Courtney, Welch Lead New England Delegation Letter in Defense of Family Dairy Farms
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) and Congressman Peter Welch (VT-AL), co-chairs of the Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus, led a delegation consisting of all 21 Members of Congress from New England in writing to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, pushing back on comments he made earlier this month at the World Dairy Expo about the future of small dairy farms. In their letter, the members highlighted the importance of family dairy farming to the history, culture, and economy of New England. The members offered an open invitation for Secretary Perdue to visit New England to learn more about the dairy industry in the region.
“The volatility of the dairy market over the past decade has made us keenly aware of the importance for stability among New England dairies. From Farm Service Agency supports to the Rural Energy for America Program, the federal government has played a key role in helping our farms become more fiscally and environmentally efficient,” the delegation wrote. “However, what our farmers see in action from the USDA is not reflected in your sentiments about the future of small family dairy farming.”
Joining Courtney and Welch in sending the letter were Representatives John Larson (CT-01), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jim Himes (CT-04), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Richard Neal (MA-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Joseph Kennedy (MA-04), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Bill Keating (MA-09), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Jared Golden (ME-02), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Ann Kuster (NH-02), David Cicilline (RI-01), and Jim Langevin (RI-02).
The members’ full letter to Secretary is included below, and is available online.
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Rep. Courtney Votes to Pass Legislation to Secure America’s Federal Elections
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy (SHIELD) Act (H.R. 4617). The SHIELD Act would protect American elections from foreign interference by closing multiple loopholes that have allowed foreign adversaries to influence the American political process. The SHIELD Act creates a duty to report requirement, codifying in federal law that campaigns must report offers of assistance from foreign governments and their agents to the FBI and the FEC. The bill would also make online political advertisements more transparent, and would prohibit foreign nationals or foreign governments from purchasing political advertisements for American elections, helping to ensure that the online political advertisements that Americans see regarding our elections were purchased by Americans. H.R. 4617 would also prohibit American campaigns from sharing information with foreign governments or foreign agents, and establishes that offering non-public campaign materials to foreign governments is an illegal solicitation of support. Furthermore, the bill makes it a federal crime to prevent someone who is eligible from voting, or form registering to vote. The SHIELD Act builds upon the election security reforms that were included in both the House-passed Securing America’s Federal Elections Act (H.R. 2722) and the House-passed For the People Act (H.R. 1).
“There is no questioning the fact that America’s elections were the target of foreign interference during the 2016 and 2018 elections, and it’s still happening today,” said Congressman Courtney. “Just this week, the Connecticut Congressional Delegation met with Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill, who confirmed that our state was a target of foreign adversaries in past elections, and that attempts to interfere with elections today are even more rampant than in recent elections. No matter your worldview or walk of life, calculated attempts to degrade and subvert our elections must be seen as attacks on our democracy, and American candidates should not be accepting ‘dirt’ on political opponents from foreign adversaries, period. By accepting this type of ‘assistance’, American candidates compromise Americans’ interests at the expense of foreign countries.
“It is our patriotic duty to respond and to protect ourselves against this sort of foreign interference, which is why the House passed the SHIELD Act today. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should give the Senate an opportunity to vote on this bill, and to follow the House’s lead on responding to attacks against our democracy.”
Key Provisions of the Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy (SHIELD) Act Include:
- Creates a duty for political campaigns, parties, and political committees like PACs and Super PACs to report illicit offers of campaign assistance from foreign governments, foreign political parties and their agents to the FBI and the FEC
- Prevents foreign interference in future elections by improving transparency of online political advertisements. Specifically, the bill establishes disclosure rules for online political advertising and guards against foreign interference via digital platforms
- Closes loopholes that allow foreign nationals and foreign governments to spend money to influence and interfere with U.S. elections
- Restricts exchange of campaign information between candidates and foreign governments and their agents
- Establishes strong penalties for voter intimidation, and prohibits deceptive practices about voting procedures, including tactics used on social media by Russian actors in 2016, including malicious misdirection designed to create confusion about voting rules
