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Burbank Leader, CA
June 23 2007
POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:
More than 200 sign bill
A bill calling for U.S. recognition and commemoration of the Armenian
genocide surpassed more than 200 cosponsors in the House of
Representatives this week, the most by any genocide bill ever
introduced, officials said.
Introduced in January by Rep. Adam Schiff, whose district includes
Glendale and Burbank, House Resolution 106 calls on the president to
characterize the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman
Empire in 1915 as genocide.
The bill had 204 co-sponsors as of Thursday.
"It's a very strong showing, so I'm hoping that as we gather even
more support, that we propel ourselves to a vote on the resolution,"
said Schiff, who is a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues.
The desire to gain official recognition of the Armenian genocide has
been heightened in recent years by the ongoing conflict in Darfur,
Sudan, which is recognized by the U.S. government as genocide, Schiff
said.
"It really undermines our credibility when we effectively say we will
only recognize genocide when it's committed by weak states and not by
powerful ones," said Schiff, who added that the Turkish lobby has
been vigorous in its opposition to genocide recognition efforts in
Congress.
Schiff has been part of similar efforts in the past to pass an
Armenian genocide recognition resolution, but those attempts have
fallen short of a vote on the House floor, he said.
Leaders in the Armenian-American community are hopeful that this is
the year a resolution gets passed, said Andrew Kzirian, executive
director of the Armenian National Committee of America, Western
Region, which is based in Glendale.
"There has been a lot of steam building up a lot of momentum in the
community," Kzirian said.
"Over the years there's been a progression of growth in activism and
I think you're seeing that with the 204 cosponsors. The hope is that
it's going to happen this year."
The current bill has been referred to the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, where it is waiting to have a hearing scheduled. At least
13 members of the 50-member committee are co-sponsors of the bill.
If the bill gets committee approval, it could then be scheduled by
the House Speaker for debate and a vote, Schiff said.
"[Speaker Nancy Pelosi] has been supportive in the past, so we're
hopeful that our leadership will bring this to the floor .... I'm
pretty sure it would pass," Schiff said.
A companion genocide bill is also awaiting a committee hearing in the
Senate. Introduced in March by Sen. Richard Durbin, Senate Resolution
106 currently has 30 co-sponsors.
State senator pushes for prison reform
Two prison reform bills authored by state Sen. Jack Scott, whose
district includes Glendale and Burbank, cleared committee hearings in
the Assembly this week.
In partnership with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, Scott's
Senate Bill 718 - the Inmate Welfare Fund - would authorize sheriffs
to create stores in connection with county jails.
All profit derived from the stores, which could sell confectionary
goods, writing and postage materials and toilet articles to inmates,
would be deposited in the inmate welfare fund.
Sheriffs could draw from the fund to provide inmates with essential
clothing and transportation expenses within the county prior to their
release. The bill passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee by a
6-0 margin on Tuesday.
Scott's Senate Bill 413, which would provide funding to community
colleges' inmate education programs, passed the Assembly
Appropriations Committee by a 6-1 vote on Wednesday.
Under existing law, inmate education programs - which usually involve
noncredit classes and programs - are not funded by the state because
they are not open to the public, a Scott spokesperson said. Without
state funding, many community colleges could be forced to cut inmate
education programs, according to Scott's office.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
June 23 2007
POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:
More than 200 sign bill
A bill calling for U.S. recognition and commemoration of the Armenian
genocide surpassed more than 200 cosponsors in the House of
Representatives this week, the most by any genocide bill ever
introduced, officials said.
Introduced in January by Rep. Adam Schiff, whose district includes
Glendale and Burbank, House Resolution 106 calls on the president to
characterize the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman
Empire in 1915 as genocide.
The bill had 204 co-sponsors as of Thursday.
"It's a very strong showing, so I'm hoping that as we gather even
more support, that we propel ourselves to a vote on the resolution,"
said Schiff, who is a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues.
The desire to gain official recognition of the Armenian genocide has
been heightened in recent years by the ongoing conflict in Darfur,
Sudan, which is recognized by the U.S. government as genocide, Schiff
said.
"It really undermines our credibility when we effectively say we will
only recognize genocide when it's committed by weak states and not by
powerful ones," said Schiff, who added that the Turkish lobby has
been vigorous in its opposition to genocide recognition efforts in
Congress.
Schiff has been part of similar efforts in the past to pass an
Armenian genocide recognition resolution, but those attempts have
fallen short of a vote on the House floor, he said.
Leaders in the Armenian-American community are hopeful that this is
the year a resolution gets passed, said Andrew Kzirian, executive
director of the Armenian National Committee of America, Western
Region, which is based in Glendale.
"There has been a lot of steam building up a lot of momentum in the
community," Kzirian said.
"Over the years there's been a progression of growth in activism and
I think you're seeing that with the 204 cosponsors. The hope is that
it's going to happen this year."
The current bill has been referred to the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, where it is waiting to have a hearing scheduled. At least
13 members of the 50-member committee are co-sponsors of the bill.
If the bill gets committee approval, it could then be scheduled by
the House Speaker for debate and a vote, Schiff said.
"[Speaker Nancy Pelosi] has been supportive in the past, so we're
hopeful that our leadership will bring this to the floor .... I'm
pretty sure it would pass," Schiff said.
A companion genocide bill is also awaiting a committee hearing in the
Senate. Introduced in March by Sen. Richard Durbin, Senate Resolution
106 currently has 30 co-sponsors.
State senator pushes for prison reform
Two prison reform bills authored by state Sen. Jack Scott, whose
district includes Glendale and Burbank, cleared committee hearings in
the Assembly this week.
In partnership with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, Scott's
Senate Bill 718 - the Inmate Welfare Fund - would authorize sheriffs
to create stores in connection with county jails.
All profit derived from the stores, which could sell confectionary
goods, writing and postage materials and toilet articles to inmates,
would be deposited in the inmate welfare fund.
Sheriffs could draw from the fund to provide inmates with essential
clothing and transportation expenses within the county prior to their
release. The bill passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee by a
6-0 margin on Tuesday.
Scott's Senate Bill 413, which would provide funding to community
colleges' inmate education programs, passed the Assembly
Appropriations Committee by a 6-1 vote on Wednesday.
Under existing law, inmate education programs - which usually involve
noncredit classes and programs - are not funded by the state because
they are not open to the public, a Scott spokesperson said. Without
state funding, many community colleges could be forced to cut inmate
education programs, according to Scott's office.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress