Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email [email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
April 10, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
SUPPORT GROWS FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION AMONG MEMBERS
OF KEY DEFENSE, INTELLIGENCE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEES
— Senior Republican on House Armed Services
Committee Supports Passage of Resolution
WASHINGTON, DC – In letters circulated today to Members of the
House of Representatives, the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA) highlighted the growing support for the Armenian
Genocide Resolution among members serving on Congressional
committees dealing with America’s defense capabilities,
intelligence community, foreign policy, and homeland security.
"We are deeply gratified by the strong, bipartisan support for the
Armenian Genocide Resolution among Members of Congress responsible
for our nation’s defense and foreign policies," said Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "Beyond the clear moral
issues at stake in America’s principled stand against all
genocides, these Members realize that Turkey, by coming to terms
with this crime, will lower regional tensions, open the door to
improved relations with Armenia, and ultimately contribute to its
own acceptance by the European family of nations."
Armed Services:
Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), the senior Republican on the
House Armed Services Committee, recently agreed to cosponsor the
Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.106, making him the sixteenth
member of the influential panel to add his name to this human
rights measure.
In addition to Ranking Member Hunter, other members of the Armed
Services Committee who support the measure include several
subcommittee chairmen: Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), who heads the Air
and Land Forces Subcommittee; Martin Meehan (D-MA), who chairs the
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and; Ellen Tauscher (D-
CA), who presides over the Strategic Forces Subcommittee. Other
Committee members include Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Dan Boren (D-OK),
Robert Brady (D-PA), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Susan Davis (D-CA), Frank
LoBiondo (R-NJ), Howard McKeon (R-CA), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-
WA), Candice Miller (R-MI), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Mark Udall (D-
CO), and Joe Wilson (R-SC).
Intelligence:
The Armenian Genocide Resolution also enjoys bipartisan support
among members of the House Intelligence Committee, including Mike
Thompson (D-CA), who chairs the panel’s Subcommittee on Terrorism
and Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence, and Anna
Eshoo (D-CA), who heads the Subcommittee on Intelligence Community
Management. Other cosponsors on the Committee include Rush Holt
(D-NJ), Darrell Issa (R-CA), James Langevin (D-RI), Rick Renzi (R-
AZ), Mike Rogers (R-MI), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and John Tierney
(D-MA).
Foreign Affairs:
Twenty-four members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the
panel with jurisdiction over the measure, have already cosponsored
H.Res.106. This figure includes five of the panel’s seven
Subcommittee Chairmen: Donald Payne (D-NJ), Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health; William Delahunt (D-MA),
Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human
Rights and Oversight; Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia; Brad Sherman (D-CA),
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-Proliferation and
Trade, and; Eliot Engel (D-NY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the
Western Hemisphere.
State Department Appropriations:
Nine of the thirteen members of the House Appropriations
Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the State Department have
cosponsored the Armenian Genocide Resolution. Among the supportive
members of the State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee are its
Chairwoman, Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Ranking Republican, Frank Wolf
(R-VA). Other cosponsors on the panel include Steve Israel (D-NY),
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL), Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Steven Rothman
(D-NJ), and the resolution’s author Adam Schiff (D-CA).
Homeland Security:
Eighteen of the thirty-three members of the House Committee on
Homeland Security are also cosponsors of the Armenian Genocide
resolution, including: Loretta Sanchez, Chairwoman of the
Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism; James
Langevin (D-RI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats,
Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology; Jane Harman, Chairwoman
of the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and
Terrorism Risk Assessment, and; Sheila Jackson Lee, Chairwoman of
the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure
Protection. Other Congressional cosponsors on the panel include
Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Charles Dent (R-PA), Al
Green (D-TX), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Dan Lungren
(R-CA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Eleanor Holmes
Norton (D-DC), Edwin Perlmutter (D-CO), Mike Rogers (R-MI),
Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Mark Souder (R-IN).
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