Ranking Member Shaheen, Senator Cruz Introduce Bipartisan Bill Responding to Democratic Backsliding and Political Repression in Tanzania

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the bipartisan Reassessing the United States-Tanzania Bilateral Relationship Act. This legislation requires a comprehensive review of the U.S.-Tanzania relationship following national elections on October 29, 2025, in which Tanzanian authorities reportedly brutally suppressed thousands of protestors, instituted a nationwide Internet shutdown, denied the wounded access to healthcare, arrested protestors from hospitals and collected bodies from mortuaries to obfuscate the scale of the repression. The bill calls for a reassessment of U.S. security, economic and diplomatic engagement with Tanzania in response to democratic backsliding, political repression, human rights abuses and growing concerns about Chinese influence in Tanzania.

"Tanzania has long been an important partner in East Africa, but the country's recent democratic backsliding, political violence and repression cannot be ignored," said Ranking Member Shaheen. "This legislation makes clear that the United States must stand firmly for democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law. It also recognizes the broader strategic stakes, including China's efforts to expand its influence in countries where democratic institutions are under strain. The United States cannot afford to remain silent as democratic space closes and instability grows in a strategically important region."

"The government of Tanzania is carrying out a campaign of political repression and religious persecution," said Senator Cruz. "Tanzanian authorities severely undermined the legitimacy and fairness of the October 2025 elections by barring opposition parties, arresting and abducting religious leaders, and manipulating ballots. They have systematically weaponized state power to control religious expression, bar Christian gatherings, and restrict Church activity. This bill will help counter that political repression and the persecution of Tanzanian Christians, and I am proud to lead it with Senator Shaheen."

The full text of the legislation can be found HERE.

The bipartisan legislation:

• Requires the State Department, in coordination with other federal agencies, to conduct a comprehensive reassessment of the U.S.-Tanzania bilateral relationship, including Tanzania's democratic trajectory, political repression and the impacts of recent unrest on U.S. businesses and regional stability.
  
  
• Directs the Administration to evaluate the extent of the People's Republic of China's military, economic and political engagement in Tanzania, including cooperation that could undermine democratic institutions and U.S. interests in the region.
  
  
• Calls for a detailed strategy outlining necessary democratic reforms in Tanzania, including protections for freedom of expression, religious liberty and the rule of law.
  
  
• Requires a report identifying Tanzanian government, ruling party and security officials responsible for political violence, enforced disappearances, censorship, religious persecution and other gross human rights violations.
  
  
• Authorizes sanctions, including visa bans and asset blocking authorities, against individuals responsible for serious human rights abuses and political repression.
  
  
• Suspends certain U.S. security assistance, economic and development assistance and trade support for Tanzania until the Secretary of State certifies that Tanzania has implemented meaningful democratic reforms and ended politically motivated prosecutions and censorship.
  
  
• Prohibits Millennium Challenge Corporation support for Tanzania until the Tanzanian government demonstrates a renewed commitment to democratic governance.
  
  
• Expresses solidarity with the people of Tanzania and supports calls for an independent international investigation into violence surrounding Tanzania's October 2025 elections.

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