[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S979-S980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Akaka, Mr. 
        Alexander, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Bennett, Mr. 
        Biden, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Bond, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
        Brownback, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Burr, Mr. Byrd, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
        Cardin, Mr. Casey, Mr. Chambliss, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Coburn, Mr. 
        Coleman, Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Craig, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. 
        Dole, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Feingold, Mr. 
        Gregg, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Harkin, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
        Inouye, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Ms. 
        Klobuchar, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Kyl, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. 
        Leahy, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Lugar, Mr. 
        Martinez, Mr. McCain, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Menendez, Ms. 
        Mikulski, Ms. Murkowski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Obama, Mr. Pryor, Mr. 
        Reed, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
        Smith, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Stevens, Mr. 
        Sununu, Mr. Voinovich, and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 2631. A bill to award a congressional gold medal to Daw Aung San 
Suu Kyi in recognition of her courageous and unwavering commitment to 
peace, nonviolence, human rights, and democracy in Burma; to the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today with my good friend and 
colleague, Senator McConnell, to introduce the Aung San Suu Kyi 
Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2008.
  We are proud to be joined by 73 of our colleagues in sponsoring this 
measure to award the Congressional Gold Medal to a woman who has 
inspired us all with her commitment to nonviolence, democracy, human 
rights, and the rule of law for the people of Burma. On December 17, 
2007, the House voted 400-0 to award Suu Kyi this honor and we urge the 
Senate to promptly follow suit.
  Last September we witnessed the largest democratic demonstrations in 
Burma in almost 20 years. Tens of thousands of Burmese citizens took to 
the streets in peaceful demonstrations to speak out against the 
country's oppressive military regime, and to cry out for democracy.
  I watched these courageous people with a deep sense of admiration and 
respect.
  Led by respected Buddhist monks, the people of the ``Saffron 
Revolution'' called on the military junta to release all political 
prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and 
engage in a true dialogue on national reconciliation. Yet, as it had in 
the past, the military junta responded to the recent peaceful protests 
with violence and bloodshed. Soldiers used brutal force to break up the 
protests, beating and sometimes killing innocent civilians.
  No amount of force, however, can crush the spirit of Aung San Suu Kyi 
and her peaceful quest for democracy and human rights. Indeed, she is a 
woman of unrivaled courage. In the face of threats, intimidation, 
harassment, and an assassination attempt, she has never wavered from 
her principles and continues to support national reconciliation for all 
the people of Burma.
  By introducing this legislation, we seek not only to honor a 
remarkable woman who embodies the values and standards of the 
Congressional Gold Medal, but also to raise our voices once again in 
support of her cause which is our cause: a free and democratic Burma.
  By now, her story is well known. Aung San Suu Kyi was born on June 
19, 1945, in Rangoon to Aung San, commander of the Burma Independence 
Army, and Ma Khin Kyi. In August 1988, Suu Kyi, in her first political 
action, sent an open letter to the military-controlled government, 
asking for free, open and multi-party elections. The following month, 
she founded the National League for Democracy, which remains dedicated 
to a policy of nonviolence and civil disobedience. Suu Kyi was named 
its general-secretary.
  Recognizing the threat Suu Kyi posted to their grip on power, the 
Burmese junta had her placed under house arrest and held without 
charges or trial. Yet, despite the best efforts of the military junta 
to suppress the growing democratic movement, in 1990 the National 
League for Democracy won 82 percent of the seats in parliamentary 
elections. But the junta annulled the election results and refused to 
release Suu Kyi.
  Since then, the Burmese regime--now called the State Peace and 
Development Council--has refused to engage in a national dialogue with 
Suu Kyi and the democratic opposition, and intensified its campaign of 
oppression and abuse. In 2003, pro-government thugs attempted to 
assassinate Su Kyi and other members of the National League for 
Democracy as they rode in a motorcade in the northern city of Depayin.
  Last May, the military junta renewed her house arrest for another 
year. In fact, for most of the past 18 years, she has remained 
imprisoned or under house arrest, alone without

[[Page S980]]

minimal contact with the outside world.
  Yet, as in 1990, the regime has once again failed to stamp out Suu 
Kyi's message of democracy, human rights, non-violence and the rule of 
law. She continues to inspire not only the people of Burma but the 
entire world. Indeed, Suu Kyi's commitment to freedom and democracy has 
been widely recognized.
  In 1990, Suu Kyi was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of 
Thought by the European Parliament. The prize honors efforts on behalf 
of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in opposition to 
injustice and oppression. It is named for the late Andrei Sakharov, the 
Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
  In 1991, Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment 
to nonviolence and support for freedom and democracy for Burma. She was 
not allowed to attend the ceremony. In its recommendation, the Nobel 
Committee wrote:

       In the good fight for peace and reconciliation, we are 
     dependent on persons who set examples, persons who can 
     symbolize what we are seeking and mobilize the best in us. 
     Aung San Suu Kyi is just such a person. She unites deep 
     commitment and tenacity with a vision in which the end and 
     the means form a single unit. Its most important elements 
     are: democracy, respect for human rights, reconciliation 
     between groups, non-violence, and personal and collective 
     discipline.

