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Statement

Rep. Schiff Pushes for Recognition on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

April 24th marked the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, in which roughly 1.5 million Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks were killed by the Ottoman Empire. On this centennial anniversary of those tragic events, Rep. Schiff marched with over 130,000 people through the streets of Los Angeles to bring awareness to the Genocide as well as to call for recognition and justice. And earlier in the week, Schiff went to the House Floor to read 1,000 names of victims of the Armenian Genocide for one hour and submitted thousands more into the Congressional Record.

"The horrors of the Armenian Genocide have been compounded by decades of denial by the Turkish government, which continues to fight the truth to this day," said Schiff. "The United States has become complicit in this denial by failing to recognize the genocide for decades -- and I was deeply disappointed by President Obama's refusal to use the word "genocide' in his statement. The United States must join the world community -- as it has in speaking out against other atrocities and in confronting painful chapters of our own past -- in calling the Armenian Genocide a genocide. The time for silence is over."

Rep. Schiff Hosts Town Hall to Discuss the National Park Service's Draft Proposal to Expand Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

This week, Rep. Schiff hosted a town hall meeting at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge along with the National Park Service (NPS), to brief his constituents on the NPS's recently released Rim of the Valley Study draft report. NPS has been studying the potential benefits and costs of expanding the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley corridor and has recommended more than doubling the size of the existing park. Schiff and a panel of experts responded to questions and concerns from the 225-member audience and encouraged everyone to submit written comments to the National Park Service during the public comment period through June 30, 2015 at pwr_rimofthevalley@nps.gov and to Schiff's office at SchiffROTV@mail.house.gov.

Rep. Schiff said about the report, "In the 1970's when the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area was created, Congress had the foresight to see that the Los Angeles population would grow and thrive, and it was necessary to act to preserve the open space and natural wonders around us. Over the past two years, the Park Service has worked to complete their draft report and has now recommended a major expansion of the park, as reflected in Alternative C, to better serve and connect this growing urban population to nature. While I am grateful that the Park Service has shown the foresight of recommending a substantial enlargement of the existing recreation area by embracing Alternative C, I am disappointed that it did not also adopt Alternative D, which would provide the greatest resource protection possible."

Rep. Schiff Congratulates the Winners of this Year's Congressional Art Competition

Every year, across the nation, Congress hosts the Congressional Art Competition open to high school students in each Congressional District. The competition is a long-standing tradition that encourages youth participation in the arts. During the exhibit, attended by more than 200 students, teachers and parents, Schiff announced that Lauren Suh, a student from Hollywood who attends Immaculate Heart High School, had won first place with her piece "Gussie." Her artwork will hang in the United States Capitol for one year. Additionally, Schiff announced that Christine J. Lee, a student from Clark Magnet High School, and Emily Hogeland, a student from John Burroughs High School, had won second and third place, respectively. Schiff also awarded the "People's Choice" award to Avenia Ghovandian, a student from Glendale High School. To view a gallery of all District 28 submissions please click here. These three pieces will hang in Rep Schiff's offices in Washington, Burbank, and Hollywood.

"Each year, I get the opportunity to see amazing artwork submitted by high school students from across our district," said Schiff. "All of the students involved deserve recognition for their hard work and exceptional talent, and I hope that they will all continue to enrich our community with their artwork. I particularly want to congratulate Lauren, Christine, Emily and Avenia on being named the winners, and look forward to enjoying their artwork in the Capitol and my offices throughout the coming year. Great job, everyone!"

After Civilian Deaths in Pakistan, Rep. Schiff Again Urges More Public Accountability in Counter-Terrorism Operations

After the death of two hostages held by Al Qaeda -- including American Warren Weinstein -- in Pakistan, Rep. Adam Schiff continued to push for increased accountability on counter-terrorism operations by urging the publication of an annual report on the number of combatants who are killed as well as any civilians. This information would not disclose sources or methods, but would help ensure we are meeting our own high standard of no civilian casualties to a near certainty. Additionally, Schiff is pushing to have intelligence agencies focus on their core mission of intelligence gathering and analysis, and for these counter-terrorism operations to be the province of the Defense Department -- a position he advocated last year in a New York Times op-ed.

"The loss of these two men, both of whom had devoted themselves to improving the lives of others around the world, is a terrible tragedy," Rep. Schiff said. "The President was right to declassify information about the counter-terrorism operations that inadvertently led to these deaths so that the families of those lost could be informed. The public also has a right to know about actions taken on its behalf even -- and sometimes especially -- when those operations go wrong. The President has set a high standard for ensuring that counterterrorism operations do not result in civilian casualties… In this case, and despite extensive surveillance, the intelligence community was not aware that there were civilians being held hostage on the Al Qaeda compound."

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