Siamanto Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 House Leaders Attack Schiff Amendment on Armenian Genocide Send a Free ANCA WebFax Expressing Your Disappointment http://capwiz.com/anca/mail/compose/?alert...6135201&type=CU Regards, Siamanto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 WASHINGTON, DC - In a front-page statement posted today on the web-page of the Speaker of the U.S. House, Congressional Republican leaders, who have for the past eighteen months blocked the progress of legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide, attacked the adoption, yesterday, of the Schiff Amendment by the full U.S. House, reported the Armenian National Committee (ANCA). The amendment restricts the Turkish government from using U.S. foreign aid dollars to finance its campaign to defeat the Genocide Resolution, H.Res.193. The statement issued by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) and Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) states that, “we are strongly opposed to the Schiff Amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, and we will insist that conferees drop that provision in conference. . . Turkey has been a reliable ally of the United States for decades, and the deep foundation upon which our mutual economic and security relationship rests should not be disrupted by this amendment.” "Speaker Hastert and his colleagues in the House leadership - having spent the past year and a half trying to kill the Genocide Resolution - are now trying to subvert the clear will of an overwhelming bi-partisan majority in support of this human rights measure," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We find it deeply offensive that these officials would allow a foreign nation - particularly one that so blatantly disdains the democratic values of the American people - to impose its dictates on our Congress." Yesterday evening, the U.S. House voted to approve the amendment, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). The measure was passed by a voice vote and added to the fiscal year 2005 foreign aid bill, H.R.4818. The Genocide Resolution, H.Res.193, reaffirms U.S. support for the Genocide Convention and cites the importance of remembering past crimes against humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. It faces intense opposition from the Turkish government, which has enlisted the backing of the White House in its efforts to press Congressional leaders to block this measure from being scheduled for a vote of the full House. Both Representatives Schiff and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) have written separate letters expressing their disappointment with the Congressional leadership's attack on the Schiff Amendment. Rep. Pallone noted that, "we as a nation cannot allow the government of Turkey to undermine our democratic process and usurp our principles. To do so is to stand against the will of the people of the United States. Mr. Speaker, last night Mr. Schiff introduced a sound amendment that was approved by the House of Representatives. Yet your statement today, undercuts that vote and asserts that the people's voice can be silenced." Commenting on Speaker Hastert's assertion that he will not schedule a vote on H.Res.193, Rep. Schiff stated, "your refusal to allow the genocide resolution to be brought up for a vote directly contradicts your promise, made in a meeting with Armenian-American community leaders in my congressional district in 2000, that you would bring the Armenian Genocide Resolution to a floor vote in the United States House of Representatives" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Statement of Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Majority Whip Roy Blunt Regarding the Schiff Amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill July 15, 2004 (Washington D.C.) Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt released the following statement regarding House adoption of the Schiff Amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. “We are strongly opposed to the Schiff Amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, and we will insist that conferees drop that provision in conference. We have contacted the Bush Administration, and they have indicated their strong opposition to the amendment. We have also conveyed our opposition to Chairman Kolbe and he has assured us that he will insist on it being dropped in the conference committee.” “Turkey has been a reliable ally of the United States for decades, and the deep foundation upon which our mutual economic and security relationship rests should not be disrupted by this amendment.” “On its face, the amendment is meaningless. Current U.S. law already prohibits foreign governments from using American foreign aid to lobby. But we understand the political motivation behind the amendment, and for that reason, we will insist that it be dropped.” “Our relationship with Turkey is too important to us to allow it to be in any way damaged by a poorly crafted and ultimately meaningless amendment.” “Furthermore, we have no intention of scheduling H.Res. 193, as reported out of the Judiciary Committee in April, during the remainder of this Congress.” http://speaker.house.gov/library/intrelati...hiffAmend.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
America-Hye Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 So are you all now going to get on the Kerry-Edwards bandwagon? Kerry's wife is Portuguese, but she could easily pass as an Armenian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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