Press Release

For Immediate Release
July 27, 2010

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx) issued the statement below praising President Obama’s signing of H.J. Res. 83, which renews the import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act. The resolution unanimously passed the House on July, 14, 2010 and it passed the Senate on July 22, 2010. Led by Reps. Crowley and Peter King (R-NY) in the House and Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Senate, the resolution renews the ban on all imports from Burma as part of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act.

“I am gratified that the President signed these sanctions on Burma into law. This legislation shows that the United States is against the Burmese junta, and for the Burmese people.

“The Burmese junta is guilty of looting its own country, committing crimes against humanity against the Burmese people, and continuing to keep Burma’s legitimate leaders, like Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi, incarcerated.

“I am hopeful these restrictions will help to weaken the military junta, and I am committed to working within the international community to ensure the military junta is brought to justice.”

Congressman Crowley has a long track-record advocating for human rights in Burma, most recently spearheading the effort to award Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal and to secure passage of the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act. He is a six-term member on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs and a member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. Congressman Crowley is also a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

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