House Members Press House Speaker to Schedule Genocide Resolution, Drop Opposition to Schiff Amendment in Foreign Ops Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – Sixty-four Members of Congress joined Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-29) in sending a letter to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (IL-14) in support of a resolution acknowledging the Armenian Genocide (H.Res. 193) and calling into question his opposition to the “Schiff Amendment” in the House of Representatives’ version of the FY 2005 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 4818).
“Next year will mark the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian Genocide,” Congressman Schiff said, “and it would be a noble and fitting gesture for this nation to recognize the deaths of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children, while some of the survivors still remain.”
In July, the House of Representatives voted to adopt an amendment sponsored by Congressman Schiff to the House version of the Foreign Operations spending bill. The amendment prohibits the Government of Turkey from using U.S. foreign aid to lobby against H.Res. 193, a resolution that officially recognizes the Armenian Genocide and marks the 15th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan signing the 1987 Genocide Convention Implementation Act. (Also known as the Proxmire Act, this put the United States on record as being strongly opposed to the heinous crime of genocide.) H.Res. 193 passed the House Judiciary Committee on May 22, 2003, shortly after its introduction on April 10, 2003. However, because of significant lobbying efforts by those who deny the Genocide, the resolution has been languishing on the House calendar for over a year.
The day after the House passed the Foreign Operations bill, Speaker Hastert issued a joint statement with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (TX-22) and Majority Whip Roy Blunt (MO-7) in opposition to the Schiff amendment on the Armenian Genocide. The Speaker’s statement expressed the House Majority Leadership’s determination to drop the Schiff amendment from the final version of the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill and their intention to block the consideration of H.Res. 193 – even though Speaker Hastert made a public pledge in 2000 to the Armenian American community to schedule a floor vote on such a resolution. The Senate passed its version of the Foreign Operations bill (S. 2812) on September 23 without the Schiff amendment, and conferees will be working out the differences between the two versions to complete a final bill.
From 1915 to 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered by the Ottoman Turks in what is now known as the Armenian Genocide. Even though modern-day Turkey was established in 1923 out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire and was not the actual perpetrator of genocide, Turkey spends millions of dollars each year fighting the recognition of the Genocide. Congressman Schiff firmly believes in the appropriate and accurate commemoration of the Genocide, and consistently fights for official U.S. recognition on all levels.
Congressman Schiff is a Member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, a co-founder of the Democratic Study Group on National Security and a member of both the House Judiciary and International Relations committees. He represents California’s 29th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.