{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.inhofe.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/inhofe-leads-letter-in-support-of-iraqi-kurdistan", "Inhofe Leads Letter in Support of Iraqi Kurdistan", "2017-11-17", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "OK", "James Inhofe", "I000024", "www.inhofe.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Inhofe Leads Letter in Support of Iraqi Kurdistan\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Strong support for our allies in both Erbil and Baghdad is essential if we are to arrest Iran's growing influence\"\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFriday, November 17, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tU.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) sent a letter to President Donald Trump this week in support of the Kurdish Regional Government and their role protecting religious liberty in the region.\r\n\u201cWith ISIS now being driven from Iraq, we are concerned that Iran\u2019s influence is growing and has the potential to undermine the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and overall stability of the region,\u201d the senators write.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThe letter continues: \u201cTolerance is integral to Kurdish culture - indeed, rights of persecuted minorities are expressly recognized and protected under KRG laws. Iran\u2019s growing influence, however, increasingly is threatening stability both within Iraq and on all sides of Iraq\u2019s borders. We are deeply concerned by reports that American-made military equipment has been deployed by Iranian-backed militias against the Kurds. We cannot afford to lose the peaceful region of Iraqi Kurdistan to Iranian-backed groups that are actively aligned against the United States.\u201d\r\nRead the full letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.inhofe.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/inhofe-leads-letter-in-support-of-iraqi-kurdistan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8344650268554688, "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"}