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GOP LEADERS BLOCK ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL FROM HOUSE FLOOR
by Michael Doyle Bee Washington Bureau
Fresno Bee (California)
June 9, 2006 Friday
Final Edition
Washington
Republican leaders are refusing to allow an Armenian genocide
resolution to reach the House floor, where it almost certainly
would pass.
The Capitol Hill blockade frustrates Armenian-American activists,
including several in the San Joaquin Valley.
"The GOP leadership objections reflect the Bush administration's
policy of supporting Turkey," Barlow Der Mugrdechian, lecturer in
Armenian studies at California State University, Fresno, said Thursday.
House "Speaker [Dennis] Hastert's refusal to schedule a vote is an
affront to supporters of the resolution."
Without leadership go-ahead, the genocide resolution approved
overwhelmingly 10 months ago by the House International Relations
Committee will remain dormant.
But as House action Thursday showed, Armenia's congressional allies,
too, will sometimes steer clear of a House fight.
In a telling political decision, lawmakers decided not to press
Thursday for an amendment liked by Armenian-Americans but loathed by
the White House and the Turkish government. Discretion, in this case,
may have been the better part of political valor.
"We're operating under a tough scenario right now," said Rep. George
Radanovich, R-Mariposa. "There's not a lot that's likely to change
the administration's mind."
The latest maneuvering over Armenian politics involves the $21.3
billion foreign operations bill considered Thursday by the House.
Despite its foreign focus, it is a bill that also targets domestic
constituencies.
The bill, for instance, urges the Bush administration to accept
the California State University's proposal for providing overseas
agricultural training.
The bill likewise promotes the University of California's affiliation
with the American University of Armenia.
Various politically favored nations are boosted, from more than $2.3
billion in aid provided Israel to a special visa program aiding
Ireland. The targeting helps sustain votes for foreign aid, which
historically can be a hard political sell.
"This is moving forward with strong, bipartisan support," noted Rep.
David Dreier, R-Covina, chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee.
Armenia fares particularly well.
The bill provides $62 million in economic aid to the country of 2.9
million residents. Though a decrease from last year's $75 million,
this still is more per person than most any other country. The U.S.
aid amounts to about 20 cents for every Armenian.
For neighboring Mexico, U.S. aid amounts to less than a penny per
resident.
"As long as Armenia suffers from blockades, continued and robust U.S.
assistance will be required," said Rep. Frank Pallone, D.-N.J. Pallone
is co-chairman of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, which now claims
140 members. For lawmakers from the San Joaquin Valley, home to tens
of thousands of Armenian-Americans, caucus membership is expected.
Democratic Reps. Dennis Cardoza of Merced and Jim Costa of Fresno are
Armenian caucus members, as are Republicans including Radanovich and
Rep. Devin Nunes of Visalia.
Periodically, Armenian caucus members use the foreign aid bill to
chastise Turkey, Armenia's historical antagonist. A decade ago, for
instance, Radanovich won House approval of an amendment limiting aid
to Turkey unless the country conceded the Armenian population was
the target of genocide between 1915 and 1923.
Congressional negotiators later dropped the provision, as they have
dropped similar provisions in the past.
This history was revived this week, as lawmakers and Armenian-American
organizations weighed whether to bring up another Armenian-related
amendment -- for instance, language punitively targeting Turkey's
lobbying expenditures.
Ultimately, lawmakers and staffers feared they might lose any
strongly worded amendment. They would face opposition both from
Republican leaders and the Bush administration, as well as members
of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, who don't like their
spending bills tinkered with.
Even if the House passed an amendment, moreover, congressional staffers
calculated it would simply be stripped out in the House and Senate
negotiations, and Radanovich said Republicans didn't want to put
President Bush in the position of making that call to Congress.
The question -- ultimately answered in the negative -- then became
whether to pursue a politically difficult vote for the sake of a
short-term symbolic victory.
Elizabeth Chouldjian, spokeswoman for the Armenian National Committee
of America, downplayed the significance of the decision and stressed
that "there are tons of different options" for taking up important
legislation later.
"These efforts are closely watched," Der Mugrdechian said.
