President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden wave to members of Fauquier County’s Canine Companions for Independence during the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued a special message encouraging groups throughout Virginia to apply for participation in the 2025 Presidential Inaugural Parade, which will be held on Monday, January 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

“Presidential inaugurations are not just symbolic ceremonies – they are an instrument of democracy by which we execute the peaceful transfer of power in this country,” said Sen. Warner. “I encourage Virginia’s talented entities – including our many marching bands, floats, and equestrian groups – to take part in this time-honored tradition, dating back when President Jefferson rode his horse from the Capitol to the President's House in a procession that would become the Inaugural Parade we know today.”

The Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR) Parade Coordinator Office is now accepting applications through December 4, 2024 for the 60^th Inaugural Parade. The JTF-NCR is responsible for collecting and organizing all 2025 Presidential Inaugural Parade applications, which are then reviewed by the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), a group tasked with organizing all Inaugural events at the discretion of the President-Elect.

In 2017, the parade consisted of 48 non-Department of Defense elements chosen from 141 applications. Groups interested in applying are encouraged to review the parade application guide before registering for an account, which can be done HERE.

###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today wrote to American domain registrars NameCheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, NewFold Digital, NameSilo, and Versign – which were identified in a Department of Justice affidavit as providing domain services to the “Doppelganger” Russian covert influence network – pressing them to take immediate steps to address the continued abuse of their services for foreign covert influence, particularly in the period preceding and following Election Day.

Through the maintenance of both inauthentic social media accounts and websites, the hallmark of the Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns known as “Doppelganger” has been the impersonation of Western media institutions online, including outlets like the Washington Post, Fox News, and Forward. Russian influence operatives have been attributed impersonating dozens of legitimate organizations online as early as September 2022, when researchers at the nonprofit EU Disinfo Lab first identified the network’s campaigns, using misleading domains (such as www.washingtonpost.pm, www.washingtonpost.ltd, www.fox-news.in, www.fox-news.top and www.forward.pw) to covertly spread Russian government propaganda with the aim of reducing international support for Ukraine, bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters in U.S. and foreign elections, including the 2024 presidential election. 

Citing research conducted by Meta in 2023, Warner noted several ways in which the global domain name industry has enabled Russian malign influence activity, including withholding vital domain name registration information from good-faith researchers and digital forensic investigators, ignoring inaccurate registration information submitted by registrants, and failing to identify repeated instances of intentional and malicious domain name squatting used to impersonate legitimate organizations.

Wrote Warner today, “Information included in the affidavit supporting recent seizure of a number of these domains provides further indication of your industry’s apparent inattention to abuses by foreign actors engaged in covert influence. Specifically, Russian influence actors utilized a number of tactics, techniques, and procedures that – against the backdrop of extensive open source literature on Doppelganger’s practices – should have alerted your company to abuse of its services, including the use of cryptocurrency to purchase domains, heavy reliance on anonymizing infrastructure to access your registration services (including the use of IPs widely associated with cybercriminal obfuscation network activity), the use of credit cards issued to a U.S. company “that has significant ties to, and employees based in, Russia,” use of fictitious and poorly-backstopped identities for registrants, and in at least one instance the use of a Russian address.”

Noted Warner, “While foreign covert influence represents one of the most egregious abuses of the domain name system, the industry’s inattention to abuse has been well-documented for years, enabling malicious activity such as phishing campaigns, drive-by malware, and online scams – all possible because of malicious actors using your services… Given the continued lapses of your industry to address these abuses, I believe Congress may need to evaluate legislative remedies that promote greater diligence across the global domain name ecosystem.”

“In the interim, your company must take immediate steps to address the continued abuse of your services for foreign covert influence – particularly in the days preceding, and weeks immediately following, Election Day. With the prospect of a close election – and declassified intelligence demonstrating the past practice of foreign adversaries in spreading narratives that undermine confidence in election processes– Americans will be particularly reliant on media organizations and state and local government websites to provide authoritative and accurate election information. It is imperative that your company work to diminish the risk that foreign adversaries use impersonated domains to promote false narratives in this context,” Warner concluded.

As Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Warner has been consistently warning about the threat posed by foreign covert influence networks ahead of the 2024 elections. Last month, he convened a public hearing with representatives from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft examining the roles and responsibilities of U.S. platforms to prevent the spread of foreign propaganda and misinformation on their networks.

A copy of the letters are available here.

### 

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued the statement below in response to a new form released by the U.S. Department of Education, which has begun to accept applications from joint consolidation loan borrowers seeking to separate their loans.

This announcement and new application follows longtime efforts by Sen. Warner to provide relief for individuals who previously consolidated their federal student loan debt. Borrowers who consolidated their student debt with a spouse, did so under a program that was created by Congress and subsequently eliminated without providing a way for spouses to sever existing loans – even in the event of domestic violence, economic abuse, or an unresponsive partner. In 2022, Sen. Warner secured the passage of the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act of 2021 in order to help borrowers who remain liable for their abusive or uncommunicative spouse’s portion of their consolidated debts. In July of 2024, Sen. Warner hailed new Ed implementation guidance that today culminates in the launch of this new application.

“Two years after getting the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act into law, I’m proud to say that borrowers can now apply to separate their joint consolidation loans. While this took longer than I had hoped for, I have no doubt that it brings a sigh of relief to so many borrowers who remain trapped in financial agreements with unresponsive or abusive ex-spouses, and unable to access important loan forgiveness programs. I’m proud to have written the law that’s bringing this process to life and I’m glad to see the Department of Education take such a significant step towards freeing borrowers from these burdensome loans,” said Sen. Warner.

Through the new Department of Education form, borrowers are able to submit a:

• Joint Application: Both co-borrowers submit individual App/Notes to the Department, which will separate the JCL and create a new, individual Direct Consolidation Loan for each individual; or,
• Separate Application: An individual JCL applicant submits an App/Note to the Department without regard to whether or when the co-borrower applies, if the applicant has experienced an act of domestic violence or economic abuse from the other co-borrower, or if they are unable to reasonably reach or access the loan information of the other co-borrower.

Once the loans are separated, the applicants’ loan obligation will be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan if both borrowers completed the joint application process. For those who submit a separate application, the loan obligation will follow the same process as the joint application process, but if the remaining co-borrower does not complete an application, their loan obligation will remain a JCL with one borrower.

Sen. Warner’s Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act, originally introduced in 2017, was inspired by Sara, a constituent from McLean, Virginia who contacted Sen. Warner to communicate her struggles with a joint consolidation loan. Sara was raising two children on a public school teacher’s salary in Northern Virginia and trying to keep up with payments on her student loans. Unfortunately, her ex-spouse, whom she had divorced and moved thousands of miles away from to start fresh, refused to pay his share of their joint loan. Because joint consolidation loans create joint and several liability for borrowers, Sara faced the threat of having her wages as a public school teacher garnished if she did not pay both her and her ex-husband’s portions of their debt. Sen. Warner did not think this was fair and sought to create a solution, so that constituents like Sara could control their own financial futures. You can hear Sen. Warner tell Sara’s story here.

### 

WASHINGTON –  Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $56,966,366 in federal funding for improvements to airports across Virginia. This funding was awarded through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Terminals Program, which was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which both senators helped pass.

“Virginia’s airports  help Virginians and visitors get where they need to go and serve as critical economic development hubs,” said the senators. “We’re glad this funding, which was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will make important upgrades to help airports across Virginia operate smoothly. We will keep working to bolster Virginia’s infrastructure and grow our economy.”

The funding is broken down as follows:

• $40,000,000 for Washington Dulles International Airport to support the construction of the new 14-gate, 400,000-square-foot terminal building, including direct connections to the Aerotrain and indirect connection to the Metrorail.
• $14,716,366 for Norfolk International Airport to support the realignment of the airport exclusive use access roadway to improve traffic flow into and out of the main terminal area.
• $2,250,000 for Richmond International Airport to design a proposed consolidated Passenger Screening Checkpoint to make passenger flow more efficient and reduce congestion.

Warner and Kaine have long supported efforts to improve Virginia’s airports. Warner and Kaine have secured millions in federal funding for airports across Virginia through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law they voted to pass. In September, they announced more than $46 million in federal funding for improvements to Virginia airports through the Airport Improvement Program. The senators have previously announced $104.6 million in combined federal funding for the new terminal building at Dulles.

