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Washington, D.C. - Today, over 100 Members of Congress signed a bipartisan letter circulated by the Armenian Caucus leadership to President Joe Biden, urging him to unequivocally affirm the Armenian Genocide and stand by his record and word on this important human rights issue, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). For decades, President Biden has been a staunch supporter of Armenian Genocide affirmation and has stated so time and again. In a September 2019 letter to the Assembly, he said that the "United States must reaffirm, once and for all, our record on the Armenian Genocide...We must never forget or remain silent about this horrific and systematic campaign of extermination that resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenian men, woman, and children and the mass deportation of 2 million Armenians from their homes...Failing to remember or acknowledge the fact of a genocide only paves the way for future mass atrocities." During the 2020 presidential race, the Biden-Harris campaign pledged that "Joe will recognize the Armenian Genocide and make universal human rights a top priority for his administration so that such a tragedy can never again occur." Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), who spearheaded the letter, spoke on the House Floor on Tuesday, April 20, to deliver an open letter to President Biden, calling on him to maintain his campaign promise to officially affirm the Armenian Genocide. "On behalf of hundreds of thousands of Armenian Americans, the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren of genocide survivors, I ask you to keep that promise. Recognize the Armenian Genocide." "We applaud the leadership of the Armenian Caucus in highlighting the importance of reaffirming the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide and calling upon President Biden to stand by his commitment to recognize the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide," stated Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide not only enhances America’s credibility on human rights issues, but also helps prevent future genocides," Ardouny added. Along with Rep. Schiff and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs, Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and David Valadao (R-CA), the following members also joined on the letter: Representatives Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Karen Bass (D-CA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Mike Garcia (R-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Josh Harder (D-CA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Mike Levin (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Michelle Steel (R-CA), Norma Torres (D-CA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Jim Himes (D-CT), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Charlie Crist (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), James McGovern (D-MA), Richard Neal (D-MA), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), John Sarbanes (D-MD), David Trone (D-MD), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Andy Levin (D-MI), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Dina Titus (D-NV), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Grace Meng (D-NY), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Paul Tonko (D-NY), David Joyce (R-OH), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Susan Wild (D-PA), David Cicilline (D-RI), James Langevin (D-RI), Jim Cooper (D-TN), Colin Allred (D-TX), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Donald Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and Gwen Moore (D-WI).
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.
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