ANCA-ER Freshman Outreach Campaign Focuses on Reps. Kosmas and Schock

WASHINGTON—Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region interim executive director Raffi Karakashian and Florida ANC activist Taleen Mekhdjavakian reached out to freshmen Representatives Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.) and Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) recently to rally support for Armenian Genocide legislation and discuss a range of interests to the Armenian American community.

Mekhdjavakian, an Orlando resident in Washington as part of the ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship program, urged Kosmas to co-sponsor H.Res.252, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, citing the growing number of freshman Representatives supporting the measure. Kosmas serves on the Financial Services and Science and Technology committees.

Karakashian and Mekhdjavakian then briefly met with Schock of Peoria, Ill., noting that his predecessor, Ray LaHood, who currently serves as Secretary of Transportation, had co-sponsored the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.106, during the 110th Congress. Schock, the youngest Member of Congress, currently serves on three House committees: Transportation and Infrastructure, Small Business, and Oversight and Government Reform.

The meetings were part of an expanding ANCA-ER campaign to educate freshmen Representatives on issues of concern to the Armenian American community. Over the past several months, ANCA representatives in Washington and east of the Mississippi have been holding meetings in support of Armenian Genocide legislation, expanded foreign assistance to Armenia, and self-determination for Nagorno-Karabagh, among other local ANC initiatives.

The ANCA-ER is part of the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA-ER actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.