Now the Senate must pass the Burma Act
Thanks to your hard work, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the BURMA Act by unanimous consent.
You can watch U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Gregory Meeks speak powerfully in support of the BURMA Act at this link: speech by Rep. Meeks. In addition, click this link to read his statement on the passage of the bill.
Your actions made the difference in this success. Through our online action, you have sent Congress more than 35,000 messages in support of the BURMA Act. You’ve sent hundreds more direct emails to Congressional staffers. You’ve participated in dozens of meetings with Congress in person or via Zoom.
Now our attention turns to the Senate to pass the BURMA Act and send it to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
Please share this action with your friends and on your social media with this short link: https://bit.ly/BurmaBill
Please follow up your message with phone calls and emails to the staff of your U.S. senators.
We have a new resource to make this easier for you.
We’ve created an online listing of key staff of every member of the U.S. Senate. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/USSenateMyanmar
If you have extra time, please make a phone call and follow up email to the staff of your U.S. senators. Just follow the steps below! Sometimes just one call or direct email from you can make the difference.
Follow up #1: make a phone call
- Click here to check if your U.S. senators are already a co-sponsor of the Senate “Burma Act of 2021” (S.2937). (If he or she is a co-sponsor, simply call to thank them. We don’t do that enough!)
- Find the names, phone number, and emails of key staff of your U.S. senators here: https://bit.ly/USSenateMyanmar
- When you reach their office, ask to be connected directly to the staffer, either in person on their voicemail.
- Simply tell the staffer – in person or on their voicemail – you want your senator to co-sponsor the Burma Act of 2021 (S.2937)
- Leave your name, number, and city of residence to indicate that you live in the state.
- Email us at info@newmyanmar.org and tell us how your calls went. (And please tell us of any changes in your senators’ staffers.)
Follow up #2: email your representative’s staffer
Click here to find the name, email, and phone number of a key staffer of your U.S. senators
You may wish to use a succinct and direct subject line such as: “Please co-sponsor the Burma Act of 2021 (S.2937)”Start your message with a mention of where you live in the state. Feel free to include a sentence or two on why you care about human rights and Myanmar in particular. Please use or adapt the following text in your email. Please blind copy (bcc) us on your email at info@newmyanmar.org.
I ask that you co-sponsor the Burma Act of 2021 (S.2937).
Congress must show leadership in holding the Myanmar military accountable for its coup d’etat and its brutal crimes against humanity. Congress must also show support for Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and its democratic and multi-ethnic new National Unity Government (NUG).
Please write back and tell me when my senator will co-sponsor the Burma Act of 2021 (S.2937). Thank you.
Follow up #3: Do want to learn how to lobby Congress? Every week, we host two training and discussion sessions on Zoom to show you how we can best lobby our Members of Congress. They are held on Sundays at 6:00 pm US EDT and Tuesdays at 9:00 pm US EDT. Simply join the Zoom call using this short link: https://www.tinyurl.com/CallCongress4Burma. You can also email Mike with any questions at mike.haack@newmyanmar.org.
Follow up #4: Join our lobbying efforts. We can support you with setting up meetings by Zoom with your Congressional offices. Again, contact Mike Haack, from the Campaign for a New Myanmar, to take part of that at mike.haack@newmyanmar.org.
Just one meeting, email, or phone call from a constituent can make a difference. Your Members of Congress need to know that you want Congress to act. The people of Myanmar can’t wait any longer.