Joe Biden on Foreign Policy Former Vice President; previously Democratic Senator (DE)

Sub-sections under Foreign Policy:
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• East Asia
• Mideast
• Voting Record
• Other issues under Foreign Policy

Autocrats think democracy can't compete in the 21st century

Sanctions on Russia for interference in 2020 election

PROMISE KEPT: (CNN, 4/15/21): The Biden administration slapped sweeping sanctions on Russia over Moscow's alleged interference in the 2020 election, the massive SolarWinds hack and the ongoing occupation of Crimea, signaling it is adopting a tougher posture toward the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

ANALYSIS: President Trump denied all sanctions against Russia for interference in the 2016 presidential election; that was the focus of the first Trump impeachment. The Mueller Report detailed Russian interference, but Trump referred to it as "the Russia Hoax" and "Fake News." Biden's action signifies that the United States no longer considers Russian actions to be a hoax.

Promote LGBTQI+ rights worldwide via State Department

PROMISE KEPT: (Executive Memo on LGBTQI, 2.4/21): I am directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons. The Department of State shall lead a standing group, with appropriate interagency representation, to help ensure the Federal Government's swift and meaningful response to serious incidents that threaten the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons abroad.

OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Biden has fulfilled this promise in general, but not for the specific promise of establishing a special office. We consider this a general fulfillment because Biden expanded on his promise from "LGBTQ" to "LGBTQI+"--adding "intersex persons"--Biden has consistently used the longer list in his public pronouncements.

Mueller Report: I did nothing wrong; Trump bribed Ukraine

TRUMP: I was put through a phony witch hunt for three years. It started before I got elected. They spied on my campaign. Let me just say this, Mueller and 18 angry Democrats and FBI agents all over the place spent $48 million. They went through everything I had, including my tax returns, and they found absolutely no collusion and nothing wrong. $48 million. I guarantee you, if I spent $1 million on you, Joe, I could find plenty wrong.

BIDEN: I later learned of Burisma, a company that somehow, I had done something wrong, yet every single person, when he was going through his impeachment, testifying under oath, said I did my job impeccably. I carried out U.S. policy, not one single solitary thing was out of line. Number two, the guy who got in trouble in Ukraine was this guy trying to bribe the Ukrainian government to say something negative about me, which they would not do and did not do because it never ever, ever happened.

The days of cozying up to dictators is over

"I take very personally and the profound responsibility of serving as commander in chief," Biden said. "I'll be a president who will stand with our allies and friends and make it clear to our adversaries the days of cozying up to dictators is over."

Helped with $750M Latin America funding

Putin wants to weaken NATO and democracy

BIDEN: Well, I think they are. They're acts that are violating our sovereignty. I'm the guy who went over to our NATO colleagues and worked out an agreement before their last series of elections a year and a half ago, where we got everybody running for office to take a pledge that they would let anyone know that if there was any interference taking place, they would reject any outside help. And one of the very reasons why the president got impeached is because he went to outside folks, seeking help in our election. Putin is a guy who, in fact, is not anything remotely approaching a democrat with a small "d." His entire objective is to weaken Eastern Europe, bring down NATO, so that he does not have to face the constituency he faces now.

US should promote LGBTQ rights worldwide; stop aid if needed

BIDEN: In my State Department, we will have a special office that's devoted directly to promoting LGBTQ rights around the world. I would curtail aid to countries that engage in that kind of behavior.

Q: Saudi Arabia?

BIDEN: Saudi Arabia, same thing.

$750M to Central America to address root cause of migration

We also implemented new programs to help those in immediate danger by allowing them to apply for asylum. By the end of the Obama administration, we began to see results.

Easier for Russia to deal with disunified West

BIDEN: I think that'd be a little bit of an exaggeration. The Cold War was based on a conflict of two profoundly different ideological notions of how the world should function. This is just basically about a kleptocracy protecting itself. That's a vast oversimplification. It's much easier if you're dealing with 28 different nations not in union with one another, not a Western economy that is coordinated.

Repair US relations with Central America's Northern Triangle

At one point soon after, the president asked me to take over the job o repairing our wobbly relations across the entirety of the Americas--the Northern Triangle, Brazil, the Caribbean, everything.