###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Ted Budd (R-NC), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) in urging the White House to rapidly submit a detailed supplemental government funding request to Congress that will fully cover the costs associated with clean-up and recovery following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, so Congress can quickly pass aid for American families. In a bipartisan letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the senators highlighted the hardships facing southern communities recovering from the destruction of these storms and the need for full, uninterrupted federal support to restore and rebuild these communities. 

“We urgently request the White House’s Office of Management and Budget rapidly submit to Congress a detailed supplemental appropriations request that considers the full cost of recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as other devastating natural disasters, so Congress can quickly consider supplemental appropriations this year, and affected communities can begin to heal,” wrote the senators.

“Given the immense need, we respectfully ask that the Office of Management and Budget work quickly to determine the costs of recovering from Hurricane Helene and Milton and immediately submit a supplemental appropriations request to Congress that includes this full cost. Congress stands ready to ensure the federal government and our communities have what they need to recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and future natural disasters,” concluded the lawmakers.

Warner and Kaine have been vocal regarding the need for federal resources to support Virginia’s recovery from Hurricane Helene. Earlier this month, they successfully advocated for President Biden to declare both an Emergency Declaration and an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration for Virginia. The senators also joined their colleagues earlier this month in calling for a bipartisan appropriations package to support the millions of Americans affected by the storm. They additionally sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging action to address intravenous (IV) fluids supply challenges impacting the wellbeing of patients and health care workers’ ability to provide care.

Read the full letter to President Biden here and below:

Dear President Biden,

As the Southeastern United States continues to respond to life-threatening conditions in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the sheer scope of the destruction from these hurricanes is heartbreaking. We urgently request the White House’s Office of Management and Budget rapidly submit to Congress a detailed supplemental appropriations request that considers the full cost of recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as other devastating natural disasters, so Congress can quickly consider supplemental appropriations this year, and affected communities can begin to heal.

Hurricane Helene struck Florida’s coast as a Category 4 storm on September 27 before devastating communities across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Tragically, the death toll continues to rise, with 228 being confirmed to date. Hurricane Milton struck Florida on October 9, bringing life-threatening storm surges and wind gusts and causing 24 deaths to date.

We are immensely grateful to first responders and federal workers as they perform life-saving work. However, the task of recovering from these storms has overwhelmed state and local governments. Federal support will be needed to restore and rebuild our communities.

While the recovery costs are still being determined, estimates of Hurricane Helene’s damage range from $34 billion to $47 billion. Hurricane Milton is likewise expected to cost billions more in damages.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will require significant additional funding to ensure it has the resources it needs for Hurricane Helene and Milton recovery, and additional federal funding will be required to support states and federal agencies’ emergency response efforts. Likewise, as communities begin to rebuild, uninterrupted access to key disaster assistance loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration is imperative. Agricultural producers will also need financial assistance to help them recover from yet another natural disaster that is further compounding their already tenuous economic situation, and small businesses will need support to help cover the damage to their livelihoods and rebuild, so they can reopen their doors to communities.

Given the immense need, we respectfully ask that the Office of Management and Budget work quickly to determine the costs of recovering from Hurricane Helene and Milton and immediately submit a supplemental appropriations request to Congress that includes this full cost.

Congress stands ready to ensure the federal government and our communities have what they need to recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and future natural disasters.

Sincerely,

###

WASHINGTON – Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued a statement on the death of Hamas terrorist Yahya Sinwar:

“Earlier today I spoke with Director Burns, who confirmed that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and one of the masterminds of the October 7 terrorist attack, has been killed in Gaza. As a terrorist leader, Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents, including Americans, Israelis and Palestinians. While justice has been served to Sinwar, let us not forget that the terrorist network he headed still holds dozens of people hostage in Gaza, and we must continue to press for their safe return.”

###

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $2,069,443 in federal funding to boost economic development across Southwest Virginia. The funding was awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, which provides funding to help communities and regions that have been affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries.

“We’re glad this funding will continue to create new jobs and spur economic development in communities across Southwest Virginia,” said the Senators. “These investments will help ensure that rural communities have the infrastructure to bring new opportunities to the region.”

