Burma Political Prisoners Assistance Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Burma Political Prisoners Assistance Act, introduced by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) and the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner).

True to our founding ideals, the United States must continue to stand as a beacon of hope and freedom in the world. This includes voicing our support for political prisoners who are in chains only because of their peaceful dissent.

Although recent years have seen elections in Burma, the human rights situation there still remains grave.

Burma's brutal military remains constitutionally immune from civilian oversight or control. It still has not been held responsible for the unspeakable, bloody genocide against Burma's Rohingya population 2 years ago, which displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh and India.

Criticizing the government remains a dangerous business in Burma. A lot of things can get you thrown into jail, or worse: honest reporting about military violence against ethnic minorities, telling the truth about the use of child soldiers, or expressing political dissent, among other things.

As a result, there are hundreds of prisoners of conscience in Burma. All people deserve fundamental rights of speech and political expression and to be free from arbitrary imprisonment.

Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I am pleased to support this bipartisan bill before us today. The brutal Burmese military continues to exercise outsized influence over the government in that country and tramples the rights of many who dare to dissent. True to American ideals, this measure expresses our solidarity and concern for political prisoners in Burma and, really, throughout the world, and it deserves our full support.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Levin, for his strong, bipartisan support for this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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