PROTECTING OUR DEMOCRACY ACT GAINS FIRST REPUBLICAN COSPONSOR

Feb 17, 2017
Press Release

PROTECTING OUR DEMOCRACY ACT GAINS FIRST REPUBLICAN COSPONSOR

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-15) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD-07) on Friday praised Rep. Walter B. Jones (NC-3) for becoming the first House Republican to cosponsor their H.R. 356, the Protecting Our Democracy Act, to create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“Walter Jones deserves credit for being the first House Republican – but hopefully not the last – to acknowledge that our nation deserves an independent, bipartisan investigation into Russia’s hacking of our democracy in last year’s election,” said Swalwell, the Ranking Member of the CIA Subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. “Congressman Jones is brave enough to do the right thing. We expect more will follow in his patriotic footsteps and demand a commission that can fully examine the circumstances, inform the public of its findings, and develop a plan to prevent this from ever happening again.”

“We thank Rep. Jones for joining in our effort to establish a bipartisan independent commission to get to the truth about these attacks and to make recommendations to help prevent this from happening again,” said Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “We are hopeful that more Republicans will join our cause.”

All House Democrats already have cosponsored the bill.

The Protecting Our Democracy Act would create a 12-member, bipartisan, independent commission empowered to interview witnesses, obtain documents, issue subpoenas, and receive public testimony to examine attempts by the Russian government or others to use electronic means to influence, interfere with, or undermine trust in last year’s U.S. elections. The commission would examine any similar efforts by any other foreign governments or entities and would issue a final report with recommendations to Congress and the President within 18 months of enactment.

115th Congress