WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 150, led by U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), which states it is the policy of the United States to commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance. Following the Senate’s passage, Sen. Cruz said:
“Today, the Senate finally took a stand and spoke the truth – spoke the truth to darkness, spoke truth to evil, spoke truth to murder, spoke truth to genocide – and finally honored the 1.5 million innocent lives lost.
“From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire carried out a forced deportation of nearly two million Armenians, of whom 1.5 million were killed. It was an atrocious genocide. That it happened is a fact and an undeniable reality. Over 100 years ago, the world remained silent as the Armenian people suffered and were murdered and even today many people are unaware of what happened. But we must never be silent in response to atrocity.
“Senator Menendez has been fighting this fight a long time, and I’ve been proud to stand by his side. This is the third week in a row we have come to the Senate floor seeking to pass this resolution. And I’m grateful that today we have succeeded. Our resolution affirms U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide.”
For three weeks, Sens. Cruz and Menendez have urged their Senate colleagues to take swift action to take up and pass the Menendez-Cruz Armenian genocide resolution.
S. Res. 150 is cosponsored by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).
Source: Sen. Cruz Press Office