Affirming the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide

Floor Speech

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Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support H. Res. 296, which would establish permanent United States recognition and the ongoing remembrance of the Armenian genocide.

I thank Chairman Engel, Ranking Member McCaul, Mr. Smith, and all of the supporters of this resolution.

In 1915, the Ottoman Empire, as we all know, embarked upon the systematic deportation and murder of 1.5 million Armenians. These innocent men, women, and children became the first genocide, as we know, in the 20th century.

Many of these survivors settled in my district in the San Joaquin Valley, where they lived and their children have enjoyed the blessings of liberty and lived the American Dream. This incredible, diverse valley that I have the honor to represent we sometimes refer to as the Land of William Saroyan, a noted Armenian author. And Fresno State University is the only university in the United States that has a memorial dedicated to the Armenian genocide, a very moving memorial to their ancestors.

Yet, this brutal atrocity has not received the official recognition it deserves. So, today, it is proper and fitting that we do so.

This is a moral issue. I call upon my colleagues to join me and more than 110 cosponsors in supporting this long overdue passage by the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, the horrors of the Armenian genocide can never, ever, ever be undone. Yet, by acknowledging the suffering of the victims through official recognition of the Armenian genocide, we can ensure that at least future generations will never forget.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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