House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called on Republicans to bring up an amendment providing additional funding to enhance election security in a speech on the House floor Thursday.
The amendment – introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) Wednesday – would allocate $380 million in grants to the states to protect their election systems.
{mosads} But House Republicans are planning to exclude the amendment from a spending bill up for vote Thursday, The Washington Post reported. The GOP lawmakers argue the program, which is overseen by the federal Election Assistance Commission, is fully funded and does not need the additional allocations.
The spending bill comes as President Trump has sparked a political firestorm this week after appearing to cast doubt on the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of Russian election meddling during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday.
“It would be inaccurate to say that this is a vote about process – it is a vote about substance. In fact, Mr. Quigley’s amendment is about one of the most pressing issues of our time,” Hoyer said.
“The director of the National Intelligence has said there is a flashing red dangerous signal, similar to the one that happened before 9/11. This amendment responds by providing for us to partner with our states to slam the door in the face of the Russian bear or any other adversary who seeks to steal the integrity of our elections.”
“The flashing red light calls us to action. Surely we can rise above pandering to party and Putin to act on behalf of our freedom and our security,” he continued. “We have sworn an oath to defend our constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
As Hoyer continued his call, Democrats cheered and chanted “USA” as the minority whip was ruled out of order.
Democrats have amped up calls to prevent future Russian interference in the wake of Trump’s press conference with Putin.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, a legislative proposal aimed at securing U.S. election systems from cyberattack is picking up additional support.