Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: info@aaainc.org
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PRESS RELEASE
June 20, 2007
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: ckojoian@aaainc.org

ASSEMBLY COMMENDS THE OVER 200 SUPPORTERS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
RESOLUTION

H. RES. 106 Reaches Another Milestone

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America today credited a
unified community effort as more than 200 lawmakers to date have
committed their support to House Resolution 106, which reaffirms the
historical fact of the Armenian Genocide.

H. Res. 106 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. The legislation was introduced in January
by Armenian issues supporters Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), George
Radanovich (R-CA) and Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone,
Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), together with Congressmen Brad
Sherman (D-CA) and Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI).

"Two-hundred cosponsors is an important milestone," said Schiff in a
press statement. "This overwhelming support for the resolution is
evidence that Members of Congress and their constituents believe that
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, which claimed more than a million
and a half lives, is a moral imperative."

"The Armenian Genocide resolution has reached another important
threshold," said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian.
"We thank Congressmen Schiff, Radanovich, Pallone, Knollenberg,
Sherman and McCotter for their leadership and continued efforts to
pass this resolution that properly acknowledges the incontestable fact
of the Armenian Genocide. We also recognize the support of their
colleagues."

Over the past several months, Assembly leaders and activists have
conducted meetings with Members of Congress in Washington, as well as
their home districts, urging them to cosponsor this critical human
rights legislation. Most recently, on April 24, Assembly activists
headed to Capitol Hill to encourage their elected officials to
cosponsor H. Res. 106, which brought additional cosponsors.

H. Res. 106 is supported by a broad coalition of lawmakers, including
House Administration Committee Chair Robert A. Brady (D-PA),
Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D-MN), Education and
Labor Committee Chair George Miller (D-CA), Energy and Commerce
Committee Chair John D. Dingell (D-MI), Financial Services Committee
Chair Barney Frank (D-MA), Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers
(D-MI), Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Henry
A. Waxman (D-CA), Small Business Committee Chair Nydia M. Velazquez
(D-NY), Standards of Official Conduct Committee Chair Stephanie Tubbs
Jones (D-OH), Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Bob Filner (D-CA) and
Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles B. Rangel (D-NY).

The resolution is also supported by over 40 organizations across the
U.S. including: American Federation of Jews from Central Europe,
American Hellenic Council of CA, American Hellenic Institute, American
Hungarian Federation, American Jewish World Service, American Latvian
Association in the U.S., American Value, Belarusan-American
Association, Bulgarian Institute for Research and Analysis, Center for
Russian Jewry with Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, Center for World
Indigenous Studies, Christian Solidarity International, Congress of
Romanian Americans, Council for the Development of French in
Louisiana, Estonian American National Council, Genocide Intervention
Network, Global Rights, Hmong National Development, Inc., Hungarian
American Coalition, Institute on Religion and Public Policy,
International Association of Genocide Scholars, Jewish Social Policy
Action Network, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Jewish World Watch,
Joint Baltic American National Committee, Leadership Council for Human
Rights, Lithuanian American Community, Lithuanian American Council,
National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, National Council of
Churches USA, National Federation of American Hungarians, National
Federation of Filipino American Associations, National Lawyer’s Guild,
Polish American Congress, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Slovak
League of America, The Georgian Association in the USA, The Workmen’s
Circle/Arbeter Ring, U.S. Baltic Foundation, Ukrainian Congress
Committee of America, Ukrainian National Association, Unitarian
Universalist Association of Congregations, United Hellenic American
Congress, Washington Chapter Czechoslovak National Council of America,
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

The legislation is currently pending in the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, chaired by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), who voted in favor of an
identical resolution last Congress.

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#2007-071