A few weeks after that I was headed to Guatemala for a two-day summit with the leaders of the Northern Triangle countries. My job was to persuade them that they had to make the hard political choices that would convince the United States Congress to fund their Alliance for Prosperity.

Create secure, democratic, middle-class Western Hemisphere

"The changes under way give all of us an opportunity to look at the hemisphere in a very different way: I think we should be talking about the hemisphere as middle class, secure, and democratic. From Canada to Chile and everywhere in between."

Russia vs. Ukraine: Big country beating up a smaller one

I was the point man for our administration on the crisis, which was exactly where I wanted to be. There were academics in the news saying Ukraine was bound to be a defeat for the West, & it would be an unwelcome albatross on my neck if I ran for president in 2016. "He's tied to Ukraine policy," a presidential scholar from Pennsylvania told a reporter. "So he could be vulnerable." I didn't much care. There was an important principle at stake: big countries ought not to beat up smaller ones, especially after they had given their word not to. Ukraine had given up its nuclear weapons program years earlier--in return for a guarantee from the U.S., the United Kingdom, AND RUSSIA to respect its borders and its sovereignty. Two of the three larger countries had kept that promise.

Intervention in Venezuela would turn S. America against US

Nation-building can prevent full-scale military actions

The US is less secure and more isolated in recent history

Foreign policy needs informed consent of American people

Doctrine of crisis prevention, not preemption

A: Clarity. Prevention, not preemption. An absolute repudiation of this president’s doctrine, which has only three legs in the stool: 1) don’t talk to anybody; 2) preemption; & 3) regime change. I would reject all three. We need a doctrine of prevention. The role of a great power is to prevent crises. And we don’t have to imagine any of the crises. You have Pakistan, Russia, China, Darfur.

Recognized 1915 Turkish genocide of millions of Armenians

PROMISE KEPT: (NBC News, 4/24/21): Biden officially acknowledged the killing of more than a million Armenians by Ottoman Turks more than a century ago as genocide, a move that could complicate an already strained relationship between the U.S. and Turkey. As a candidate, Biden said he would make the designation, and a bipartisan group of members of Congress urged Biden to take action ahead of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day,

ANALYSIS: Congress approved a resolution recognizing genocide in 2007, but Pres. Bush declined to support it, because it would harm relations with Turkey, our NATO ally. Pres. Obama promised recognition but declined to do so as President.

Meet advancing authoritarianism, including China & Russia

We must meet the new moment accelerating global challenges--from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation--challenging the will only to be solved by nations working together and in common. We can't do it alone. We must start with diplomacy rooted in America's most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, and treating every person with dignity.

That's the grounding wire of our global power. That's our inexhaustible source of strength. That's America's abiding advantage.

Pressure China to obey international rules

America First means America Alone

We find ourselves, in the Western Pacific, where we're isolated as well. You have Japan and South Korea at odds with one another. China is making moves. So I would say, we're find ourselves less secure than we've been. I do compliment the president on the deal with Israel recently. But if you take a look, we're not very well trusted around the world. When 17 major nations in the world were asked who they trust more, who's a better leader, and the president came in behind both, the international survey, both behind Putin, as well as Xi. And look what Putin is doing.

Russia is an opponent, not an enemy

BIDEN: Putin knows me; the reason he doesn't want me as president: he knows I mean it [when I say that Russia] attempting to interfere with our election is a violation of our sovereignty. I don't mean war. But they'll pay a price. They'll pay a price for it, and it'll be an economic price. I've made it clear, early on, there will be a price to pay. And if it's done again, which it appears to be being done, there will be a price to pay.

Q: Can you be more specific? What is the price to pay?

BIDEN: It wouldn't be prudent for me to be more specific. But I assure you, they will pay a price.

Q: Do you believe Russia is an enemy?

BIDEN: I believe Russia is an opponent. I really do. Putin's overwhelming objective is to break up NATO, to fundamentally alter the circumstance in Europe, so he doesn't have to face an entire NATO contingent, any one country he is stronger than.

