The Burma Act of 2022: Promises and Pitfalls

The Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023

In the NDAA Burma Act, Congress tasks the State Department and USAID with aiding Myanmar—referenced as Burma by the USG—with multiple humanitarian aid packages from funds appropriated from the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2023.¹  Note: Aye Thandar, “NDAA Amendment is no substitute for BURMA Act in US-Myanmar Policy,” Myanmar Now, 29 December 2021, https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/opinion-ndaa-amendment-is-no-substitute-for-burma-act-in-us-myanmar-policy/.     Although the Appropriations Committee identifies four priorities for programs to support in Myanmar, the wording used for different programs – the less-certain “may be” contrasting with the stronger “shall be” – gives clues as to how Congress prioritizes these programs. Congress states that programs supporting peaceful efforts to establish inclusive and representative democracy “may be” appropriated from funds in 2023, not guaranteeing funding.²   Note: Senate of the United States, H.R. 2617, 2023 https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/JRQ121922.PDF.    While funding is guaranteed for the other three programs, like promoting ethnic and religious tolerance and human rights investigations, these have not been publicized, and it remains unclear if any new programs were created since December 2022. At this point, the U.S. continues to promote humanitarian aid as its unchanged policy towards Myanmar.

Accordingly, USAID and State Department appear to have exclusively spent on traditional humanitarian aid with no push for non-lethal assistance. USAID and the State Department have spent approximately $68 million and $87 million on humanitarian aid for Myanmar respectively. In total, the United States has spent more than the minimum funding of $136 million outlined in the CAA 2023. However, ForeignAssistance.gov, the USG flagship website tracking U.S. foreign assistance, reports that the U.S. contributed was at least $204 million to Myanmar in FY 2022 and over $190 million in 2021.³  Note: “ForeignAssistance.gov- Country Dashboard: Burma,” USAID, 2021-2022. https://www.foreignassistance.gov/cd/burma%20(myanmar)/2021/obligations/0     In relative terms, the U.S. could end up spending less on humanitarian assistance compared to previous years, demonstrating that the Burma Act did not increase U.S. financial support to Myanmar.

NDAA Burma Act of 2022 Agenda Items for Aid and Assistance⁴  Note: Ibid     

• Continue to provide humanitarian assistance to populations impacted by violence […] and coordinate with like-minded governments and other international donors,
• Provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma in Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the surrounding region without going through the Burmese military,
• Encourage U.S. and UN to cut off assistance to the Government of Burma while providing direct humanitarian aid to the people of Burma through U.S. bodies and civil society organizations,
• From FY 2023 to FY 2027, funds authorized […] may be available, notwithstanding any other provision of law, for—
  • Programs to strengthen federalism in and among ethnic states in Burma, including non-lethal assistance for Ethnic Armed Organizations in Burma
  • Technical support and non-lethal assistance for Burma’s EAOs, PDFs, and pro-democracy movement organizations to strengthen communications and command and control and coordination of international relief and other operations between and among such entities.

U.S. Financial Support for Myanmar in FY 2023

Spending by the State Department and USAID comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023.

U.S. Department of State

• March 2023: State Department announced nearly $26 million in additional humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.⁵  Note: “Additional Humanitarian Assistance for the Burma and Bangladesh Regional Crisis,” U.S. Department of State, March 8, 2023.     
• July 2023: State Department announced that $61 million of an additional $74 million in humanitarian assistance for the region will support internally displaced Rohingyas, Rohingya refugees, and their host communities.⁶  Note: “United States to Provide Additional Humanitarian Assistance to People in Burma, Bangladesh, and the Region,” U.S. Department of State, July 13, 2023, https://www.state.gov/united-states-to-provide-additional-humanitarian-assistance-to-people-in-burma-bangladesh-and-the-region/.

U.S. Agency of International Development:

• February 15, 2023:  USAID announced that the United States would provide an additional $50 million in humanitarian assistance for emergency food and nutrition assistance in Burma.⁷  Note: “United States Announces Additional $50 Million in Humanitarian Assistance for the People of Burma”, USAID, February 15, 2023, https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/feb-15-2023-united-states-announces-additional-50-million-humanitarian-assistance-people-burma.    
• May 17, 2023: USAID provided an initial $450,000 in additional humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma and Bangladesh in response to Cyclone Mocha.⁸  Note: “USAID Provides an Initial $450,000 in Additional Humanitarian Assistance in Response to Tropical Cyclone Mocha in Burma and Bangladesh”, USAID, May 17, 2023, https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/may-17-2023-usaid-provides-initial-450000-additional-humanitarian-assistance-response-tropical-cyclone-mocha-burma-and-bangladesh.    
• May 23, 2023: USAID provided nearly $17 million in additional humanitarian assistance to respond to humanitarian needs in Burma in response to Cyclone Mocha.⁹  Note:  The United States is Providing Nearly $17 million in Additional Humanitarian Assistance in Response to Tropical Cyclone Mocha in Burma,” USAID, 23 May 2023, https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/may-23-2023-united-states-providing-nearly-17-million-additional-humanitarian-assistance-response-tropical-cyclone-mocha-burma.

