Democratic leaders on Wednesday demanded an increase in funding for the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security in the upcoming omnibus spending package after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals for meddling in the 2016 election.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and leading Democratic appropriators sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., demanding that $300 million be given to the FBI and DHS so they can prevent more meddling.

"In order to ensure our nation's premier law enforcement agency can adequately respond to this threat, we urge you to support a $300 million increase in the Bureau's 2018 budget request," they wrote.

Earlier today, Democrats sent a letter to @SpeakerRyan & @SenateMajLdr urging them to increase funding for FBI and Homeland Security efforts to protect the 2018 elections from Russian interference. Read our letter here: https://t.co/izAHcZ3kxa pic.twitter.com/2UwH4bgvTD — Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 21, 2018



"We have Russian operatives flooding our social media platforms with misinformation. We need both the resources and manpower to expose and counter them and other hostile foreign actors," Schumer said in a call with reporters Wednesday.

"Both parties in Congress have united and stood up to Putin before," Schumer said. "When we did so, we did so even when our own president wasn't supportive. We need to do it again. We need to do it now."

The letter calls for state and local governments to beef up their defense against cyber attacks, including the replacement of outdated voter registration and voting systems, after it emerged that the Russians tried to attack those levels of government.

Schumer declined to say whether Senate Democrats would hold their votes on the spending package without an increase in funding to combat possible interference from Russia or another nation state from attempting to interfere.

"We're not drawing lines in the sand," Schumer said. "We're going to push hard to get this funding, and we hope it gets the support from our Republican colleagues."

Government funding is set through March 23, when lawmakers will look to pass an omnibus spending package that would include full appropriations for the remainder of the 2018 fiscal year.