Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) condemns the annual U.S. presidential waiver of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan and urges passage of the amendment (#337) led by Rep. Congresswoman Jackie Speier calling for a State Department and Defense Department report on the effects of U.S. military assistance on Armenia/Azerbaijan peace negotiations, ANCA reports.
"We don't believe that there is any justification for waiving [Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act] because of the constant threat that Azerbaijan poses not only to Nagorno Karabakh but also to Armenia itself, that continues ever since [the 2020] war."
The Speier Amendment #337 will be voted on Thursday as part of "en bloc 3" – a larger grouping of amendments to the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R.7900).
Joining Rep. Speier and Rep. Pallone as congressional cosponsors of the bi-partisan measure include Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA).