Tuesday, November 23, 2004 Contact: Sean Oblack (202) 225-4176 Schiff’s Armenian Genocide Amendment Forced Out by House Majority Leadership Appropriators Succumb to Speaker’s Demand, Drop Schiff Amendment Relating to Genocide Resolution from Foreign Ops Section of Spending Bill WASHINGTON, DC – An amendment authored by Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) – and included in the House version of the Foreign Operations spending bill – that would stop the Government of Turkey from using U.S. foreign aid to lobby against a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide was dropped from the final FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill (H.R. 4818).  Congressman Schiff issued the following statement in response:   “Generations of Americans have long waited for Congress to condemn the murder of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children.  Even though the Schiff amendment was not enacted into law, its passage by the House in July was a seminal moment in the effort to recognize the Armenian Genocide.  While I had hoped that this would be the year Congress would formally speak against the evil perpetrated against the Armenian people almost ninety years ago, we will redouble our efforts in the next year to pass the Schiff Amendment as well as legislation recognizing and condemning all genocides.”   In July during consideration of the Foreign Operations spending bill, the House of Representatives voted to adopt the Schiff amendment, prohibiting 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.  Last week, a conference committee combined nine appropriations bills – including the Foreign Operations spending bill – into the FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Act (H.R. 4818).  The Conference Committee left the Schiff amendment out of H.R. 4818, and it passed the House of Representatives and Senate on November 20. From 1915 to 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered by the Ottoman Turks during the first genocide of the Twentieth Century.  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 Armenian 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. - 30 -