GLENDALE–Leaders of a grateful and energized Armenian American community will gather in Santa Monica on September 29th to personally thank Senator Bob Menendez for his courage in successfully standing up to the White House’s attempt to send a confirmed Armenian Genocide denier, Dick Hoagland, to represent the United States in Armenia.
"Senator Menendez earned his remarkable standing in our community’s long struggle to end the denial of the Armenian Genocide by single-handedly blocking Richard Hoagland’s nomination to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia," said Armenian National Committee – Political Action Committee (ANC-PAC) spokesperson Ara Papazian. "In the face of intense pressure from the Administration, State Department, Turkey’s high-priced lobbyists, and many others, Senator Menendez stood up for the truth, ultimately forcing the White House, in a rare move, to back down and withdraw the nomination of this unapologetic genocide denier," added Papazian.
The event, organized by the ANC-PAC, will be held in the home of longtime ANC-PAC supporter Ashkhen Pilavjian from 5 PM to 7 PM on the evening of September 29.
The purpose of the gathering, beyond extending a traditionally warm Armenian welcome and expressing the community leadership’s appreciation, is to ensure that the Armenian American community does its part to ensure that Senator Menendez has the resources to win reelection to the Senate. Sources in Washington already report that the Senator is set to face intense opposition from the Turkish government’s allies over the Hoagland issue and others angered by his rock-solid support for issues of importance to Armenian Americans including U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Senator Menendez’s hold on the Hoagland nomination made national news, earning headlines in Los Angeles Times and Washington Post – and was, for months, the subject of daily news reports in both Armenia and Turkey. His stand against the nomination came in the wake of the State Department’s firing of Ambassador John Evans for acknowledging and speaking truthfully about the Armenian Genocide.
Senator Menendez has a long track record of advancing issues of special concern to Armenian Americans. He is a leading co-sponsor of S.Res. 106, which calls on the President to properly commemorate the Armenian Genocide, and has backed similar legislation dating back to his years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was among the authors of S. 2461, the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act, to prohibit U.S. assistance to develop any Caucasus rail projects that go around Armenia, and led the effort to see this language adopted as part of the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization bill last year.
Like many in the Armenian American community, Senator Menendez grew up the son of immigran’s. He was raised in a tenement building in Union City, New Jersey, and is the product of New Jersey’s public schools and a graduate of the state’s universities. He has served as a school board member, a mayor and a state legislator. Since 1992, he has been fighting for New Jersey families in Washington, where he rose to become the third-highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives before taking office in the Senate in 2006. Senator Menendez received his B.A. from St. Peter’s College in Jersey City and his law degree from Rutgers University. He currently lives in Hoboken and has two children, Alicia and Robert.
The ANC-PAC’s event will be held on September 29. Donations levels are set in the following categories; Platinum Sponsor: $2,300 and Gold Sponsor: $1,000. Please make all checks payable to Menendez for Senate. To RSVP for this very special event, individuals are encouraged to contact the ANC-PAC at (818) 521-4901.
Individuals who want to thank Senator Menendez by supporting his re-election campaign, but are unable to attend the program, can send a check payable to Menendez for Senate to ANC-PAC, 104 N. Belmont Street, Suite 200B, Glendale, California 91206.
The ANC-PAC is a non-partisan federally registered political action committee established to support campaign committees for Members of Congress who share the values of the Armenian American community. The ANC-PAC is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the voice of the Armenian American community is clearly heard in our nation’s capital. The ANC-PAC continues a century old tradition of Armenian Americans engagement on the public policy issues facing national political leaders, both in the U.S. Congress and the White House.
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