The funding is broken down as follows:

• $1,319,443 to support the Central Appalachia Broadband Transport Infrastructure Improvements Project in Lee and Wise counties, as well as Claiborne and Hancock counties in Tennessee. The funding will be used to develop two data centers in Central Appalachia, creating 40 permanent technology jobs.  
• $750,000 for the Friends of Southwest Virginia in Abingdon, VA. The funding will go towards assessing the economic impact of Friends of Southwest Virginia projects, including the Crooked Road, the Appalachian Spring Outdoor Recreation initiative, and Round the Mountain Artisan Network, in order to inform future community development projects.

Sens. Warner and Kaine have long supported efforts to boost economic development in Southwest Virginia, including through strong support of ARC, an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments that innovates and invests to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in 423 counties across the Appalachian region. The draft of the Fiscal Year 2025 government funding package, which the Senators are working to pass, includes $200 million for ARC. 

### 

WASHINGTON –  Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, both D-VA, announced $2,225,710 in federal funding for education programs based in Alexandria, Richmond, and Harrisonburg to train behavioral health professionals to address substance use disorders, students’ mental health, and racial disparities in access to mental health treatment. The funding is being allocated by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for which the senators have consistently supported robust and continued funding.

“Helping those who struggle with behavioral health needs starts with adequately funding programs to recruit, educate, and train the first responders and behavioral health professionals who will be on the front lines,” said the senators. “This over-$2.2 million in grant funding will help us do that, and we will continue to do all that we can to bring resources to Virginia to support the mental health of our communities.”

The funding will be allocated as follows:

• $1,924,595 to the Alexandria-based Foundation for The Advancement of Human Systems via the Minority Fellowship Program to recruit, train and support master’s- and doctoral-level students in behavioral health care professions to address services disparities for racial and ethnic minority populations. 
• $199,939 to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond to recruit and train first responders in rural areas on how to provide trauma-informed, recovery-based care for people with substance use disorders (SUD), and co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders (COD), in emergency situations.
• $101,716 to Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg to strengthen mental health services for college students, including increasing protective factors that promote mental health, as well as reducing risk factors for suicide.

Sens. Warner and Kaine have long advocated for federally-funded resources for Virginians who struggle with mental and behavioral health issues. In September 2024, Warner and Kaine announced $3.5 million in federal funding to expand mental health and substance abuse disorder services at community health centers. In August 2023, Warner and Kaine announced $1.4 million in federal funding for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to expand access to mental health care in Virginia. In December 2022, Warner and Kaine announced $1 million in federal funding from SAMHSA to expand the 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline in Virginia.

###

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09) welcomed the approval of Virginia’s request for an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in Southwest Virginia. The lawmakers wrote a letter urging President Biden to approve this request to surge federal resources to impacted areas and help Virginia more quickly respond to and recover from Hurricane Helene’s impacts.

“I’m glad to see President Biden step in and approve the Commonwealth’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration in response to the heartbreaking destruction caused by Hurricane Helene. This declaration opens the door to various avenues for assistance to help the region recover. As Southwest Virginia continues to hurt, I’m going to be pushing for Congress to pass needed disaster supplemental funding as soon as possible,” said Sen. Warner.

“I’m grateful President Biden approved Virginia’s request for an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration following our bipartisan advocacy. This declaration will bring more federal support to the impacted areas,” said Sen. Kaine. “Over the past few days, I’ve visited residents, business owners, local officials, and first responders in Southwest Virginia and seen firsthand the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene. I’m committed to continuing to work with local, state, and federal partners to help these communities recover.”

“The impacts of Hurricane Helene on Southwest Virginia have been devastating,” said Rep. Griffith. “I appreciate Governor Youngkin working tirelessly to support disaster relief efforts, and I will continue to work alongside Senators Warner and Kaine to bring more relief to the region.”

This Expedited Major Disaster Declaration grants emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance under the Public Assistance and Individual Assistance Programs for impacted areas. Under this declaration, Individual Assistance is made available for the counties of Giles, Grayson, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, and Wythe, and the City of Galax. Individual Assistance provides financial support and direct services for eligible individuals and households impacted by a disaster. Public Assistance for all categories is made available for the counties of Bedford, Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe, and the cities of Bristol, Covington, Danville, Galax, Norton, and Radford. Public Assistance provides resources to local governments for eligible response and recovery work, such as repairing roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and equipment, and public utilities. Hazard Mitigation Grant program assistance was also granted statewide, which will help keep Virginians safe from future floods.

