1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Burma Political Prisoners Assistance Act . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) pledged that they would not arrest anyone as political prisoners , but have failed to fulfill this promise since they took control of Burma’s Union Parliament and the Government’s executive branch in April 2016. (2) As of March 1, 2019, there are 354 political prisoners in Burma, 43 of them serving sentences, 86 awaiting trial inside prison, and 225 awaiting trial outside prison, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma. (3) During its three years in power, the NLD Government has provided pardons for Burma’s political prisoners on three occasions. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi took steps to secure the release of nearly 235 political prisoners. On May 23, 2017, former President Htin Kyaw granted pardons to 259 prisoners, including 89 political prisoners. On April 17, 2018, current President Win Myint pardoned 8,541 prisoners, including 36 political prisoners. (4) The Burmese security forces have used colonial-era laws to arrest and charge political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. These laws include but are not limited to provisions of the Penal Code, the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act, the 1908 Unlawful Associations Act, the 2013 Telecommunications Act, and the 1923 Official Secrets Act. (5) On January 5, 2015, then-President Thein Sein announced the reconstitution of the Scrutinizing Committee into the Prisoners of Conscience Affairs Committee , which was to comprise 28 members and which would promptly [carry] out prisoners of conscience affairs at the grassroots level . However, the Committee never met and no information has been made publicly available regarding its mandate, procedures, or activities. (6) On December 12, 2017, Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested and charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, continuing a trend