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Office of the 11th Congressional District of Virginia
Formerly the Office of Representative Gerry Connolly
The Washington, D.C., office and the district office of former Representative Connolly will continue to serve the people of the 11th Congressional District of Virginia under the supervision of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Representative Connolly passed away on May 21, 2025. See Press Release
Connolly Succeeds in Adding Family Reunification Language & Amendment to Tough North Korea Sanctions Bill Passed by House Foreign Affairs Committee
Washington, DC,
February 27, 2015
The North Korea sanctions bill approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee Friday morning includes bill language and an amendment authored by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) pushing for unrestricted family reunification meetings. Read more.
The North Korea sanctions bill approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee Friday morning includes bill language and an amendment authored by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) pushing for unrestricted family reunification meetings. The legislation (H.R. 757), cosponsored by Congressman Connolly, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-Chair of the House Korea Caucus, provides for tougher sanctions against North Korea for its brutality against its people and its aggressive and dangerous actions and threats on the world stage. The bill contains language from Connolly calling for increased efforts to provide for unrestricted family reunification meetings among Koreans, including for those individuals in the Korean-American community who maintain family ties with relatives in North Korea. The committee also accepted Connolly’s amendment requiring the Department of State to report on actions it has taken to implement or support the recommendations of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry’s Report on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, including efforts to press China and other countries to implement Commission recommendations. ““Reunifications between families and their loved ones behind the DMZ remain limited to fleeting opportunities. This is an issue that South Korean President Park Geun-Hye is seeking to improve through her Peace and Reunification Initiative, and this amendment demonstrates our support for efforts that seek to relieve the pain of separation felt by Korean families,” Connolly said. “This comprehensive sanctions bill demonstrates America’s resolve to hold North Korea accountable for human rights abuses, violations of international law, and provocative acts of violence,” Connolly said. “The legislation targets the illicit activities that have made North Korea an international pariah. It provides the U.S. Government with the ability to combat money laundering and currency counterfeiting and targets officials responsible for the atrocities perpetrated against the North Korean people.” The goal of the North Korea sanctions bill, Connolly said, “is to one day see a reunified Korea free of tyranny, oppression, and suffering.” |