NATO will crumble if Trump wins a second term

We must keep our commitments when we make them, like NATO

We should not have abandoned the Kurds

I know all world leaders, and they know I keep my word

I've never been more optimistic. We're the wealthiest nation in the world, our workers are three times as productive as workers in Asia. We have great research universities. I'm tired of everybody walking around like woe is me. Let's remember, this is the United States of America. There has never, ever, ever been a time when we have set our mind to do something we've been unable to do it. It's time to remember, get up, let's take back this country and lead the world again.

Russia wants to break up NATO; work with Turkey to keep it

Joe Biden: I think I may be, doesn't make me any better or worse, but may be the only person who spent extensive time alone with Putin, as well as with Erdogan. And Erdogan understands that. You talk about should he stay in or out of NATO? He understands that he's out of NATO, he's in real trouble. But the fact of the matter is we have been one willing in this administration because we have an erratic, crazy President who knows not a damn thing about foreign policy, and operates out of fear for his own reelection. Think what's happened. The fact of the matter is you have Russia influencing and trying to break up NATO. What does the president do? He says, "I believe Vladimir Putin. I don't believe our intelligence community."

Work with NATO, with U.S. as the indispensable leader

• He accuses Trump of abandoning U.S. global leadership and wants to see the U.S. regain its place as the "indispensable leader of the free world."
• While Biden emphasizes diplomacy, he favors the NATO alliance so that "when we have to fight, we are not fighting alone."
• Biden sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which authorized the U.S. to lead the NATO assault on Yugoslavia and invasion of Kosovo in 1999.

Opposition to European alliances like NATO is dumb

US can't do it alone: stay engaged in the world

Revive Alliance for Prosperity with Central America

We can both strengthen U.S. border security and treat migrants arriving from Central America with dignity and decency instead of cruelty and callousness. But their overwhelming desire to flee their countries and risk everything to enter the United States shows that their governments are still failing them. This migration will only continue unless we keep up the pressure and provide the support to make the Northern Triangle of Central America a prosperous and secure place to call home.

An internationalist as Foreign Relations Committee chair

US and Russia can disagree and still work together

While we no longer considered each other enemies, you couldn't always tell that from the rhetoric flying back and forth. Ironically, this came at a time when American and Russian security interests, as well as economic interests, were more closely aligned than ever. That's why Pres. Obama made it a priority to reset our relationship with Russia--and asked me to launch it just three weeks into the new administration at the Munich Security Conference. I said then that "the United States and Russia can disagree and still work together where our interests coincide. And they coincide in many places."

We focused the reset on concrete outcomes that serve both countries' interests--"win-wins," as President Obama calls them.

New World Order should not mean US fights for the UN

Time to sit down and talk, talk, talk to enemies

PALIN: No. Kissinger shared with me his passion for diplomacy. But with some of these dictators who hate America and hate what we stand for, they cannot be met with just sitting down on a presidential level as Barack Obama had said he would be willing to do.

BIDEN: #1, Barack Obama did not say sit down with Ahmadinejad. #2 five secretaries of state did say we should talk with and sit down. Now, John and Gov. Palin now say we have to bring our friends and allies along. Our friends and allies have been saying, “Sit down. Talk. Talk. Talk.” Our friends and allies have been saying that, 5 secretaries of state, 3 of them Republicans. And John McCain has said he would go along with an agreement, but he wouldn’t sit down. Now, how do you do that when you don’t have your administration sit down and talk with the adversary?

We can no longer police the whole world

BIDEN: President Ford has not taken any new initiatives in foreign policy; he's conducting it in the manner of the 50's and 60's--basically a "cold war" philosophy, with a tinge of detente. In his "state of the world" message, he discussed every part of the world and there was no fundamental change of policy in any area. He spoke of all areas as having equal priority. He is still married to the concept that we can police the whole world, that we must stand up and be counted whenever communism--whatever that means, in the international sense--is a threat. There seems to be less emphasis on identifying U.S. self-interest than there is on that whole machismo thing that has guided foreign policy for so long. Kennedy may have been right for the early 60's, but his foreign policy would be wrong for 1975. Remember his inaugural address--we will fight any fight, defend any freedom... that kind of thing. We just can't do that anymore.

