Armenian Assembly Congratulates Members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues

Washington, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) welcomes the re-election of Members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues. The Assembly looks forward to working with newly-elected Representatives to increase awareness of priority issues and strengthen the Caucus even further.

“The Armenian Assembly congratulates members of the Armenian Caucus on their election day victories,” said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “The leadership of Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), as well as the support of the Caucus membership, have been especially important given Azerbaijan’s military offensive against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, with the active backing of Turkey, and confirmed reports of jihadist mercenaries being recruited and deployed to fight against Christian Armenians. The activism of the Caucus has been critical as manifested by its numerous congressional initiatives.”

Founded in 1995 by Congressman Frank Pallone and then Congressman John Porter (R-IL), the Armenian Caucus is a bipartisan group of legislators dedicated to strengthening U.S.-Armenia relations and raising awareness about key issues.

“We welcome all newly-elected Representatives to learn more about the issues facing Armenian Americans and invite them to join the Armenian Caucus when the 117th Congress convenes in 2021,” continued Ardouny.

“We also express our gratitude to those Members who will be leaving Congress, in particular House Appropriations Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel (D-NY), Armenian Caucus Vice-Chair Peter King (R-NY), and longtime friends and Caucus Members Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Peter Visclosky (D-IN) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI).”

“There is much work ahead, and the U.S. must take decisive action, including the enforcement of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act and sanctions against Turkey. The Assembly looks forward to working with Congress and the Caucus to address these critical issues,” Ardouny concluded.

The Assembly notes with pride that Armenian Americans Representatives Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) won re-election, and also applauds the election victories of Armenian Americans who ran for office at the state level, including: State Senator Dick Harpootlian (D-SC-20) (Harpootlian serves as the Assembly’s volunteer State Chair in South Carolina), State Rep. Katherine Kazarian (D-RI-63), State Rep. Mari Manoogian (D-MI-40), State Rep. Mary Lou Marzian (D-KY-34), State Rep. David Muradian, Jr. (R-MA-9), and State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian (D-CA-46).

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

For more information, contact: Mariam Khaloyan at mariam@aaainc.org or Hugh Drummond (617) 646-1083, Hugh@SevenLetter.com 

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