The ANCA closely tracks the performance of every incumbent Senator and Representative across a broad array of pro-Armenian legislative metrics, carefully scores and objectively grades each legislator, and then – as a public service to voters interested in factoring our insights into the diverse set of criteria they consider when voting – widely circulates non-biased, fact-driven, merit-based Report Cards and Endorsements each election cycle.

Choose your state on the map below or in the “Select State” dropbox to view the report cards of all House Members and Senate Members.

2020 Grade
B+
B+
A-
B+
B-
Voted for the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res. 296? Yes
Cosponsored the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.296? Yes
Cosponsored the Artsakh Recognition Resolution, H.Res.1203? No
Cosponsored the Resolution Condemning the Azerbaijan/Turkey Attacks, H.Res.1165? No
Cosponsored the U.S.-Artsakh Travel and Communication Resolution, H.Res.190? No
Cosponsored the Resolution Reaffirming the US-Armenia Strategic Relationship (H.Res.452)? Yes
Cosponsored the 2020 Speier-Cox Amendment to the Foreign Aid Bill for Continued U.S. Aid to Artsakh? No
Voted for the 2019 Speier Amendment to the Foreign Aid Bill Calling for $40 Million in Aid to Armenia? Yes
Voted for the 2019 Sherman Amendment to the NDAA against Azerbaijani Threats to Shoot Down Civilian Aircraft? No
Signed the 2020 Armenian Caucus Letter Condemning Azerbaijan/Turkey attacks on Armenia/Artsakh? No
Signed the 2020 Cox-Sherman-Costa-Clark Letter Calling for Sanctions on Azerbaijan for War Crimes? No
Signed the 2020 Speier Letter Against the Anti-Armenian Chabot-Cohen Amendment to NDAA? No
Signed the Armenian Caucus Letter Condemning the Azerbaijan War Games in May, 2020? No
Signed the 2019 Sherman-Cox Letter to Continue US Aid for Artsakh De-Mining? No
Signed Letters Supporting Pro-Armenian Foreign Aid Priorities in 2019/2020? No
Signed the 2020 Titus Letter urging the Library of Congress to properly categorize the Armenian Genocide? No
Signed the 2019 Armenian Genocide Letter to the President? No
Signed the 2020 Crenshaw Letter to Block Erdogan’s Visit to DC? No
Issued a 2020 Statement Calling for Artsakh Recognition? No
Issued a 2020 Statement Condemning Azerbaijan/Turkey Attacks on Armenia/Artsakh? No
Issued an April 24th Statement Marking the Armenian Genocide in 2019/2020? Yes
Commemorated the Sumgait-Baku-Kirovabad Pogroms in 2019/2020? No
Offered Remarks in 2019/2020 making false Khojaly accusations? No
Traveled to Armenia and/or Artsakh in 2019/2020? No
Member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues? Yes

07/13/20 - Rep. Fortenberry posted the following to Facebook: "President Erdogan of Turkey got his wish––erasing nearly a century of tradition within Hagia Sophia. By reclassifying a World Heritage Site and former Christian holy site as a mosque, he effectively crushed the delicate social fabric unifying the world's great faith traditions." View the Facebook post here.

07/13/20 - Rep. Fortenberry tweeted "President @RTErdogan of #Turkey got his wish––erasing nearly a century of tradition within Hagia Sophia. By reclassifying a World Heritage Site & former Christian holy site as a mosque, he effectively crushed the delicate social fabric unifying the world's great faith traditions" View the tweet here.

04/24/20 - Rep. Fortenberry tweeted "In the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee of which I am a Member, we monitor assaults on human dignity, human rights, and religious liberty. Today marks the 105th anniversary of the arrest, deportation and mass murder of Armenians during WWI #ArmenianGenocide @ANCA_DC" View the tweet here.

10/11/19 - Rep. Fortenberry posted the following to Facebook: "FORT REPORT: SYRIA

Middle Eastern dynamics seem far removed from a brisk fall in Nebraska. It’s hard to get animated by the region’s interminable struggles when the harvest season is upon us and water levels remain a concern. We eventually just get weary. We also sense that we can’t keep fighting other peoples’ wars––at great cost in blood and treasure––with many challenges here at home. But, as this week further verifies, we must proceed with great caution in exiting this messy neighborhood in order to prevent the horror of ISIS 2.0, Turkish over-aggression, and a destabilization that endangers religious minorities.

In a region ridden with centuries-old tribal, ethnic, and religious strife, Syria is particularly complex. We have kept a small military footprint there ever since ISIS’ shocking territorial advance across Syria and neighboring Iraq. From its governing caliphate, ISIS was able to plan, inspire, and carry out attacks against innocent people around the world.

The U.S. presence along the Turkey-Syria border served as a buffer against ISIS and a deterrent against Turkey’s worst inclination—an attack on neighboring Kurds, an ethnic minority trained and equipped by U.S. special forces to fight ISIS in Syria. While courageously serving as a dependable ally in our counter-terrorism efforts, the Kurds also help hold approximately 12,000 ISIS fighters and 58,000 ISIS family members in prisons and camps. The hard reality is this: We aligned with the Kurds to defeat ISIS, not our uncertain NATO ally Turkey, with whom the Kurdish people have waged a centuries-long war. A disintegration of Kurdish operations in Northern Syria creates the potential for the regeneration of ISIS and vulnerability to charges that the U.S. doesn’t keep its commitments.

All of this violence and heartache affects some of us particularly hard. Lincoln is home to the largest Yazidi community in America. Many of Lincoln’s over 3,000 Yazidis served as translators for American military personnel during the Iraq War. The Yazidis of Lincoln are model Americans––strong in family, deeply connected to the community, and tethered to their rich cultural and religious traditions. The complexities in Syria have multiple levels of implication for U.S.-Turkish relations and extend the sad reality of besieged religious minorities still reeling from the ISIS genocide in the region.

After my review of Northern Iraq last summer at the request of Vice President Pence, I crafted the Security Resolution for Northern Iraq to create the conditions for over 400,000 Yazidis still trapped in de facto refugee camps to return to their ancestral homelands in Iraq’s Nineveh and Sinjar. The small but resilient Christian community stands ready to return as well. As far as I am aware, it is the only legislative attempt offered that thinks differently about the fundamental problem of security, with minimal risk to American troops, in order to create a reasonable chance of stability.

I am pleased that this strategy has been implemented into the House Defense Authorization bill. Dozens of Members of Congress––Republicans and Democrats—have signed on to the strategy that the resolution envisions: integrating Christian, Yazidi, and Islamic minorities into the established security forces of the Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga, facilitated by an international training mission. The goal is to allow these ancient communities the chance to protect themselves within the regularized national military structure.

The Iraqi army, backed by America and other international partners, did a tremendous job––at great cost––of clearing ISIS. An ancillary evolution of military structure could help create the security conditions necessary for the reconstituting of Iraqi society before another shock wave potentially hits.

In this time of intense political division inside Congress, a diverse set of representatives understand that this modest commitment to re-securitization is necessary to restore the once-rich tapestry of ethnic and religious diversity that existed in the region and that is so essential to long-term peace and stability in the Middle East.

https://bit.ly/2IF8Kc0" View the Facebook post here.

04/24/19 - Rep. Fortenberry posted the following to Facebook: "A core principle of civilization is the protection of human dignity. Today, we remember the 104th anniversary of the systemic arrest, deportation, and mass murder of Armenians during WWI. I will continue to work to ensure we never see the worst of humanity again." View the Facebook post here.
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