Warner, Kaine, and Griffith continue to track Hurricane Helene’s devastation and advocate for Southwest Virginia at the federal level. The senators and Griffith wrote to President Biden in support of Virginia’s request for an Emergency Declaration for the Commonwealth of Virginia – a request that was approved on Sunday. Yesterday, Warner and Kaine joined a bipartisan group of their colleagues in urging Congress to quickly pass disaster relief legislation. On Monday and Tuesday, Kaine met with Virginians impacted by Hurricane Helene.

###

WASHINGTON – Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued a statement condemning Iran’s missile attacks against Israel:

“As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I am closely monitoring Iran’s most recent missile attack against the state of Israel. America’s commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad.”

###

WASHINGTON – With less than 40 days until the election, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote to Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), to push CISA to do more to assist state and local governments in identifying, responding to, and mitigating the spread of misinformation and disinformation that could impact the 2024 election and afterwards.

“Unfortunately, throughout this election cycle we have witnessed an unprecedented rise in targeted election disinformation campaigns… the Intelligence Community’s 2024 Annual Threat Assessment shed light into strategic and intentional attempts by foreign actors, including Russia, China, and Iran, to magnify and exploit social divisions and conduct election influence operations through the dissemination of false and misleading information – with presidential elections being prime targets of such efforts,” wrote Sen. Warner.

The letter calls attention to a range of voter intimidation plots throughout the years, and emphasizes their success in both suppressing turnout and sowing general mistrust among voters. In response to these threats, Sen. Warner urges robust action from CISA to increase its resources and grow its collaborative efforts to track these efforts. He also calls on CISA to facilitate communication between election offices and social media platforms – an effort the agency has moved away from.

“I also encourage CISA to work closely with all relevant parties, including academics and researchers, state and local officials, and private sector entities (such as technology companies and social media platforms) in an effort to increase information sharing. I strongly encourage the agency to again coordinate efforts with platforms to combat election disinformation. In an election cycle where threats persistently grow but some platforms are dedicating fewer resources towards election integrity and content moderation efforts,  this presents an opportune moment to ramp up such collaborations. CISA would play an invaluable role facilitating communication between election offices and platforms, empowering both to better combat the dissemination of deceptive and misleading information,” Sen. Warner continued.

The letter also raises the unique threats posed by the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and calls attention to an incident in the New Hampshire primary where AI-generated robocalls impersonating Joe Biden urged voters to stay home and “save” their vote for the general election. Sen. Warner concludes by urging CISA to stay alert to the ways AI changes the threat landscape.

“Although AI alone has not changed the threat landscape observed in previous elections, it has supercharged the threats and adjusted the risk calculus. CISA should likewise adjust with this change in risk to ensure that election offices and the public have the necessary protections in place to remain resilient against AI-enhanced threats,” Sen. Warner continued.

Over the past year, Sen. Warner has repeatedly raised the alarm about the elevated threat environment around the 2024 election. He has hosted two open hearings in the Intelligence Committee to call on representatives from both the U.S. government and large tech companies to testify about their knowledge of and efforts to crack down on foreign malign influence online. He has also spoken out specifically about Russia and Iran’s attempts to influence the 2024 election. Additionally, in January, Sen. Warner sent a letter to CISA to push for more robust efforts to get ahead of this threat.

A copy of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Director Easterly:

I write to you today with great concern regarding the potential for election misinformation and disinformation campaigns impacting state and local election offices ahead of the November 5, 2024 Presidential election. Attacks against state and local election offices and officials will have ramifications on our democratic processes, including the administration of elections and possible voter suppression and intimidation. As such, I strongly urge you to use all the tools at your disposal to provide state and local administrators with the necessary resources to uncover, build resilience against, and rapidly respond to information manipulation campaigns leading up to the election and afterwards.

State and local election offices play a vital role in the administration of elections, including supervising and holding elections, providing for the safety and security of our voting systems, and serving as trusted determiners of election results. In the lead up to consequential elections, election offices serve as credible information ecosystems, providing critical information on the time, manner, and place of elections. Voters trust these entities to ensure that our elections are accurate, safe, secure, and accessible. That is why I am encouraged by and salute the work of the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in continuing to support state and local efforts to safeguard election integrity.

Unfortunately, throughout this election cycle we have witnessed an unprecedented rise in targeted election disinformation campaigns. Most infamously, in January 2024, voters in New Hampshire were on the receiving end of robocalls from domestic partisan actors using an artificial intelligence (AI) generated voice impersonating President Joe Biden ahead of the state’s primary, urging voters not to vote and to instead save their vote for the general election. Separately, the Intelligence Community’s 2024 Annual Threat Assessment shed light into strategic and intentional attempts by foreign actors, including Russia, China, and Iran, to magnify and exploit social divisions and conduct election influence operations through the dissemination of false and misleading information – with presidential elections being prime targets of such efforts. Just earlier this month, the Department of Justice successfully disrupted a covert Russian government-sponsored influence campaign to shape voter perceptions in the upcoming election through the purchase of internet domains intended to mimic legitimate news organizations. While the IC remains confident that foreign actors could not successfully manipulate election systems to impact election outcomes without detection, it has elevated concerns that foreign actors could instead utilize information operations to undermine confidence in the election.

In addition to disrupting the stable administration of elections, these types of information manipulation campaigns can result in potential voter suppression and intimidation. In the last several years, false claims that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency will be patrolling polling locations on Election Day have gone viral and were found to be distributed in-person, creating an environment of intimidation for potential voters. In 2020, political operatives targeted tens of thousands of Black voters in Midwestern states, placing robocalls making false claims that individuals who vote by mail would have their personal information added to a government database for monitoring that could then be used for pursuing debts, warrants, and then-mandatory vaccines. During that same year, tens of thousands of voters in Florida received targeted emails directing them to change their party affiliation and vote for a particular candidate or face physical violence, a clear voter intimidation plot. Additionally, foreign actors have also engaged in these practices; in its Intelligence Community Assessment for the 2020 U.S. election, the IC assessed that both Russia and Iran pursued efforts to spread false information about electoral processes and – in both cases – suppress (or even intimidate) American voters. Such efforts not only severely impact voter turnout and participation in our democracy, but can erode public trust and weaken voter confidence in our democratic institutions and electoral processes.

As evidenced through the disturbing incidents above, the widespread presence, expanded scope, and increased sophistication of AI technologies, including generative AI, has only strengthened deceptive and manipulative information campaigns. While AI capabilities continue to grow at a rapid pace, state and local governments’ IT, public outreach, and cybersecurity teams continue to operate with limited staff and resources, making it extremely difficult for smaller teams to respond to sophisticated AI-backed campaigns targeting elections.

That is why the work of CISA is crucial in securing the systems and assets that support our nation’s elections. CISA, and the Department of Homeland Security more broadly, provide wide-ranging and essential resources, including cybersecurity assessments, detection and prevention, information sharing and awareness, and training and career development – most of these listed in the Election Infrastructure Security Resource Guide at no cost to state and local governments. These products are integral in safeguarding our election systems and ensuring that our democratic processes can continue as intended.

I strongly urge CISA to increase its provision to assist state and local governments in identifying, responding to, and mitigating the spread of misinformation and disinformation that could impact the administration of elections and voting processes. I recognize that CISA has proactively provided educational materials and products, including toolkits and FAQs and I commend your agency for these efforts. I encourage CISA to build upon these resources and expand the work of entities, like the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-SAC) and work with other bodies, like the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) to determine and meet the needs of election offices as it pertains to the spread of election misinformation and disinformation.

Within the vein of collaborative efforts, I also encourage CISA to work closely with all relevant parties, including academics and researchers, state and local officials, and private sector entities (such as technology companies and social media platforms) in an effort to increase information sharing. I strongly encourage the agency to again coordinate efforts with platforms to combat election disinformation. In an election cycle where threats persistently grow but some platforms are dedicating fewer resources towards election integrity and content moderation efforts,  this presents an opportune moment to ramp up such collaborations. CISA would play an invaluable role facilitating communication between election offices and platforms, empowering both to better combat the dissemination of deceptive and misleading information.

Finally, although AI alone has not changed the threat landscape observed in previous elections, it has supercharged the threats and adjusted the risk calculus. CISA should likewise adjust with this change in risk to ensure that election offices and the public have the necessary protections in place to remain resilient against AI-enhanced threats.

Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this important issue. It is my hope that we can work together to safeguard our democracy against misinformation and disinformation. 

Sincerely,

###