Sixty U.S. Representatives Call on Secretary Rubio to End Military Aid to Azerbaijan

Lawler, Pallone, Bilirakis, and Amo Lead Bipartisan Effort – Supported by ANCA - Demanding Enforcement of Section 907

WASHINGTON, DC – Sixty U.S. Representatives have called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to fully enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act – demanding an immediate end to U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, citing Baku’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s 120,000 indigenous Armenian Christian population, continued occupation of sovereign Armenian territory, and illegal detention and abuse of Armenian prisoners, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Gabe Amo (D-RI) led the bi-partisan Congressional letter sent to Secretary of State Rubio earlier today. POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil broke news of the lawmakers’ demands in today’s National Security Daily news bulletin.

“The ANCA welcomes this bipartisan Congressional call on Secretary Rubio to enforce Section 907 – ending U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “In the wake of Azerbaijan’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian Christians of Artsakh – amid its ongoing occupation of sovereign Armenian territory and illegal detention of Armenian hostages – we cannot ask U.S. taxpayers to subsidize this oil-rich, violent, and corrupt foreign dictatorship. We thank Representatives Lawler, Pallone, Bilirakis, and Amo – and the 60 Representatives who joined with them – for their moral clarity and strong pro-peace leadership.”

Joining Representatives Lawler, Pallone, Bilirakis, and Amo in co-signing the letter are Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Don Beyer (D-VA), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Greg Casar (D-TX), Sean Casten (D-IL), Joaquín Castro (D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), Gil Cisneros (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Vince Fong (R-CA), Laura Friedman (D-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), John Larson (D-CT), Susie Lee (D-NV), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), “Seth Magaziner, (D-RI)”, Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), James McGovern (D-MA), Rob Menendez (D-NJ), Grace Meng (D-NY), Dave Min (D-CA), Barry Moore (R-AL), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Richard Neal (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Luz Rivas (D-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Lori Trahan (D-MA), David Valadao (R-CA, ), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and George Whitesides (D-CA),

Citing Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabakh’s (Artsakh) 120,000 indigenous Armenian population, the lawmakers stressed stated, “having faced no material consequences or accountability for its actions, Azerbaijan continues to undermine efforts to ensure a just, durable, and dignified peace in the region through its ongoing aggression against Armenia.”

The signatories urged Secretary Rubio not to invoke the waiver authority that has allowed successive administrations to circumvent Section 907, and instead enforce the law to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its crimes. Every U.S. President has invoked the waiver since 2001, until President Biden who enforced the provision in 2024.

The lawmakers argued, “amid Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against Armenia, its continued abuse of Armenian POWs, its destruction of Armenian Christian cultural heritage, and its denial of the right of Nagorno Karabakh’s Armenians to safely return to their homes, the continued failure to hold Azerbaijan accountable would not only risk normalizing Azerbaijan’s actions – but embolden U.S. rivals seeking to take advantage of Washington’s inaction.”

The letter builds on Congressional momentum from the Armenian Protection Act (S.3000), led in the Senate by then Senator, now Secretary of State, Rubio and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), which passed unanimously in 2023 and underscored growing bipartisan concern over U.S. military ties to the Aliyev regime.

The ANCA launched a nationwide grassroots campaign urging support for the Lawler-Pallone-Bilirakis-Amo letter, with over 50,000 individual letters send to Congress through the ANCA Rapid Responder system. Over the past weeks, youth advocates participating in the ANCA Rising Leaders program have joined the ANCA DC and Regional teams in visiting over 400 Congressional offices in support of the effort.

Full text of the Lawler-Pallone-Bilirakis-Amo congressional letter is provided below.

#####

March 27, 2025

The Honorable Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rubio,

In light of Azerbaijan’s continued aggression toward Armenia, its occupation of sovereign Armenian territory, the ongoing arbitrary detention and abuse of Armenian POWs, and the destruction of the region’s ancient Armenian Christian cultural heritage, we write to urge President Trump and the Department of State to enforce statutory prohibitions on U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan pursuant to Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act [U.S Public Law No: 102-511].

Over a year has passed since Azerbaijan’s military assault on the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) forcibly displaced the region’s 120,000 Armenians in what has been widely described as an act of ethnic cleansing. Having faced no material consequences or accountability for its actions, Azerbaijan continues to undermine efforts to ensure a just, durable, and dignified peace in the region through its ongoing aggression against Armenia.

In 2002, Congress granted the President the authority to waive Section 907 prohibitions on military assistance to Azerbaijan on an annual basis when determined to be in the national security interests of the United States. While every successive Administration exercised this waiver authority, President Biden chose to enforce Section 907 restrictions during and following the blockade and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabakh in response to considerable bipartisan and bicameral Congressional pressure. This includes the Senate’s unanimous adoption of S.3000 (the Armenian Protection Act), a bill that you co-led with Senator Gary Peters.

Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime has routinely abused the privilege of U.S. assistance, engaging in conduct inconsistent with the values and national security interests of the United States. Azerbaijan’s defiance of U.S. warnings to cease its blockade and refrain from military action against Nagorno-Karabakh demonstrated a clear disregard for U.S. efforts to mediate a lasting solution to the conflict. Furthermore, as Azerbaijan deepens its economic and energy ties with Russia and Iran – it is clear that Azerbaijan is not a reliable strategic partner to the United States in the region.

Amid the persistent threat of authoritarian expansionism throughout the region and across the world, it is imperative that Washington makes clear to governments that undermine U.S. interests that their actions will not be met with impunity – much less material financial support. Amid Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against Armenia, its continued abuse of Armenian POWs, its destruction of Armenian Christian cultural heritage, and its denial of the right of Nagorno Karabakh’s Armenians to safely return to their homes, the continued failure to hold Azerbaijan accountable would not only risk normalizing Azerbaijan’s actions – but embolden U.S. rivals seeking to take advantage of Washington’s inaction.

As such, suspending U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan is not just a moral imperative in light of Azerbaijan’s crimes against the Armenian people – but a strategic imperative at a crucial moment when U.S. credibility and authority is being so very aggressively challenged by those that seek to do us harm.

We thank you for your consideration and look forward to the opportunity to work with you on efforts to deter Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression – and ensure a just and dignified resolution to this humanitarian catastrophe in a manner that upholds the fundamental rights of Nagorno Karabakh’s displaced Armenian population.

Sincerely,