{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=CEEBE2B5-70A8-4BA6-A707-265812EE4117", "Senator McConnell Comments on Passage of Burma Act", "2022-12-20", "2022", "2022-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding passage of the Burma Act:\n\n\u201cThe defense bill impacts a huge number of America\u2019s efforts for good around the world that don\u2019t always make top headlines. For example, I\u2019m glad this NDAA makes headway on behalf of the people of Burma, and the decades-long struggle for democracy in that country, which I\u2019ve been proud to support throughout my career.\n\n\u201cSince Burma\u2019s military junta launched a coup in early 2021, the country has plunged deeper into catastrophe.\n\n\u201cMore than 1 million people displaced. Sham trials and summary executions. The extrajudicial torture and murder of many more. Indiscriminate shelling and air strikes against ethnic villages.\n\n\u201cBurma\u2019s former leader \u2013 and my good friend \u2013 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is reportedly being held in solitary confinement following a sham trial at the hands of her deposers. And in the absence of strong international condemnation, the junta is literally getting away with murder.\n\n\u201cWhen Secretary Blinken visited Southeast Asia this summer, I called for less talk and more action. The people of Burma don\u2019t have the luxury of waiting around for American assistance.\n\n\u201cNow, with the passage of the Burma Act as part of this year\u2019s NDAA, Congress is stepping up where the Administration has dithered.\n\n\u201cThis landmark bill mandates sharp sanctions against senior Tatmadaw officials and the state-owned businesses that keep their coffers full.\n\n\u201cIt compels the Administration to make decisions about whether and how to unravel the junta\u2019s lucrative grip on Burma\u2019s energy sector.\n\n\u201cIt codifies U.S. support for organizations that actually represent Burma\u2019s people and authorizes new engagement with ethnic organizations that are defending the people against the brutal hand of the Tatmadaw, as well as new non-lethal and humanitarian assistance for society organizations.\n\n\u201cIt directs the President to improve coordination with America\u2019s allies and partners to increase pressure on Burma\u2019s illegitimate leaders and direct support to Burma\u2019s people.\n\n\u201cBut Congress can only do so much through the legislative process.\n\n\u201cThe ball is now in the Biden Administration\u2019s court, and time is ticking away.\n\n\u201cRussia and other bad actors are actively courting the junta. The ongoing humanitarian disaster in Burma is already spilling over into neighboring countries.\n\n\u201cCongress has given President Biden the tools to institute sweeping sanctions against our adversaries and generous aid for our friends.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s now up to the President to use them.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:41:06Z"]], "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=CEEBE2B5-70A8-4BA6-A707-265812EE4117"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8812949527055025, "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"}