  Suu Kyi donated her $1.3 million in prize money to establish a health 
and education fund for Burma. She is the world's only imprisoned Nobel 
Peace Prize recipient.
  In 2000, Suu Kyi was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the 
Nation's highest civilian award, by President Bill Clinton.
  Last year, 45 U.S. Senators signed a letter to United Nations 
Secretary General Ban ki-Moon urging him to get personally involved in 
pressing for Suu Kyi's release.
  In letter addressed to the State Peace and Development Council, a 
distinguished group of 59 former heads of state--including former 
Filipino president Corazon Aquino, former Czech president Vaclav Havel, 
former British prime minister John Major and former Presidents Bill 
Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush--called for the regime to 
release Aung San Suu Kyi. They correctly noted that ``Aung San Suu Kyi 
is not calling for revolution in Burma, but rather peaceful, nonviolent 
dialogue between the military, National League for Democracy, and 
Burma's ethnic groups.''
  It is only fitting, that Congress join this international chorus in 
support of Aung San Suu Kyi and award her the Congressional Gold Medal.
  As a U.S. Senator, I have worked hard to raise awareness about the 
situation in Burma and pass legislation to put pressure on the military 
junta to release Suu Kyi and begin a true dialogue on national 
reconciliation. In 1997, former Senator Bill Cohen and I authored 
legislation requiring the President to ban new U.S. investment in Burma 
if he determined that the Government of Burma had physically harmed, 
rearrested or exiled Aung San Suu Kyi or committed large-scale 
repression or violence against the Democratic opposition. President 
Clinton issued the Executive Order in 1997 and the ban remains on the 
books today.
  In 2003, after the regime attempted to assassinate Aung San Suu Kyi, 
Senator McConnell and I introduced the Burmese Freedom and Democracy 
Act of 2003 which placed a complete ban on imports from Burma. It 
allowed that ban to be renewed one year at a time for up to 3 years. It 
was signed into law and has been renewed one year at a time for each of 
the past 4 years.
  Last year, the women of the United States Senate came together to 
form the Women's Caucus on Burma to express our solidarity with Suu 
Kyi, call for her immediate release, urge the United Nations to pass a 
binding resolution on Burma. At our inaugural event, we were pleased to 
be joined by First Lady Laura Bush who added her own voice to those 
calling for peace and democracy in Burma. Our message is clear: We will 
not remain silent, we will not stand still until Aung San Suu Kyi and 
all political prisoners are released and democratic government is 
restored in Burma.
  This legislation is but one small step on the path to that goal. I 
remain hopeful that the military regime will heed the will of its 
people and the international community and we will be able to present 
Aung San Suu Kyi with this honor in person.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2631

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds as follows:
       (1) Aung San Suu Kyi was born on June 19, 1945, in Rangoon, 
     Burma, to Aung San, commander of the Burma Independence Army, 
     and Ma Khin Kyi.
       (2) On August 15, 1988, Ms. Suu Kyi, in her first political 
     action, sent an open letter to the military controlled 
     government asking for free, open, and multi-party elections.
       (3) On September 24, 1988, the National League for 
     Democracy (NLD) was formed, with Ms. Suu Kyi as the general-
     secretary, and it was, and remains, dedicated to a policy of 
     non-violence and civil disobedience.
       (4) Ms. Suu Kyi was subsequently placed under house arrest, 
     where she remained for the next 6 years--without being 
     charged or put on trial--and has been imprisoned twice more; 
     she currently remains under house arrest.
       (5) Despite her detention, the National League for 
     Democracy won an open election with an overwhelming 82 
     percent of the vote--which the military junta nullified.
       (6) While under house arrest, she has bravely refused 
     offers to leave the country to continue to promote freedom 
     and democracy in Burma.
       (7) For her efforts on behalf of the Burmese people, she 
     has been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 
     1990, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, and the 
     Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
       (8) Ms. Suu Kyi continues to fight on behalf of the Burmese 
     people, even donating her $1.3 million from her Nobel Prize 
     to establish a health and education fund for Burma.
       (9) She is the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize 
     recipient, spending more than 12 of the past 17 years under 
     house arrest.
       (10) Despite an assassination attempt against her life, her 
     prolonged illegal imprisonment, the constant public 
     vilification of her character, and her inability to see her 
     children or to see her husband before his death, Ms. Suu Kyi 
     remains committed to peaceful dialogue with her captors, 
     Burma's military regime, and Burma's ethnic nationalities 
     towards bringing democracy, human rights, and national 
     reconciliation to Burma.

     SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate 
     shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on 
     behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate 
     design, to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in recognition of her 
     courageous and unwavering commitment to peace, nonviolence, 
     human rights, and democracy in Burma.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
     referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a 
     gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions 
     to be determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
     the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 under such 
     regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price 
     sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
     materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and 
     the cost of the gold medal.

     SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

       (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this 
     Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 
     31, United States Code.
       (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 
     5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under 
     this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

       (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of 
     the medals struck pursuant to this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 3 shall be 
     deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 ______