{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bergman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=952", "Bergman Demands Answers on Drone Sale to Qatar", "2021-11-29", "2021", "2021-11", "Republican", "House", "MI", "Jack Bergman", "B001301", "bergman.house.gov", "bergman", "https://bergman.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "Today, Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI-1) and Randy Weber (R-TX-14) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken objecting to the impending sale of $500 million worth of armed drones to the state of Qatar.\n\n\u201cQatar has long operated not only as a principal sponsor of terror worldwide, but as a corrupting influence on U.S. institutions across the board,\u201d stated Rep. Bergman. \u201cQatar\u2019s abysmal human rights record is notorious, and on those grounds alone, I would seriously question this proposed deal.\u201d\n\nThe Qatari regime has established one of the best-funded foreign influence peddling operations in the nation\u2019s capital, and the tentacles of that operation extend from major media operations to educational institutions and think tanks. In addition, the Emir has engaged in ongoing efforts to influence United States foreign policy outside the scope of U.S. law governing the registration of foreign agents.\n\nQatar has long supported Hamas, along with its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. The Qatari government has served as a safe haven for Hamas, providing financing, advocacy and even hosting its leadership. They have also provided a media platform for terrorist leaders on Al Jazeera, its state-controlled media operation.\n\nThe letter urges Secretaries Austin and Blinken to \u201craise these concerns on behalf of the American people\u201d on the occasion of the Emir\u2019s impending visit to the United States.\n\nThis imprudent sale of armed drones to a country with such an abysmal record of human rights and support for terror can only harm U.S. national security interests in the region and the reputation of the United States as a defender of human rights.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:30:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bergman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=952"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5378999523818493, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}