Regional Asian alliance with Japan, India and Australia

PROMISE PARTLY KEPT: (Financial Times, 3/7/21): President Joe Biden is poised to hold the first ever quadrilateral US summit with the leaders of Japan, India and Australia, as the four countries step up co-operation in an effort to counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific.

OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: President Trump described NATO, the European-based anti-USSR alliance--as "obsolete"; NATO is what Biden means by our most important "historic partnership" Biden also hints at restoring SEATO, the equivalent Southeast Asian alliance, which would similarly re-create an anti-China and anti-North Korea alliance.

Trump has legitimized North Korea, a rogue state

BIDEN: North Korea is a problem, and we're going make sure we can control them and make sure they cannot hurt us. If you want to do something about it, step up and help. If not, it's going to continue." What has he done? He's legitimized North Korea. He's talked about his good buddy, who's a thug. He talks about how we're better off. And they have much more capable missiles, able to reach US territory much more easily than before. The Korean Peninsula should be a nuclear free zone.

TRUMP: I met with Obama, he said, "The biggest problem we have is North Korea." He indicated we will be in a war with North Korea. I have a good relationship with Kim. We have a good relationship and there's no war. Having a good relationship with leaders of other countries is a good thing.

Insist on our experts in China, we have to lead the world

Joe Biden: I insisted, the moment this broke out, that we should insist on having our experts in China, in China to see what was happening, and make it clear to China there'd be consequences if we did not have that access. We have to lead the world. We need someone who knows how to bring the world together and insist on fundamental change in the way in which we're approaching this.

Meet with North Korea and China together

BIDEN: You don't negotiate with a dictator, give him legitimacy without any notion whether he is going to do anything at all. You don't do that. Look what happened. [President Trump] gave this dictator--he's a thug--legitimacy. We've weakened the sanctions around the world.

Q: So what would you do?

BIDEN: I would be in Beijing, I would be speaking with Xi Jinping. I would be reassigning the relationship between the Japan and South Korea, and I would make it clear to China, we are going to continue to move closer to make sure that we can, in fact, prevent North Korea from launching missiles to take them down.

Protect the Uighurs, but no military action against China

Biden: It's on a collision course with China but not for war. What we have to make clear is that we in fact are not going to abide by what they've done. One million Uyghurs, Muslims, are in concentration camps. They're being abused. We should be moving 60% of our sea power to that area of the world, to let the Chinese understand that they're not going to go any further. Secondly, we should make sure that we began to rebuild our alliances. We in fact need to have allies who understand that we're going to stop the Chinese from their actions. We should be gone to the UN immediately and sought sanctions against them and the United Nations for what they did. We have to be firm. We don't have to go to war but we have to make it clear, "This is as far as you go, China." And in terms of their military buildup, it's real but it would take them about 17 years to build up to where we are.

Speak out against China at UN, for Uighurs and Hong Kong

China's growth & stability depends on US Pacific presence

If we do our job correctly and we interface directly with the leadership, there will be intense competition, there will be occasional misunderstandings, but our children will not be looking at China as a sworn enemy. I do not believe that's in the cards. I believe there is healthy competition from a growing, emerging China, which I would argue is in the interest of all of us. One of the reasons China has been able to have this period of sustained growth and stability is because of a US presence in the Pacific, not in spite of.

Open dialogue means no military conflict with China

A: I am confident that it's in the interests of China and the emerging Chinese leadership that it not result in conflict. The last thing that they need at this moment is to engage in anything remotely approaching military competition with the US. I do not believe that is their intention. It clearly is not our intention. The most important thing to assure that this not occur is to have a frank, straightforward, private dialogue with the emerging leadership in China, letting them know what our interests are, letting them know what we believe our role is, and let them make judgments about whether or not that in any way conflicts with their growth patterns or their ability to maintain their own national security interest.

Rise of peaceful, responsible China in the interests of all

And we all have a role to play in encouraging Beijing to define its interests more in terms of common global concerns than merely introspective concerns. The United States is a Pacific power. The bottom line is that the USA has an important and specific interest in an Asia-Pacific region that is peaceful and growing--as do our Russian friends and our Japanese friends. So we ought to intensify our cooperation in advance of those interests, moving forward together.

