Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: ckojoian@aaainc.org

ASSEMBLY REITERATES SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY GENOCIDE BILL
H. RES. 316 BOASTS OVER 75 CO-SPONSORS

Washington, DC – The Assembly today commended the Armenian-American
community for rallying congressional support for H. Res. 316, a
bipartisan resolution that would reaffirm the U.S. record on the
Armenian Genocide. To date, more than 75 Members of the House have
signed on as cosponsors to the bill, which was introduced by Congressmen
George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Armenian Caucus
Co-Chairs Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ).

The four sponsors introduced the resolution in the House of
Representatives on June 14 with the strong backing of the pan-Armenian
community.

H. Res. 316 calls upon the President to “ensure that the foreign policy
of the United States reflects appropriate understanding” of the
“Armenian Genocide” and to “accurately characterize the systematic and
deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide” in the
President’s annual message.

Prior to the congressional July Fourth recess, Congressman Schiff
introduced an alternative measure without the support of the Armenian
Caucus that would also reaffirm the U.S. record on the Armenian
Genocide.

“In previous years, Members of the Armenian Caucus and a coalition of
pan-Armenian organizations pledged to a unified approach for a
bipartisan resolution on the Armenian Genocide,” said Assembly Board of
Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian. “It is essential that all
legislative initiatives have the backing of Members of both political
parties, which in 2000, led to the near passage of an Armenian Genocide
resolution.”

“During this 90th commemorative year of the Armenian Genocide, the
Assembly is fully committed to working collaboratively with the offices
of the four principal sponsors to garner support and secure the passage
of H. Res. 316 in the House of Representatives.”

Barsamian also added that the Assembly has been in the forefront of
every serious effort to pass a congressional Genocide resolution.

Last year, the Washington Post’s Glenn Maffei wrote an article on the
daunting task of passing any legislative measure, despite a bill’s heavy
support. Maffei wrote, “Since January 2003, 10,472 bills and
resolutions were introduced in the House and Senate. By November 1,
only 122 Senate bills and 292 House bills, or 4 percent, became law.”

“When you are one of 435 members of the House, it is important for the
folks back home to see the spirited push of your annual legislative
agenda, which means the introduction, to great fanfare, of all sorts of
bills and resolutions,” Maffei wrote. “About 96 percent of them end up
in the congressional recycling bin.”

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

NR#2005-075

Attached is the list of 80 cosponsors to the Armenian Genocide
resolution, H.
Res. 316, which was introduced in the House of Representatives on June
14.

Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH)
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)
Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-FL)
Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY)
Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-NH)
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO)
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA)
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL)
Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)
Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA)
Rep. David Dreier (R-CA)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA)
Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL)
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Rep. Mark Green (R-WI)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-IL)
Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY)
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Rep. James Langevin (D-RI)
Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)
Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Rep. James McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA)
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-NY)
Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA)
Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA)
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA)
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI)
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ)
Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-MI)
Rep. E. Clay Shaw (R-FL)
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL)
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)
Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN)
Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)