{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://benniethompson.house.gov/media/press-releases/video-congressman-thompson-announces-congressional-task-force-democratic-weekly", "VIDEO: Congressman Thompson Announces Congressional Task Force in Democratic Weekly Address", "2017-07-14", "2017", "2017-07", "Democrat", "House", "MS", "Bennie Thompson", "T000193", "benniethompson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "VIDEO: Congressman Thompson Announces Congressional Task Force in Democratic Weekly Address\n\u00a0\nWashington \u2013 Today, Congressman Bennie Thompson (MS-02) delivered the Weekly Democratic Address announcing the commencement of the Congressional Task Force on Election Security geared to investigate Russia\u2019s possible involvement in the 2016 presidential election.\n\u00a0\n\u201cWe must get the truth about Russia\u2019s meddling and the full extent of the Trump campaign\u2019s complicity,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cBut, we must also take action to protect our elections and our election infrastructure next time.\u201d\n\u00a0\nRep. Thompson, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee will co-chair the task force with Congressman Robert Brady (PA-01), ranking member of the Committee on House Administration; with members of the two respective committees also serving on the task force.\n\u00a0\nThe Congressional Task Force on Election Security will be a platform for members of the House Homeland Security Committee and the Committee on House Administration to discern knowledge and testimonies from experts with the expertise of cybersecurity and the electoral framework. The task force will also provide suggestions on how to prevent future threats on our election procedure.\n\u00a0\nThe video of Congressman Thompson\u2019s full remarks can be seen here.\nBelow is a full transcript of the address:\n\u00a0\n\u201cHello, I\u2019m Congressman Bennie Thompson.\u00a0 I represent Mississippi\u2019s 2nd Congressional District, and I am the top Democrat on the Committee on Homeland Security.\n\u00a0\n\u201cNearly everyone outside the White House accepts the Intelligence Community's conclusion that Russia carried out the hacking campaign in an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 Presidential Election.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u201cAnd this week, in Donald Trump Jr.\u2019s emails, we saw the first public evidence that the Trump Campaign eagerly intended to collude with Russia.\n\u00a0\n\u201cThis shocking new evidence raises even graver questions about Russia\u2019s success infiltrating the election systems in 21 states and stealing voting records containing personal information.\n\u00a0\n\u201cAll of this has damaged Americans\u2019 faith in our democracy and confidence in the security of our voting systems.\n\u00a0\n\u201cIn fact, just this week, one poll found one in four respondents reported that they may not vote in the next election because of cybersecurity concerns.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u201cThis is not acceptable.\u00a0 Congress must act and act immediately.\u00a0 We must get the truth about Russia\u2019s meddling and the full extent of the Trump Campaign complicity.\u00a0 But we must also take action to protect our elections and our election infrastructure next time.\n\u00a0\n\u201cThat is why House Democrats launched the Congressional Task Force on Election Security, which I am proud to co-chair with Congressman Brady from Pennsylvania.\n\u00a0\n\u201cThis task force\u2019s central mission is to focus on how to bolster the cyber and physical security of our election system ahead of the 2018 election.\n\u00a0\n\u201cIt will be a forum for Members of Congress to hear from experts in cybersecurity and election infrastructure and identify actions that should be taken to help ensure the integrity of our election systems and guard against future attacks.\n\u00a0\n\u201cWhile elections are the exclusive responsibilities of the states, the Federal government has a responsibility to step up and help, where needed, to support states as they work to prevent the Russians or other bad actors from disrupting and interfering with our elections.\n\u00a0\n\u201cProtecting the integrity of our election system should not be a partisan concern.\u00a0 We hope House Republicans will join us.\n\u00a0\n\u201cUnfortunately, we have a President who shows no interest in preventing last year\u2019s election interference from happening again.\u00a0 The Department of Homeland Security is also wavering over whether our election infrastructure should be designated part of our country\u2019s critical infrastructure.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u201cHere in Congress, Republican leaders have displayed no appetite to tackle this critical homeland security issue \u2013 or even hold hearings.\n\u00a0\n\u201cIf we continue to do nothing, we make it easy for Russia and other nefarious actors to meddle in future elections.\n\u00a0\n\u201cWe must put politics aside for the good of the country and work together on this and so many other important issues to the American people.\n\u00a0\n\u201cI thank you for your attention and urge you to stay engaged.\u00a0 Our Democracy demands your involvement.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://benniethompson.house.gov/media/press-releases/video-congressman-thompson-announces-congressional-task-force-democratic-weekly"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9304499253630638, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}