engel (NY-16), Ranking Member Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (NY-10), Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (MD-07), Ranking Member Adam Smith (WA-09), Ranking Member Adam Schiff (CA-28), Rep. Walter Jones (NC-03), Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Rep. Denny Heck (WA-10), Rep. Joe Kennedy III (MA-04), Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Rep. Seth Moulton (MA-06), Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Rep. Lou Correa (CA-46), Rep. Val Demings (FL-10), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Rep. Jacky Rosen, (NV-03), and Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY-03).

Background:

Last April, Rep. Castro and Rep. Turner (OH-10) introduced the Stand with the UK Against Russian Aggression Act (H.R. 5428) in response to Russia’s nerve agent attack against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the United Kingdom. This legislation reinforces U.S. commitments to the United Kingdom and NATO by sanctioning those responsible in this attack, targeting Russian financial institutions until Putin ceases its practice of assassinating expatriates and dissidents outside of Russia. This legislation was worked into Secure America from Russian Interference Act introduced today.

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