,,iii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #edh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december 
#ag1 #bjbe,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself and
 ,mr4 ,wyden7 submitted the following   
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on the ,judiciary            
,,resolution  ,denouncing the horrors of
 authoritarianism4  ,whereas            
authoritarian ideology necessitates a   
concentration of power that has1 time   
and time again1 collapsed democracies   
into totalitarian rule1 kleptocracies1  
and brutal dictatorships2 ,whereas most 
modern democracies do not die at the    
hands of armed militias1 but instead at 
the hands of elected officials who erode
 the separation of powers to tighten    
their authoritarian grip2 ,whereas      
researchers find that authoritarianism  
has repeatedly led to lower health      
outcomes1 decreased life expectancy1    
higher infant mortality1 and harmful    
economic impacts2 ,whereas1 in          
,venezuela1 ,hugo ,chvez and ,nicols    

,maduro dismantled independent          
institutions1 stripped powers from the  
elected legislature1 repressed          
opposition parties and civil society1   
detained political rivals1 and presided 
over a humanitarian and economic        
collapse under a repressive and         
authoritarian state2 ,whereas1 in       
,turkey1 ,recep ,erdoan has undermined  
judicial independence1 imprisoned       
journalists1 political opponents1 and   
civil servants on politically motivated 
charges1 closed independent media       
outlets1 and concentrated sweeping      
authority into the presidency2 ,whereas1
 in ,russia1 ,vladimir ,putin eliminated
 genuine political competition1 outlawed
 major opposition movements1            
criminalized dissent1 oversaw the       
imprisonment and deaths of prominent    
political opponents1 entrenched a       
corrupt and repressive authoritarian    
regime1 and launched the illegal1       
unprovoked invasion of ,ukraine in      
violation of international law2 ,whereas

 researchers find1 ,free countries      
across all measures do better than      
authoritarian regimes in delivering     
prosperity for their people42 ,whereas  
the ,constitution of the ,united ,states
 guarantees the separation of powers in 
the ,government and has checks on power 
that ensure a ,government by and for the
 people rather than authoritarian rule1 
as such separation of powers is         
essential2 ,whereas the ,first          
,amendment to the ,constitution of the  
,united ,states guarantees that         
,congress shall make no law abridging   
the freedom of speech or of the press2  
,whereas kleptocracies are organized and
 controlled by top political elites1 who
 raid state resources with immunity and 
impunity2 ,whereas ,founding ,father and
 ,president ,james ,madison wrote1 ,the 
accumulation of all powers1 legislative1
 executive1 and judiciary1 in the same  
hands1 whether of one1 a few1 or many1  
and whether hereditary1 self-appointed1 
or elective1 may justly be pronounced   

the very definition of tyranny42 and    
,whereas the ,united ,states was founded
 on the belief in the sanctity of our   
democracy1 undeniable freedoms1         
independence of each branch of          
government1 and checks and balances on  
each branch1 a belief to which the      
system of authoritarianism in all of its
 forms is fundamentally opposed3 ,now1  
therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate      
denounces authoritarianism in all its   
forms and opposes the implementation of 
authoritarian policies in the ,united   
,states4