Senator Bill Cassidy | Sen. Bill Cassidy Official Website
Senator Bill Cassidy | Sen. Bill Cassidy Official Website
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Gary Peters (D-MI), and five colleagues have introduced the Armenian Protection Act, a legislation aimed at preventing the United States from providing security assistance to Azerbaijan. This assistance is currently allowed under a waiver to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. The bill seeks to halt this assistance until it has been determined that Azerbaijan is not engaging in offensive actions against the Armenians. The senators took this step in response to Azerbaijan's unilateral seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh through the use of force.
"Through the 907 waiver authority, Americans saw their tax money used to provide weapons to Azerbaijan to attack lands where Armenians have lived for centuries. That is not only wrong, it's perverse. This bill withdraws that authority," said U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy.
U.S. Senator Gary Peters added, "The Azerbaijani government has made it clear – it will use its military resources to eliminate the presence of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. The United States cannot be complicit in Azerbaijani violence against the Armenian people. We must pass this legislation to block additional American aid to Azerbaijan until it puts an end to its aggression in the region."
The Armenian Protection Act was introduced by Cassidy and Peters, along with U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and John Kennedy (R-LA).
Background
The Freedom Support Act generally prohibits most bilateral assistance to Azerbaijan. However, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, waiver authority was added to Section 907, granting the President additional discretion to provide aid to Azerbaijan. Since 2002, Presidents from both parties have invoked this waiver authority annually, and the Biden Administration is currently reviewing its waiver authority for 2023.
###
To find out more, go to this link: https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-peters-colleagues-introduce-bill-removing-presidential-authority-to-provide-aid-to-azerbaijan-following-attacks-on-armenian-people
Alerts Sign-up