LOS ANGELES, Calif.— Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Raffi Hamparian consulted with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Dec. 14, on the Armenian American community’s legislative priorities for the incoming 115th session of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congressman McCarthy serves as the second ranking official in the U.S. House, as part of a Republican leadership team headed by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). In this post he controls the flow of legislation that reaches the House floor, among a broad array of other leadership responsibilities. Majority Leader McCarthy is a native of Bakersfield who has, since 2007, represented California’s 23rd District, home to thousands of Armenian American families. The ANCA Chairman has, over the past two months, met with both Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McCarthy regarding Armenian issues.
“We welcomed this opportunity to engage once again with Majority Leader McCarthy and were encouraged, as always, by his continued openness to our issues,” said ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian, following the meeting. “The ANCA looks forward to working with him and his colleagues in the House leadership to advance a bipartisan legislative agenda to strengthen U.S.-Armenia relations, defend Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabagh/NKR) status and security, and bring an end to U.S. complicity in Ankara’s obstruction of justice for the Armenian Genocide.”
Congressman McCarthy, who was endorsed by the ANCA this election cycle, has a track record of support issues of concern to Americans of Armenian heritage, including as a cosponsor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.
Too late or the McCarthy and his crew should go to the UN meetings – ( ask to US delegation) to sponsor a resolution on Genocide-claims-justice- stop impunity- – recognize and repair, as well as against Azeri claims of reoccupying NKR ro the 2017 March session of the Council of Human Rrights … Azerbaijan has already introduced several resolutions at the GA of UN in NY re the return of NKR under Azeri rule! No time to lose. That is, if US/California leadership wants to fight for international justice and a rule of the law democracy….