Rep. Sherrill Renews Call for Immediate Action to Secure our Election System

PARSIPPANY — Representative Sherrill renewed her call for immediate action to secure our election system following the publication of a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report that concluded Russia targeted election systems in all 50 states during the 2016 election cycle.

“Our democracy is vulnerable to foreign interference, and we need to act,” said Representative Sherrill. “As chairwoman of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee on House Science, Space, and Technology and a founding member of Task Force Sentry, I have worked to bring this issue to the forefront of our national discussion. My colleagues and I in the House have fought to pass legislation to arm our states with the resources they need to safeguard our democracy and the 2020 elections. The Senate’s inaction — especially in light of this report — is a failure of leadership.”

Representative Sherrill and freshmen members announced they had formed Task Force Sentry, a bipartisan working group operating together behind closed doors over the last several months to protect the U.S. political system from attack by foreign adversaries.

Representative Sherrill continued: “We set up Task Force Sentry because there is a clear need for leadership on this issue. We are readying additional legislation to protect the 2020 elections and to provide national security leadership to protect our democracy from foreign influence.”

Through briefings and meetings with issue experts, members of Task Force Sentry have identified vulnerabilities in our political system, and are working to finalize legislation to address them by:

1. Deterring the originator — making it more difficult for foreign entities to influence Americans;
2. Requiring enhanced disclosure — mandating that individuals or entities receiving foreign funds disclose where those funds come from;
3. Preventing foreign financing from supporting campaigns;
4. Defining the roles and responsibilities of social media companies to prevent foreign government entities from using their platforms to interfere in U.S. political processes;
5. Establishing ongoing monitoring, analysis and enforcement mechanisms to identify threats and tools to prevent foreign interference through information operations.