Nine US senators across the political spectrum are calling for tighter sanctions on Myanmar's military regime to persuade it not to hold elections that effectively bar key opposition leaders.
In the letter to President Barack Obama released Tuesday, the senators agreed with the administration that election laws made a "mockery" of democracy but called for a more robust response.
The senators -- including Mitch McConnell, the chamber's top Republican -- urged the Treasury Department to act on a law that would crack down on US bank accounts linked to Myanmar's leaders and target foreign banks that do business with the junta.
"We believe that exercising this authority represents one of the most powerful instruments at our disposal for pressuring Burma's leaders to change course," they wrote, using Myanmar's former name.
They also called for Obama to appoint a special representative on Myanmar, a position required by law but vacant as senior State Department officials spearhead policy on the reclusive Southeast Asian nation.
The Obama administration, which has made a signature policy of engaging US adversaries, last year initiated a dialogue with the junta, judging that a previous approach of isolating the regime had not borne fruit.
The junta plans to hold elections later this year which most foreign observers believe are aimed at legitimizing the rule of the regime, which never allows the opposition to take over after it won the last vote in 1990.
The main opposition National League for Democracy has decided to boycott the election rather than give in to pressure to oust its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate who is under house arrest.
Besides McConnell, the letter was also signed by 2008 presidential candidate John McCain along with fellow Republicans Sam Brownback, Susan Collins and Judd Gregg.
It was also signed by Democrats Barbara Boxer, Russ Feingold and Dianne Feinstein and independent Joe Lieberman.
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