Hope for FY 2024: Potential Burma Projects

On July 12, 2023, the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFORP) released its 2024 fiscal year markup, which awards the budget for the State Department and any other foreign operations, including projects under USAID.¹⁰  Note: “State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bills, 2024”, U.S. House of Representatives, July 2023, https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20230712/116228/HMKP-118-AP00-20230712-SD002.pdf.  

• The Committee recommends $19,580,000 million for the Asia Foundation to increase staff in the Indo-Pacific Islands and the Indo-Pacific Programs: Burma, Indonesia, and the Philippines;
• The Committee recommendation includes $50,000,000 under title III to implement the BURMA Act of 2022. Assistance is also provided to address the deepening humanitarian crisis in Burma;
• The Committee urges the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID to provide robust diplomatic engagement for, and assistance to, refugees from Burma and internally displaced people across the country, including cross-border assistance for those who have fled violence as a result of the military coup, armed conflict, ethnic cleansing, increasing criminality, and other causes of instability; and
• Under Bangladesh, the Committee encourages the Secretary of State and Administrator of USAID to help displaced Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh.¹¹  Note: Ibid

The subcommittee’s reference to the Burma Act is reassuring, but these initiatives are currently recommendations and, if passed, are not sufficient to tackle the Myanmar crisis. Furthermore, the subcommittee appears to be recommending lower amounts than the total budget requests made by the State Department and USAID, which could further hinder the support allocated to Myanmar. The subcommittee is recommending a reduction of approximately $1.4 billion for USAID’s development assistance, decreasing the budget to $3 billion.

Furthermore, SFORP is recommending a reduction of the State Department’s diplomatic programs by more than $600 million, from approximately $9.5 billion to $8.8 billion. Although Congress has emphasized U.S. support of rebuilding Myanmar’s democracy, decreasing U.S. diplomatic operations could curtail people-to-people engagement in Myanmar, specifically with resistance groups. The Subcommittee does not address funding for non-lethal assistance or democratic programs, which USAID and the State Department are responsible for creating. If both avoid making them, it is unlikely to come from another U.S. agency. In a private meeting, an official estimated that the U.S. will appropriate $167 million for Myanmar in 2024, an increase of $30 million from the budget in 2023. However, the 2024 markup appears to be decreasing budgets that could directly impact assistance to Myanmar in the upcoming year.

Notes

• 1
    Note: Aye Thandar, “NDAA Amendment is no substitute for BURMA Act in US-Myanmar Policy,” Myanmar Now, 29 December 2021, https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/opinion-ndaa-amendment-is-no-substitute-for-burma-act-in-us-myanmar-policy/.   
• 2
    Note: Senate of the United States, H.R. 2617, 2023 https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/JRQ121922.PDF.  
• 3
    Note: “ForeignAssistance.gov- Country Dashboard: Burma,” USAID, 2021-2022. https://www.foreignassistance.gov/cd/burma%20(myanmar)/2021/obligations/0   
• 4
    Note: Ibid
• 5
    Note: “Additional Humanitarian Assistance for the Burma and Bangladesh Regional Crisis,” U.S. Department of State, March 8, 2023.     
• 6
    Note: “United States to Provide Additional Humanitarian Assistance to People in Burma, Bangladesh, and the Region,” U.S. Department of State, July 13, 2023, https://www.state.gov/united-states-to-provide-additional-humanitarian-assistance-to-people-in-burma-bangladesh-and-the-region/.
• 7
    Note: “United States Announces Additional $50 Million in Humanitarian Assistance for the People of Burma”, USAID, February 15, 2023, https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/feb-15-2023-united-states-announces-additional-50-million-humanitarian-assistance-people-burma.   
• 8
    Note: “USAID Provides an Initial $450,000 in Additional Humanitarian Assistance in Response to Tropical Cyclone Mocha in Burma and Bangladesh”, USAID, May 17, 2023, https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/may-17-2023-usaid-provides-initial-450000-additional-humanitarian-assistance-response-tropical-cyclone-mocha-burma-and-bangladesh.    
• 9
    Note:  The United States is Providing Nearly $17 million in Additional Humanitarian Assistance in Response to Tropical Cyclone Mocha in Burma,” USAID, 23 May 2023, https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/may-23-2023-united-states-providing-nearly-17-million-additional-humanitarian-assistance-response-tropical-cyclone-mocha-burma.
• 10
    Note: “State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bills, 2024”, U.S. House of Representatives, July 2023, https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20230712/116228/HMKP-118-AP00-20230712-SD002.pdf.  
• 11
    Note: Ibid