Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - 3/27/2025… Today, a bipartisan coalition of representatives, led by Reps. Mike Lawler (NY-17), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), and Gabe Amo (RI-01), sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressing for the continued enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. Section 907 pauses U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan until Baku stops its ongoing aggression against Armenia, occupation of Armenian territory, and human rights violations, including the detention and abuse of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs). While assistance remains paused at the moment, conditions in Azerbaijan and Armenia necessitate a continuation of this. 

The letter highlights Azerbaijan’s 2023 military assault on Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), which forcibly displaced 120,000 Armenians in an act that is widely recognized as ethnic cleansing. The letter also condemns Azerbaijan’s destruction of ancient Armenian Christian heritage and its deepening ties with Russia and Iran, which run counter to U.S. national security interests.

"Amid the persistent threat of authoritarian expansionism throughout the region and across the world, it is imperative that the Trump Administration makes clear to governments that undermine U.S. interests that their actions will not be met with impunity – much less material financial support," wrote the lawmakers. 

The Armenian Assembly of America praised the effort, stating: “The Assembly welcomes this bipartisan initiative spearheaded by Congressman Lawler. As long as Azerbaijan continues unjustly to hold Christian Armenian hostages and evade accountability for its hostile acts against Armenians, including the violent ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, it is imperative that Section 907 remain firmly in place,” said Mariam Khaloyan, Congressional Relations Director of the Armenian Assembly of America. 

“The ANCA welcomes this bipartisan Congressional call on Secretary Rubio to enforce Section 907 – ending U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan,” stated Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America. "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 each of the Representatives who joined with them - for their moral clarity and strong pro-peace leadership.”

The letter garnered 60 bipartisan signatures and specifically urges the Secretary to enforce Section 907 and refrain from using waiver authority to send aid to Azerbaijan while the government continues to engage in this malign behavior. This letter also serves as a follow-up to the leading members’ Armenian Protection Act of 2024, which aimed to prevent the Executive Branch from exercising this waiver authority.

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.

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A copy of the full letter can be found HERE.