{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=521CBC38-BA20-4E47-A64B-0BFB69199433", "Senate Passes McConnell\u2019s NDAA Amendment to Support Democracy in Burma", "2021-12-15", "2021", "2021-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) led the U.S. Senate to include his bipartisan Burma amendment in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed the Senate and will now be sent to the president for his signature.\n\nSenator McConnell secured important provisions in this bipartisan amendment, which requires senior Administration officials to present to Congress within sixty days a strategy to impose costs on the military junta, legitimize representative organizations like the National Unity Government, restore democratic governance, and foster national reconciliation. The amendment was cosponsored by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Senator Todd Young (R-IN), Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL).\n\n\u201cEarlier this year, Burma\u2019s illegitimate, unelected military junta launched a coup against the country\u2019s democratically-elected government. I strongly condemn these actions, as well as the indiscriminate violence they continue to commit against civilians and the show trials they have launched against their political opposition. To address this crisis, I led a bipartisan effort to reaffirm American support for democracy in Burma through the NDAA process. I\u2019m proud my amendment was included in the final NDAA bill that passed the Senate earlier today,\u201d said Senator McConnell. \u201cRestoring Burma\u2019s democratic development will require the United States to pursue a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to keep meaningful pressure on the junta and secure international recognition for Burma\u2019s true, democratically-elected government. This amendment will ensure our Administration articulates and then advances a real strategy to hold the regime accountable and support democratic actors like the National Unity Government.\u201d\n\n\u201cSenator McConnell has listened closely to our community and stood alongside us every step of the way as we work to restore democracy in Burma. This amendment is just the latest among a long list of actions Senator McConnell has taken to help Burma\u2019s people,\u201d said Jimmy Nyunt, a pro-democracy advocate from Burma who lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky. \u201cThe people of Burma have no greater advocate in Washington than Senator McConnell.\u201d\n\nThis bipartisan amendment requires senior officials from the State Department, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Treasury Department, and Defense Department to personally appear before Congress to provide a briefing on specific U.S. policy and security objectives in Burma, including:\n\n\u2022 An assessment of the impact of existing U.S. and international sanctions on Burma, as well as possible additional sanctions.\n\n\u2022 Efforts to support Burma\u2019s National Unity Government and other democratic actors such as the Civil Disobedience Movement, while denying legitimacy to the country\u2019s military junta.\n\n\u2022 Key objectives, including the restoration of democracy in Burma, the establishment of an inclusive and representative civilian government, the creation of a reformed military reflecting the diversity of the country and under civilian control, and the enactment of constitutional, political, and economic reforms.\n\n\u2022 Accountability for atrocities and human rights violations in Burma, genuine national reconciliation among the country\u2019s ethnic groups, and the release of political prisoners.\n\n\u2022 A review of China and Russia\u2019s strategic interests in Burma and any actions taken by these countries to support the junta, promote ethnic conflict, or undermine Burma\u2019s sovereignty.\n\nSenator McConnell has a long record of support for Burma\u2019s democracy. Over several decades, he has led multiple efforts to sanction the country\u2019s military junta and worked closely with Burma\u2019s pro-democracy advocates, particularly Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to support the people of Burma.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "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.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=521CBC38-BA20-4E47-A64B-0BFB69199433"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6767068989574909, "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"}