The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (202)
383-0006.
by Michael Doyle Bee Washington Bureau
Fresno Bee (California)
June 9, 2006 Friday
Final Edition
Washington
Republican leaders are refusing to allow an Armenian genocide
resolution to reach the House floor, where it almost certainly
would pass.
The Capitol Hill blockade frustrates Armenian-American activists,
including several in the San Joaquin Valley.
"The GOP leadership objections reflect the Bush administration's
policy of supporting Turkey," Barlow Der Mugrdechian, lecturer in
Armenian studies at California State University, Fresno, said Thursday.
House "Speaker [Dennis] Hastert's refusal to schedule a vote is an
affront to supporters of the resolution."
Without leadership go-ahead, the genocide resolution approved
overwhelmingly 10 months ago by the House International Relations
Committee will remain dormant.
But as House action Thursday showed, Armenia's congressional allies,
too, will sometimes steer clear of a House fight.
In a telling political decision, lawmakers decided not to press
Thursday for an amendment liked by Armenian-Americans but loathed by
the White House and the Turkish government. Discretion, in this case,
may have been the better part of political valor.
"We're operating under a tough scenario right now," said Rep. George
Radanovich, R-Mariposa. "There's not a lot that's likely to change
the administration's mind."
The latest maneuvering over Armenian politics involves the $21.3
billion foreign operations bill considered Thursday by the House.
Despite its foreign focus, it is a bill that also targets domestic
constituencies.
The bill, for instance, urges the Bush administration to accept
the California State University's proposal for providing overseas
agricultural training.
The bill likewise promotes the University of California's affiliation
with the American University of Armenia.
Various politically favored nations are boosted, from more than $2.3
billion in aid provided Israel to a special visa program aiding
Ireland. The targeting helps sustain votes for foreign aid, which
historically can be a hard political sell.
"This is moving forward with strong, bipartisan support," noted Rep.
David Dreier, R-Covina, chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee.
Armenia fares particularly well.
The bill provides $62 million in economic aid to the country of 2.9
million residents. Though a decrease from last year's $75 million,
this still is more per person than most any other country. The U.S.
aid amounts to about 20 cents for every Armenian.
For neighboring Mexico, U.S. aid amounts to less than a penny per
resident.
"As long as Armenia suffers from blockades, continued and robust U.S.
assistance will be required," said Rep. Frank Pallone, D.-N.J. Pallone
is co-chairman of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, which now claims
140 members. For lawmakers from the San Joaquin Valley, home to tens
of thousands of Armenian-Americans, caucus membership is expected.
Democratic Reps. Dennis Cardoza of Merced and Jim Costa of Fresno are
Armenian caucus members, as are Republicans including Radanovich and
Rep. Devin Nunes of Visalia.
Periodically, Armenian caucus members use the foreign aid bill to
chastise Turkey, Armenia's historical antagonist. A decade ago, for
instance, Radanovich won House approval of an amendment limiting aid
to Turkey unless the country conceded the Armenian population was
the target of genocide between 1915 and 1923.
Congressional negotiators later dropped the provision, as they have
dropped similar provisions in the past.
This history was revived this week, as lawmakers and Armenian-American
organizations weighed whether to bring up another Armenian-related
amendment -- for instance, language punitively targeting Turkey's
lobbying expenditures.
Ultimately, lawmakers and staffers feared they might lose any
strongly worded amendment. They would face opposition both from
Republican leaders and the Bush administration, as well as members
of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, who don't like their
spending bills tinkered with.
Even if the House passed an amendment, moreover, congressional staffers
calculated it would simply be stripped out in the House and Senate
negotiations, and Radanovich said Republicans didn't want to put
President Bush in the position of making that call to Congress.
The question -- ultimately answered in the negative -- then became
whether to pursue a politically difficult vote for the sake of a
short-term symbolic victory.
Elizabeth Chouldjian, spokeswoman for the Armenian National Committee
of America, downplayed the significance of the decision and stressed
that "there are tons of different options" for taking up important
legislation later.
"These efforts are closely watched," Der Mugrdechian said.
The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (202)
383-0006.