Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Raffi Hamparian consulted on December 14 with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) 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-WI). 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 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 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.