Los Angeles, CA – A powerful Latina Congresswoman from Los Angeles is working in the Halls of Congress to end the Turkish Government’s denial of the Armenian Genocide. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-34), has joined forces with over 210 cosponsors of the Armenian Genocide resolution (H. Res. 106) to set the record straight on a crime against all humanity that has been denied for far too long. This week, the Congresswoman diligently worked with her colleagues to gain additional cosponsors for H. Res. 106.

“The growing support for H. Res. 106 reflects the call for strong moral leadership that Americans demand from their elected officials,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said. “Passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution is an essential official acknowledgment of the genocide. This resolution honors those killed during this dark period, and sends a message about the importance this country places on the lives of every man, woman, and child around the globe,” the Congresswoman added.

Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, a longtime friend of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR), became a cosponsor of H.Res.106 on January 31, 2007. Her leadership on issues of importance to her constituents, especially on human rights issues, is widely admired and respected by the Armenian American community living in and around the 34th Congressional District.

“I greatly respect Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard,” commented Peklar Pilavjian, a prominent downtown Los Angeles business and civic leader who is knowledgeable of her support on the genocide legislation pending in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Her leadership on this human rights issue is yet another example of why I am proud to call the Congresswoman a friend and ally of the Armenian American community in Washington, DC,” Pilavjian added.

The 34th Congressional District which the Congresswoman represents includes downtown Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, and nine southeast cities of Los Angeles County. A political pioneer, in 1992, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard became the first Mexican-American woman elected to Congress. Before that, she represented the 56th Assembly District of California for six years.

Presently, the Congresswoman serves as a Member of the House Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful and distinguished committees in Congress. She is the first Latina in U.S. history to be appointed to the Appropriations Committee, which controls the purse strings of the federal government. The congresswoman serves on three influential subcommittees — the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

Widely known and respected on Capitol Hill and in her district as a consensus builder, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard also served as chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation in 1997 and 1998. In assuming this position, she became the first woman, first Latina and the first Member to achieve this role through election rather than seniority. Later, during the 106th Congress in 1999 and 2000, she went on to become the first female Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which is a coalition of Hispanic Members of Congress.

Congresswoman Roybal-Allard was born and raised in Boyle Heights, California. She is the eldest daughter of Lucille Beserra Roybal and the late Congressman Edward R. Roybal, a Member of Congress for 30 years. The 1965 graduate of the California State University at Los Angeles is married to Edward T. Allard, III. Together, they have four children: Ricardo, Lisa, Angela, and Guy Mark; and six grandchildren.

The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

Photo caption: Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-34).