Hold China accountable; it’s capitulation, not competition

A: I’ve been pushing, on the Foreign Relations Committee for the last seven years, that we hold China accountable at the United Nations. At the UN, we won’t even designate China as a violator of human rights. Now, what’s the deal there? We talk about competition in terms of trade. It’s capitulation, not competition. Name me another country in the world that we would allow to conduct themselves the way China has, and not call them on the carpet at the UN

Q: So you would call them on th carpet?

A: Absolutely.

Q: You would appoint a UN ambassador who would press for this?

A: It’s the one way to get China to reform. You can’t close your eyes. You can’t pretend. It is self-defeating. It’s a Hobson’s choice we’re giving people here.

China holds the mortgage on our house, to pay for war

A: They’re neither. The fact of the matter is, though, they hold the mortgage on our house. This administration, in order to fund a war that shouldn’t be being fought and tax cuts that weren’t needed for the wealthy--we’re now in debt almost a trillion dollars to China. We better end that war, cut those taxes, reduce the deficit and make sure that they no longer own the mortgage on our home.

No punishment for Saudis killing Jamal Khashoggi

PROMISE BROKEN: (A.P., 3/2/21): The Biden administration made clear it would forgo sanctions or any other major penalty against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Khashoggi killing, even after a U.S. intelligence report concluded the prince ordered it. Ultimately, Biden administration officials said, U.S. interests in maintaining relations with Saudi Arabia forbid making a pariah of a young prince who may go on to rule the kingdom for decades.

OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Biden was criticized for giving Bin Salman a pass, limiting sanctions to underlings carrying out his orders--but Biden played "realpolitik."

Israel must embrace two-state solution

Punish senior Saudi leaders; make them the pariah they are

BIDEN: Khashoggi was murdered on the order of the crown prince. I would make it clear we were not going to sell more weapons to them, we were going to make them the pariah that they are. There's very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia.

KLOBUCHAR: We need a new foreign policy in this country, and that means renewing our relationships with our allies. It means rejoining international agreements. It means reasserting our American values. When the president did not stand up the way he should have to that killing and that dismemberment of a journalist with an American newspaper, that sent a signal to all dictators across the country that was OK, and that's wrong.

2008: Pakistan is the world's most dangerous country

"Iran," said Obama.

"Iran," said Clinton.

Then it was Biden's turn. "Pakistan." The room did a double-take. As [Biden's long-time aide Ted] Kaufman explains, "Well, if Iran is a real problem because they MAY have nuclear weapons, Pakistan is a problem because they ALREADY HAVE nuclear weapons."

Plenty of national security experts agreed with Biden. As recently as 2017, the former CIA station chief of Islamabad said, "With a failing economy, rampant terrorism, the fastest growing nuclear arsenal, the sixth largest population, and one of the highest birthrates in the world, Pakistan is of grave concern. It probably is the most dangerous country in the world."

Kaufman concluded, "I absolutely think that the reason why Obama picked him for vice president was because of watching him on the Foreign Relations Committee, and going through the debates with him."

Jewish state of Israel is only way to ensure "Never Again"

I remember my father, a Christian, being baffled at the debate taking place at the end of World War II talking about whether or not to establish the State of Israel. My father would say, were he a Jew, he would never, never entrust the security of his people to any individual nation, no matter how good and how noble it was, like the United States.

President Obama shares my commitment. We both know that Israel faces new threats, new pressures and uncertainty. The threats to Israel's existence continue, but they have changed as the world and the region have changed over the last decade.

Condemned 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem

Biden thereupon delayed his arrival as a demonstration of his disapproval. The next day Biden went on to the Palestinian Territory. There he told Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that the latest Israeli decision "undermined that very trust that we need right now in order to have profitable negotiations," and was "why I immediately condemned the action." He said his criticism came "at the request of Pres. Obama," which drew applause, addition that "sometimes only a friend can deliver the hardest truth."

