WASHINGTON — A total of 38 Senators, led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), urged President Joe Biden to officially recognize the truth of the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).
The bipartisan letter was signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
They noted President Biden’s record on affirming the Armenian Genocide and highlighted his April 24 Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day statement in 2020, wherein he stated:
“It is particularly important to speak these words and commemorate this history at a moment when we are reminded daily of the power of truth, and of our shared responsibility to stand against hate — because silence is complicity.”
In the letter to President Biden, the Senators also stated: “We join the Armenian community in the United States and around the world in honoring the memory of these victims, and we stand firmly against attempts to pretend that this intentional, organized effort to destroy the Armenian people was anything other than a genocide. You have correctly stated that American diplomacy and foreign policy must be rooted in our values, including respect for universal rights. Those values require us to acknowledge the truth and do what we can to prevent future genocides and other crimes against humanity.”
Recalling the historic passage of legislation in the Senate and House last Congress, affirming the fact of the Armenian Genocide, the letter called on the executive branch to make its position clear as Congress has already done.
