LAWMAKERS ANNOUNCE VOTE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
ArmRadio – Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 3 2007
The authors of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H. Res. 106) expressed
their confidence that the House Foreign Affairs Committee will pass
this important human rights legislation during the Committee markup
next Wednesday, October 10th.
In a press statement Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), George Radanovich
(R-CA), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) along with
Caucus Members Brad Sherman (D-CA), Ed Royce (R-CA) and Anna G. Eshoo
(D-CA), said they would work to prevent the adoption of weakening
amendments. The legislators noted in the statement:
"We are extremely pleased and very encouraged by the decision of the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs to move forward with a markup of
this critical legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide as the
first genocide of the 20th century. We thank Chairman Lantos and
Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for scheduling the hearing, as well as
Speaker Pelosi for her continued support.
"This Congress’ support for the Armenian Genocide Resolution sends a
strong message that the US government will not tolerate genocide. Our
recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a vital step in helping to
prevent other crimes against humanity.
"We are confident that the House Foreign Affairs Committee will pass
this long-overdue legislation and will work to prevent the adoption
of weakening amendments. We will continue to work to ensure that when
the Resolution comes to the House floor for a vote, it will receive
the overwhelming support it deserves."
The lawmakers noted that the Resolution currently has 226 co-sponsors,
more than the 218 needed to have the support of a majority of the
435 Members of the House. This amount of support makes it possible
to pass the bill on the House floor, which is the next step after
passage in Committee. In September 2005, the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs voted by an overwhelming margin of 40-7 to pass an Armenian
Genocide Resolution with the same language as the current Resolution,
H. Res. 106.
The Armenian Genocide Recognition Resolution, which was introduced in
Congress last January, calls on the President and the US Government to
properly recognize the atrocities that occurred in Armenia beginning
in 1915, which resulted in 1.5 million deaths and countless victims
of torture, as genocide.