US Congressman Joe Wilson has called for the immediate adoption of the MEGOBARI Act following the freezing of bank accounts belonging to seven Georgian non-governmental organizations.
“The anti-American Georgian Dream regime is cracking down further on free Georgians for trying to prevent the total takeover of their country by Communist China. MEGOBARI needed immediately!” Wilson wrote on social media.
The MEGOBARI Act, whose name means “friend” in Georgian, is a bipartisan US bill first introduced in 2024 and reintroduced in early 2025. It was designed to strengthen American support for Georgia’s democracy at a time of growing authoritarian pressure from Russia, China, and Iran. The legislation combines accountability measures with incentives: it calls for sanctions against Georgian officials involved in corruption, democratic backsliding, or efforts to undermine the country’s Euro-Atlantic path, while also requiring detailed US reports on foreign influence and anti-democratic networks in Georgia. At the same time, the act promises closer cooperation—ranging from defense support to academic exchanges and trade benefits—if Georgia demonstrates genuine democratic progress through free and fair elections. In May 2025, the bill passed the US House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support and now awaits final approval in the Senate.
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