On the recordMay 7, 2014
In closing, I would like to thank Congressman McGovern, the gentleman from Massachusetts, for drafting this important legislation. Once again, I thank Chairman Royce for his continued bipartisan leadership. As has been said, this resolution calls upon the Burmese government to end the persecution of the Rohingya people and to respect the human rights of all ethnic and religious minority groups. Until now, the treatment of the Rohingya has been largely ignored by the international community. That is the purpose of this resolution--so they cannot be ignored any longer. It is time for the United States to send a clear and strong message to the government of Burma that we will not tolerate the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, and that it must abide by human rights principles of equality and dignity if it is to rejoin the international community. So I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