Biggest threat to US is from North Korea, Iran, & Russia

A: The biggest threat to the US is, right now, North Korea. Iran not as big a threat, but a long-term threat. And quite frankly, the tendency of Putin to move in a totalitarian direction, which would unhinge all that’s going on positively in Europe.

Moral self-interest in defending Israel & Western Europe

1. self-interest in terms of physical security;
2. economic self-interest; and
3. moral self-interest.

1993: Strongly endorsed $1.6B Russia aid package

Although a public poll said that 75% of the American people were opposed to giving Russia more money, and we were already in a hard fight for the economic plan, I felt we had no choice but to press ahead. American had spent trillions of dollars in defense to win the Cold War; we couldn't risk reversal over less that $2 billion and a bad poll. To the surprise of my staff, the congressional leaders, including the Republicans, agreed with me. At a meeting I convened to push the plan, Senator Joe Biden, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, strongly endorsed the aid package. Newt Gingrich was passionately in favor of helping Russia, saying it was a "great defining moment" for American and we had to do the right thing.

Voted YES on cooperating with India as a nuclear power.

• Approves the US-India Agreement for Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.
• Declares that it is US policy to prevent the transfer to India of nuclear equipment, materials, or technology from other participating governments in the Nuclear Suppliers Group or from any other source; and
• any nuclear power reactor fuel reserve provided to India for use in safeguarded civilian nuclear facilities should be commensurate with reasonable reactor operating requirements.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Rep. HOWARD BERMAN (D, CA-28): Integrating India into a global nonproliferation regime is a positive step. Before anyone gets too sanctimonious about India's nuclear weapons program, we should acknowledge that the five recognized nuclear weapons states have not done nearly enough to fulfill their commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, including making serious reductions in their own arsenals, nor in the case of the US in ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. BARBARA LEE (D, CA-9): In withholding my approval, I seek not to penalize the people of India but, rather, to affirm the principle of nuclear nonproliferation. Jettisoning adherence to the international nuclear nonproliferation framework that has served the world so well for more than 30 years, as approval of the agreement before us would do, is just simply unwise. It is also reckless.

Approval of this agreement undermines our efforts to dissuade countries like Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. By approving this agreement, all we are doing is creating incentives for other countries to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Voted YES on enlarging NATO to include Eastern Europe.

Voted YES on killing a bill for trade sanctions if China sells weapons.

Voted NO on capping foreign aid at only $12.7 billion.

Vetoed by President Clinton

The overall funding provided by H.R. 2606 is inadequate. By denying America a decent investment in diplomacy, this bill suggests we should meet threats to our security with our military might alone. That is a dangerous proposition. For if we underfund our diplomacy, we will end up overusing our military.

For example, A generation from now, no one is going to say we did too much to help the nations of the former Soviet Union safeguard their nuclear technology and expertise. If the funding cuts in this bill were to become law, future generations would certainly say we did too little and that we imperiled our future in the process.
Status: Conf Rpt Agreed to Y)51; N)49

Voted NO on limiting the President's power to impose economic sanctions.

Voted NO on limiting NATO expansion to only Poland, Hungary & Czech.

Voted YES on $17.9 billion to IMF.

Voted YES on Strengthening of the trade embargo against Cuba.

Voted YES on ending Vietnam embargo.

Multi-year commitment to Africa for food & medicine.

In an effort to reduce hunger in sub-Saharan Africa, urges the President to:
1. set forth five-year and ten-year strategies to achieve a reversal of current levels of hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, including a commitment to contribute an appropriate U.S. share of increased bilateral and multilateral poverty-focused resources for sub-Saharan Africa, with an emphasis on health (including HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment), education, agriculture, private sector and free market development, democratic institutions and the rule of law, micro-finance development, and debt relief; and

2. work with the heads of other donor countries and sub-Saharan African countries and with private and voluntary organizations and other civic organizations to implement such strategies; and calls for

3. Congress to undertake a multi-year commitment to provide the resources to implement those strategies; and

4. the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to report on such implementation.

Impose sanctions and an import ban on Burma.

