Warren, Coons Lead Senate Democrats in Pressing Trump Administration’s Inadequate Earthquake Response in Burma
Senators Call for Sanctions Clarity, Stronger U.S. Aid Effort as China and Russia Take the Lead
“This is the first test of the United States’s ability to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the wake of the administration’s foreign assistance review and dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).”
Washington, DC – Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations (SFRC) Subcommittee on East Asia, The Pacific, & International Cybersecurity Policy, were joined by 4 other SFRC colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, urging the Trump Administration to step up U.S. relief efforts in Burma and ensure sanctions do not block aid, as China and Russia rapidly deploy rescue teams and millions in assistance.
“We ask that you make clear that U.S. sanctions will not impede providing critical relief in the wake of this natural disaster, and we urge you to organize a stronger emergency assistance effort as the death toll climbs and millions of displaced people endure both aftershocks from the earthquake and ongoing Burmese military airstrikes,” wrote the Senators.
Despite past precedent, the Trump Administration announced a mere $2 million in aid and reportedly does not intend to send a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). Since disasters of this scale typically call for a greater response, the Senators are demanding clarity on future plans to provide relief and whether the Trump Administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has permanently weakened America’s ability to lead in global humanitarian crises.
“Even as the Administration has wittingly undercut our ability to efficiently save lives and promote U.S. interests, we call on the State Department and USAID to rapidly assess what the United States can still do for people in Burma, including with resources already in the region.”
The Senators also pressed the Treasury Department to clarify that U.S. sanctions do not block life-saving earthquake relief. The letter underscored recent precedent for taking such steps, pointing to authorization for relief efforts following a deadly earthquake in Turkiye and Syria in 2023.
“We also urge the Department of the Treasury to expeditiously issue public documentation clearly authorizing all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Burma that would otherwise be prohibited by U.S. sanctions,” wrote the Senators.
The letter was also signed by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
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