Jackie Speier: “I thank Chairman Engel, Chairman McCaul, and Mr. Smith, and have a deep sense of gratitude to Congressman Schiff for…”

“I thank Chairman Engel, Chairman McCaul, and Mr. Smith, and have a deep sense of gratitude to Congressman Schiff for introducing H. Res. 296; and to my sister, my Armenian sister, Congresswoman Eshoo, for helping us plot this strategy to get this bill to the floor. April 24, 1915, is a day that lives in infamy in the hearts and minds of millions of Armenians worldwide. It is a day that I grew up understanding from my Armenian mother to be one of the darkest in history. It is the day that the Ottoman Government embarked on a systematic slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians, two-thirds of the Armenian population. This genocide is recognized in countries around the world, including Canada, France, and Germany. It is recognized in 49 States in our Union as the first genocide of the 20th century, yet the House of Representatives hasn't recognized both that the genocide occurred and that the Ottoman Empire perpetrated it. Elie Weisel once called denying genocide--and in particular, the Armenian genocide--a double killing, because it not only exterminates a group of people, it murders the memory of that crime. Congress must ensure that memory is not destroyed and those lives are honored. As a child, I listened to my mom speak of the atrocity with pain and fear. She is gone now, but her pain lives on in me to this very day.…”