A bill to impose sanctions on officials of the State Peace and Development Council in Burma, to prohibit the importation of gemstones and hardwoods from Burma, & to promote a coordinated international effort to restore civilian democratic rule to Burma.

(The two Senate versions currently differ in wording). The Saffron Revolution Support Act states that it is U.S. policy to:

1. support the democratic aspirations of Burma's people;
2. condemn the repression carried out by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); and
3. hold accountable individuals responsible for the repression of peaceful political activity in Burma.

1. SPDC officials who play or have played a substantial role in political repression in Burma or in the commission of human rights abuses;
2. Subjects persons so identified to U.S. entry prohibition and financial sanctions.
3. Amends the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 to prohibit the importation into the US of Burmese gems, teak, or other hardwood timber.
4. Prohibits any U.S. person or corporation from investing in Burma.

Introductory statement by Sponsor:

Sen. McCAIN. The world has reacted with horror and revulsion at the Burmese junta's recent brutal crackdown against peaceful demonstrators. In crushing the Saffron Revolution, killing hundreds and jailing thousands, including countless Buddhist monks, the junta has left no doubt about its blatant disregard for basic human decency. We, as Americans, stand on the side of freedom, not fear; of peace, not violence; and of the millions in Burma who aspire to a better life, not those who would keep them isolated and oppressed. Our response must go beyond statements of condemnation, and the time to act is now. This legislation imposes meaningful and effective punitive action against the cruel, thuggish, and illegitimate Burmese government.

Remove African National Congress from terrorist list.

A bill to exempt the African National Congress from treatment as a terrorist organization. [The ANC is now the ruling party of South Africa; as head of the ANC, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years by the apartheid government before becoming President of South Africa].

• For purposes of alien inadmissibility based upon terrorist-related grounds the African National Congress (ANC) shall not be considered to be a terrorist organization on the basis of any act or event that occurred before the date of enactment of such Act.
• Expresses the sense of Congress to exempt the anti-apartheid activities of aliens who are current or former officials of the government of the Republic of South Africa.
• Legislative Outcome: Related bill: H.R.5690; became Public Law 110-257 on 7/1/2008

Implement Darfur Peace Agreement with UN peacekeeping force.

A resolution calling for peace in Darfur.
• Calls upon the government of Sudan and other signatories and non-signatories to the May 5, 2006, Darfur Peace Agreement to cease hostilities.
• Calls upon the government of Sudan to facilitate the deployment of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force, including any non-African peacekeepers.
• Urges all invited individuals and movements to attend the next round of peace negotiations without preconditions.
• Condemns: (1) intimidation or threats against camp or civil society leaders to discourage them from attending the peace talks; and (2) actions by any party that undermines the Darfur peace process.
• Calls upon all parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to support all terms of the agreement.
• Legislative Outcome: Resolution agreed to in Senate, by Unanimous Consent.

Condemns Russia for provocative statements to Georgia.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding provocative and dangerous statements made by the Government of the Russian Federation that undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia.

• Whereas, since 1993, the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia has been reaffirmed by the international community and 32 UN Security Council resolutions;
• Whereas the Government of the Republic of Georgia has pursued with good faith the peaceful resolution of territorial conflicts in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the end of hostilities in 1993;
• Whereas, for several years, the Government of Russia has engaged in an ongoing process of usurping the sovereignty of Georgia in Abkhazia and South Ossetia by awarding subsidies, the right to vote in elections in Russia, and Russian passports to people living in those regions;
• Whereas the announcement of the Government of the Russian Federation that it will establish 'official ties' with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and further involve itself in aspects of their government appears to be a thinly veiled attempt at annexation;
• Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Congress condemns recent decisions made by the Government of the Russian Federation to establish 'official ties' with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia;
• Calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to disavow this policy, which gives the appearance of being motivated by an appetite for annexation;
• affirms that the restoration of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia is in the interest of all who seek peace and stability in the region.

Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide of the early 1900s.

