Press Releases

Today, Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24) introduced H.R. 2586 the Reporting on Influence and Subversion by the Kremlin Act (RISK Act), which requires the Department of State to produce a comprehensive report on recent subversive measures by the Russian government.

“Russian attempts to subvert our elections and spread disinformation is nothing new,” said Rep. Carbajal. “It is imperative that Congress is fully briefed on updated methods the Kremlin is employing to destabilize democratic institutions both in the United States and abroad. This is not a partisan issue; it is about preserving the integrity of our democracy.”

The Kremlin is currently deploying an array of military, cyber, intelligence, and economic tactics to weaken US democratic institutions, divide Europe from the US, undermine organizations like NATO and the European Union, and intimidate US allies. This report would inform Congress on the current sources and methods the Kremlin is employing to achieve their goal of destabilizing foreign democracies.

Background:

The RISK Act is based on a bipartisan Congressional requirement in 1985 for the State Department, under the Reagan Administration, to produce a report on the Soviet Union's active measures to undermine the United States role internationally. No new report has been issued to Congress by the State Department on Russian subversive tactics since 1986.

The legislation requires the State Department include the following topics in this report:

• Disinformation and propaganda against the US and other foreign countries
• Overall structure of the Russian apparatus to influence and deceive
• Russian support for separatist activities and other aggressive actions, particularly in Ukraine and the Baltic countries
• Cyber intrusions by Russia into the US and other countries
• The use of energy exports by Russia for political or economic coercion
• An assessment of the deterioration of democratic conditions in Russia

Read the full bill text here.

###