WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, cosponsored an amendment to the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would require presidential campaigns to report foreign interference in U.S. elections. The amendment was introduced by Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) and is also supported by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). The senators’ amendment comes after last week’s attempt to move similar legislation through unanimous consent was blocked by Senate Republicans.

“This shouldn’t need to be said, and this certainly shouldn’t be a partisan issue: accepting any sort of assistance from a foreign power in an attempt to influence an election is completely and totally antithetical to America’s founding principles,” said Senator King. “Dating back to George Washington and the Federalist Papers, the independence of American elections has been a hallmark of our electoral system, and we cannot allow any foreign nations – particularly adversaries – to put a thumb on the scale of our public debate. Frankly, this should be non-controversial, because any candidate, from any party, should know that this type of behavior is wrong. It’s not complicated – just call the FBI!”

This amendment requires presidential campaigns to report only contacts with foreign nationals offering explicit assistance that is already forbidden under existing law, or offers to collaborate or coordinate with a foreign government or agent thereof. Routine contacts with foreign nationals, including meetings on official government business, personal conversations, contact with journalists, or contact with non-citizens expressing political views, including conversations with DREAMers, would continue to be exempt from any reporting requirements.

A co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, Senator King has long been an outspoken advocate for preserving the integrity of the American electoral system. Last month, he cosponsored the Election Security Act which would require voter-verifiable backup paper ballots and provide election security grants to states for cyber improvements and audits. During a Senate Rules Committee hearing earlier that week, Senator King questioned the four members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission about the agency’s role in ensuring the security of America’s elections, and expressed his deep concern about the lack of resources devoted to the agency during a time when our elections have been targeted by foreign powers.

In February, Senator King joined all the members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to call on Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats to make the mandated reports on foreign election interference in U.S. elections available to all members of the committee. In September 2018, Senator King questioned Jack Dorsey, Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, and Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, about their companies’ response to foreign influence operations on social media platforms, and how Americans can best defend themselves against future attempts by foreign adversaries.