Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jack Reed, D-RI, have introduced a bill directing the establishment of a Malign Foreign Influence Response Center responsible for preventing adversarial interference and threats ahead of the federal elections.
Klobuchar’s office said Wednesday that the Combatting Foreign Influence Act would mandate the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to create the center, and coordinate information sharing and analysis activities across government agencies as well as the intelligence community.
The center will focus on mitigating threats from known adversaries such as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. In addition, the unit will launch disinformation campaigns and submit an annual report to Congress detailing its activities and impact on privacy matters.
“We know that foreign governments and their agents have executed extensive and sophisticated influence campaigns that are designed to sow division, spread disinformation, and mislead the American people—we need a collaborative, comprehensive approach to protecting our democracy from information warfare,†said Klobuchar.
Congress may opt to re-authorize the center after eight years.
