House Adjourns for August Without Addressing Election Security

Dear Friend,

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives adjourned until September 4. Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress left a lot of things undone before packing their bags and heading home for the five-week district work period. In addition to failing to take serious steps to reunite families cruelly separated at the border or fund the government past September 30th, Republicans also refused to take common-sense action to protect our democracy against foreign interference.

Illinois voters have known about the cyberattack in our state for nearly two years. And it’s not just Illinois—as many as thirty-nine states were hacked by Russia in advance of the 2016 elections. Yet, Republicans in Congress refuse to acknowledge the severity of this ongoing threat and take measures to prevent it from happening again.

In my role as the only Illinois Member on the House Appropriations Committee, I pushed for and secured $380 million in election security funding to update our incredibly outdated infrastructure. All fifty states requested funding for these grants in Fiscal Year 2018, signaling a clear need and desire to get the resources that will help them harden their defenses. What do Republicans do next? They zeroed out that funding for Fiscal Year 2019 and rejected my amendment to restore this critical money.

President Trump and his allies in Congress may continue to call Russian election meddling a “hoax” or try to downplay Putin’s malicious intentions, but I will continue to sound the alarm and lead legislative efforts that put our national security first.

Over the August district work period, I invite you to please follow along on social media—@RepMikeQuigley—to stay updated on the work I’m doing in IL-05 on behalf of all the constitutes I am proud to represent.

Sincerely, 
 
Mike Quigley