• WHEREAS the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed, and which succeeded in the elimination of more than 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their historic homeland;
• WHEREAS, on May 24, 1915, the Allied Powers issued the joint statement of England, France, and Russia that explicitly charged, for the first time ever, another government of committing "a crime against humanity";
• WHEREAS, despite the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the failure of the domestic and international authorities to punish those responsible for the Armenian Genocide is a reason why similar genocides have recurred and may recur in the future, and that a just resolution will help prevent future genocides:
• NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Senate calls on the President, in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide, to accurately characterize the systematic annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide and to recall the proud history of US intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.

Urge Venezuela to re-open dissident radio & TV stations.

• WHEREAS for several months, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, has been announcing over various media that he will not renew the current concession of the television station "Radio Caracas Televisión", also known as RCTV, which is set to expire on May 27, 2007, because of its adherence to an editorial stance different from his way of thinking;
• WHEREAS President Chavez justifies this measure based on the alleged role RCTV played in the unsuccessful unconstitutional attempts in April 2002 to unseat President Chavez, under circumstances where there exists no filed complaint or judicial sentence that would sustain such a charge under Venezuelan law;
• NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate--
• (1) expresses its profound concern about the transgression against freedom of thought and expression that is being committed in Venezuela by the refusal of the President Hugo Chavez to renew the concession of RCTV
• (2) strongly encourages the Organization of American States to respond appropriately, with full consideration of the necessary institutional instruments, to such transgression.

Let Ukraine & Georgia enter NATO.

Congressional Summary: A resolution expressing strong support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to enter into a Membership Action Plan with Georgia and Ukraine:

1. reaffirming support for enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to include democratic governments that are able to meet the membership responsibilities;
2. that NATO's expansion contributes to its relevance;
3. that Georgia and Ukraine are strong allies that have made important progress in the areas of defense and democratic and human rights reform;
4. that a stronger relationship among Georgia, Ukraine, and NATO will benefit those countries and NATO member states; and
5. that the United States should take the lead in supporting the awarding of a Membership Action Plan to Georgia and Ukraine.

Legislative Outome: Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.

Condemn violence by Chinese government in Tibet.

A resolution condemning the violence in Tibet and calling for restraint by the Government of the People's Republic of China and the people of Tibet. Calls for:

1. a dialogue between the government of China and His Holiness the Dalai Lama on religious and cultural autonomy for Tibet within China; and
2. release of peaceful protesters.

Calls on the PRC to:
1. respect the right of the people of Tibet to speak of the Dalai Lama and possess his photograph;
2. respect basic human rights;
3. allow international journalists free access to China; and
4. provide a full accounting of the March 2008 protests in Tibet.

Sanction Mugabe until Zimbabwe transitions to democracy.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the political situation in Zimbabwe. Expresses the sense of the Senate:

1. supporting the people of Zimbabwe;
2. that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should immediately release the legitimate results of the presidential election and ratify the previously announced results of the parliamentary elections;
3. that President Robert Mugabe should accept the will of the people of Zimbabwe in order to effect a timely and peaceful transition to democratic rule;
4. that the U.S. government and the international community should impose targeted sanctions against individuals in the government of Zimbabwe and state security services and militias who are responsible for human rights abuses and election interference;
5. that the U.S. government and the international community should work together to prepare an economic and political recovery package for Zimbabwe;
6. that regional organizations should play an active role in resolving the crisis; and
7. that the U.N. Security Council should support efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution of the crisis and impose an international arms embargo on Zimbabwe until a legitimate democratic government has taken power.

Pressure friendly Arab states to end Israeli boycott.

Dear Secretary Rice,
In the past, the lack of sufficient support from [non-participating] Arab states have made it difficult to reach agreements [on the Arab-Israeli conflict]. You should press friendly Arab countries that have not yet done so, to:
1. Participate in the upcoming international meeting and be a full partner of the US in advancing regional peace
2. Take visible, meaningful steps in the financial, diplomatic and political arena to help Palestinian President Abbas govern effectively and meet obligations to fight terror
3. Stop support for terrorist groups and cease all anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incitement
4. Recognize Israel's right to exist and not use such recognition as a bargaining chip for future Israeli concessions
5. End the Arab League economic boycott of Israel in all of its forms
6. Pressure Hamas to recognize Israel, reject terror, and accept prior agreements, and isolate Hamas until it takes such steps.