I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1112 

To require a report on the military coup in Burma, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 18, 2021 

Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, and Mr. BUCHANAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To require a report on the military coup in Burma, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Democracy in 

5 Burma Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) On March 14, 2005, the House of Rep9 resentatives agreed to H. Res. 135, which estab10 lished the House Democracy Assistance Commission 


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1 (later changed to the House Democracy Partnership, 

2 hereafter referred to as ‘‘HDP’’) to work directly 

3 with parliaments around the world to support the 

4 development of effective, independent, and respon5 sive legislative institutions. 

6 (2) HDP approved a legislative strengthening 

7 partnership with Burma in 2016 and organized the 

8 first congressional delegation to meet with the new 

9 civilian-led government, led by State Counselor Aung 

10 San Suu Kyi, and civil society leaders in May 2016. 

11 (3) On February 2, 2021, the U.S. Department 

12 of State assessed that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the 

13 leader of Burma’s ruling party, and President Win 

14 Myint, the duly elected head of government, were de15 posed in a military coup on February 1, 2021. 

16 (4) As part of the military coup, the Burmese 

17 military declared martial law, suspended the civilian18 led government, and detained newly elected Members 

19 of Parliament in the capitol, Naypyidaw, thereby 

20 usurping the role of the democratically elected gov21 ernment and parliament. 

22 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that— 

24 (1) due to the Burmese military’s seizure of 

25 government through the detention of State CounVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:04 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1112.IH H1112

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1 sellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and 

2 other government leaders, Burma is not represented 

3 by a democratically elected government; 

4 (2) the inability of newly elected Members of 

5 Parliament to begin their official mandate due to the 

6 Burmese military’s actions directly threatens the 

7 democratic trajectory of Burma’s Parliament, and 

8 thereby the country; 

9 (3) the will and determination of those duly10 elected Members of Parliament who are taking it 

11 upon themselves to continue serving as representa12 tives of the people through alternative methods of 

13 communicating and convening should be lauded; and 

14 (4) by preventing the Parliament from com15 pleting its work, the Burmese military has rendered 

16 impossible and effectively nullified the international 

17 collaborative relationships that have supported and 

18 strengthened the institution, including the Burmese 

19 parliament’s partnership with HDP. 

20 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

21 It is the policy of the United States to— 

22 (1) engage with the Association of Southeast 

23 Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ASEAN member 

24 states to— 

25 (A) condemn the military coup in Burma; 


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1 (B) urge the unconditional release of de2 tained democratically elected leaders and civil 

3 society members; and 

4 (C) support a return to Burma’s demo5 cratic transition; and 

6 (2) instruct, as appropriate, representatives of 

7 the United States Government to use the voice, vote, 

8 and influence of the United States at the United 

9 Nations to hold accountable those responsible for the 

10 military coup in Burma. 

11 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

12 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

14 the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 

15 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 

17 Appropriations of the Senate a report on the military coup 

18 in Burma, including a description of efforts to implement 

19 the policy specified in section 4. 

Æ 


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