Vice Chair Underwood Discusses Importance of Election Security at Homeland Security Committee Hearing in Gurnee
WEST CHICAGO— Today, Vice Chair Lauren Underwood (IL-14) discussed the importance of securing U.S. elections from foreign interference at the House Committee on Homeland Security Congressional field hearing in the 14th District of Illinois.
U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed that in 2016 Russia targeted election systems in all 50 states, including in Illinois where the voter information of 76,000 individuals was accessed. Since 2016, the federal government has provided $380 million in resources and technical assistance to vulnerable states to assist with election security, with Illinois receiving $13.2 million of those funds. This field hearing allowed members of the Homeland Security Committee and other members of Congress to examine and discuss what steps the state of Illinois and the federal government are taking to enhance election infrastructure and provide Illinoisans with the appropriate resources to report misinformation and disinformation to the appropriate law enforcement officials.
In January, the House passed Underwood-backed legislation, H.R. 1, which would help protect U.S. elections by improving voting system security. The legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to maintain election systems as critical infrastructure, require regular testing of voting systems, provide resources for states to conduct post-election audits, and upgrade legacy election systems.
Underwood is a member of the Task Force Sentry, a bipartisan group of freshman lawmakers who are working to develop solutions and to protect the U.S. political system from attack by foreign adversaries.
Full video of the hearing can be found here. Opening remarks for Congresswoman Underwood can be found below.
Good morning, welcome, and thank you all so much for being here today!
As Vice Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I am so thrilled you joined us as we gavel in this committee's first-ever hearing in Illinois's 14th Congressional District.
I would like to thank the Village of Gurnee for hosting the Committee's hearing today and my colleague, Representative Casten, for taking part in today's hearing.
I would also like to thank Chairman Thompson for holding this hearing and for joining us all the way from Mississippi.
And thank you to the panel of experts and public servants assembled today. I appreciate the important work you do, and I look forward to hearing from each of you.
I would also like to acknowledge the members of our community who have made time to join us for this important conversation… and a special thank you to Mr. Jacob Carlson and his AP Government students from Zion Benton Township High School for being here today.
In February of this year, this Committee, led by Chairman Thompson, held its first hearing of the 116th Congress on defending our democracy by protecting and securing our nation's elections.
U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed there was foreign interference in the 2016 elections. In Illinois, this resulted in foreign actors accessing the records of 76,000 Illinois voters.
Since then, state and local election officials have been working hard to improve election systems and infrastructure, but due to limited resources, some have faced challenges to upgrading legacy machines and additional hiring cybersecurity personnel.
Congress has recognized the challenges that come with improving decades-old election infrastructure and has provided critical funding and assistance to states since our state was hacked in 2016.
Here in Illinois, state and local election officials have worked together to implement the world-class Cyber Navigator Program to help the state improve its cybersecurity posture and mitigate future attacks.
This program has allowed the state to hire additional cybersecurity personnel to facilitate information sharing and provide guidance on best practices to each of the 108 election authorities in Illinois.
The Cyber Navigator Program is a valuable tool for the election officials in my state, and it is my hope that programs such as this one can serve as a model for other states.
In addition to funding provided by Congress, this Committee has made election security a priority and has put forward tough, broad policies to secure our elections. I'm proud that these policies are included in H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which we passed in the House in March of this year.
This is an important package of reforms because it seeks to restore integrity in government and ensure each and every American can fully participate in our democracy.
Specifically, it helps protect U.S. elections by improving voting system security by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to maintain election systems as critical infrastructure, require regular testing of voting systems, and provide resources for states to conduct post-election audits and upgrade legacy election systems.
I also was proud to support the Fiscal Year 2020 House appropriations package, which included $600 million for the Election Assistance Commission to distribute Election Security Grants to bolster state election security efforts.
These two House-passed measures go a long way to help districts like this one, which is operating under constrained budgets while trying to do the absolute most to ensure the integrity of our elections.The election is right around the corner and adversaries are already working to interfere. We do not have time to wait. The Senate should immediately pass legislation to strengthen our election security.
As the Chairman stated in our previous election security committee hearing, we have made great strides since 2016, but we must remain vigilant against bad actors working to undermine the beacon of American democracy.
I hope our discussion today will provide this committee and the public with valuable resources and assistance in preparation for the upcoming elections in 2020.
The integrity of our elections is essential to the preservation of our republic, and it is our patriotic duty as Americans, and my sacred duty as someone elected to represent this community, to ensure our elections are free from foreign interference.
I look forward to hearing from the witnesses today on the progress that has been made in Illinois, what additional work we can do to support our state and local election officials, and how we can help other states use Illinois's successes as a model for their own programs.
Thank you again to everyone for being here today – I'm looking forward to an educational and productive hearing.
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