Whereas, on July 16, 2018, the President of the United States and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin met in Helsinki, Finland to discuss matters of mutual interest and global importance to the safety and peace of the world; Whereas at this meeting the President of the United States failed to confront President Putin or hold him accountable for actions undertaken by Russian military intelligence officers and others at the behest of President Putin for the express purpose of securing victory in the 2016 United States Presidential election for his preferred Presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump; Whereas there was compelling reason for the President of the United States to confront President Putin because the Intelligence Community Assessment ( ICA ) of January 2017 concluded that— (1) Russian efforts to influence the 2016 United States Presidential election represented the most recent expression of the Russian Government’s longstanding objective to undermine the United States-led Western Alliance and international democratic order; and (2) these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations; Whereas the ICA also assessed that President Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the United States Presidential election with the goal of— (1) undermining public faith in the United States democratic process; (2) denigrating Democratic Presidential candidate and implacable foe of President Putin, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; and (3) facilitating the election of President Putin’s preferred candidate, Donald J. Trump; Whereas the ICA also assessed that President Putin and the Russian Government conspired to help elect Republican Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump by means of a disinformation campaign to turn public opinion against the campaign of Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton