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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and House Democrats passed the SHIELD Act, legislation that will protect U.S. elections from foreign interference and attacks. This bill will close loopholes that allow foreign spending in our elections, boost disclosure and transparency requirements and create a duty to report illicit offers of campaign assistance from foreign nations or governments.

Passage of this legislation comes after President Trump publicly urged China to investigate a political opponent and reporting that that in 2017 President Trump told Russian officials he wasn’t concerned about Moscow interference in U.S. election.

“The intelligence community has said Russia interfered once in our elections and will do it again unless we get serious about election security,” said Dingell. “The American people have lost faith in the administration to protect our elections. Now it’s time for Congress to step up and do what’s right.”

The SHIELD Act of 2019:

• Creates a duty to report illicit offers of campaign assistance from foreign governments and their agents.
• Helps prevent foreign interference in future elections by improving transparency of online political advertisements.
• Closes loopholes that allow foreign nationals and foreign governments to spend in U.S. elections.
• Restricts exchange of campaign information between candidates and foreign governments and their agents.
• Prohibits deceptive practices about voting procedures. 

See here for a two-page summary of the SHIELD Act.

See here for a section-by-section summary of the SHIELD Act.

See here for the SHIELD Act bill text.

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