House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Meeks, Kim, Bera, Kamlager-Dove Share Recommendations for State’s Burma Review

Washington, D.C.- Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Young Kim and Ami Bera, Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee; and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Ranking Member of the South and Central Asia Subcommittee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in light of the Department's review of U.S. policy toward Burma. The Members provided findings meant to inform the administration's review, and bipartisan recommendations to sustain a principled and effective policy toward Burma.

A PDF copy of the full letter can be found here. An excerpt is below.

"As the Trump administration and the Department of State undertake a review of U.S. policy towards Burma, we write to share bipartisan congressional priorities to shape and inform the review. Through bipartisan legislation signed into law - such as the Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008, and the Burma Unified Through Rigorous Military Accountability (BURMA) Act of 2022 - Congress has partnered with past administrations to ensure that our Burma policy advances U.S. values and interests. With Burma embroiled in violence five years after the military coup, and nearly a decade since the Rohingya genocide, it is important that the administration adhere to longstanding, bipartisan principles and stand with the Burmese people against the junta's violence and repression."

The recommendations from the Ranking Members and Chairwoman Kim include: isolating and delegitimizing the Burmese junta; holding the junta accountable for its violence, human rights abuses and scam centers through sanctions; appointing a senior official to coordinate U.S. Burma policy and engage democratic stakeholders; supporting Rohingya and other refugees in the region through humanitarian assistance; and providing adequate resources to enact these goals.