Sen. Marco Rubio said Thursday his bill with Sen. Chris Van Hollen would use the threat of sanctions to try to deter countries from meddling in future elections.
“We have to make very clear through a deterrence capability that if you do this to use, and we prove it, this is what’s going to happen to you,” Mr. Rubio, Florida Republican, said on Fox News.
He and Mr. Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, introduced the DETER Act — Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines Act — to punish countries that have, or even try, to interfere in the U.S. elections with extra sanctions. The director of national intelligence would also be required to determine if there was any foreign interference within a month of all federal elections.
“People need to know what the costs and the benefits are, and hopefully the costs outweigh the benefits and they won’t do it,” Mr. Rubio explained.
The bill comes after intelligence agencies determined that Russia tried to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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