H.RES.106 AUTHORS CONFIDENT HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE WILL PASS THE LEGISLATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.10.2007 17:31 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 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 10, the Armenian
Assembly of America reported.
In a press statement issued earlier today, 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.
"We will 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 stated.
Their statement says,
"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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.