WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined U.S. Senator Jeanee Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and eight Democratic colleagues in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to preserve the staff and programs administered by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) amid the Department’s proposed reorganization.   

“The proposed reorganization of DRL raises serious concerns about the Department’s prioritization of democracy and human rights and the role of DRL in advancing U.S. national security priorities—concerns that were the basis for Congress’s bipartisan codification in statute an Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the directive ‘to promote the increased observance of internationally recognized human rights by all countries’ as a principal goal of U.S. foreign policy,” wrote the Senators. “The proposed reorganization would result in a structural and substantive demotion of human rights promotion that runs counter to the spirit of the law and your personal legacy working on these issues.”  

“Over 80% of DRL’s programs support human rights defenders working in closed, anti-democratic societies, including Cuba, China, Nicaragua, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and others which the Trump Administration has identified as adversaries of the U.S.,” continued the Senators.  

The Senators concluded: “As you stated in the subcommittee hearing previously mentioned, ‘millions of people around the world who live in societies dominated by fear and oppression look to the United States of America to champion their cause to fully exercise their God-given rights. There are no greater champions more capable of advancing this noble cause than the dedicated staff in DRL. We need these champions in the Department.”  

In addition to Senators Welch and Shaheen, the letter is cosigned by Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). 

Read and download the full text of the letter. 

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