Shaheen Sponsored Amendment Leads to Bipartisan Breakthrough to Fund 2020 Election Security

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued the following statement after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment that she has cosponsored to fund efforts to secure election infrastructure across the country ahead of the 2020 elections. This amendment, led by Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL), Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) provides $250 million to help states prevent election interference, and is being hailed as a key breakthrough in negotiations to provide additional funding.

“Elections are the bedrock of our democracy and Congress has a patriotic duty to protect them,” said Shaheen. “I’m very relieved that we were able to reach an agreement on a bipartisan basis to help states bolster their election systems to deter interference. The American people must have faith in the outcome of the 2020 election. In addition to funding, there are many steps that Congress needs to take to make sure foreign adversaries don’t have free rein to interfere in our democratic process. I hope today’s breakthrough leads to further bipartisan cooperation to defend our democracy.”

Senator Shaheen has led calls in the Senate for investment and reforms to prevent attacks on our democracy which includes introducing legislation that would require presidential campaigns to report foreign interference in U.S. elections. She has also led efforts in Congress to hold Russia accountable for its election interference. Because of her role as a negotiator on Russia sanctions legislation known as “CAATSA” and her efforts to hold Russia accountable for its aggression, Shaheen was sanctioned by the Kremlin in 2017.