[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 27, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H2400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL HONOREES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to read into the Congressional Record 
the names of five women who were honored by the Touched By an Angel St. 
Bernadette Women's Day on Sunday April 25, 2000, in my district. The 
following have been honored for their exemplary and unselfish work and 
service to church and their community:
  Joan Benson. A dedicated and productive volunteer.
  Pat Botshekan. If there is any event, she has had a significant role 
in planning and bringing the occasion to fruition.
  Marian Donkor. She has distinguished herself as an able and willing 
volunteer, always agreeable, pleasant, and eager to help whenever 
needed.
  Lucille Matthews. Always focused on her family, her church, and the 
community, where she visits the sick almost every day.
  And then there is Peggy Wright. Active in her community as block club 
chairman, volunteer at St. Anne's Home For Unwed Mothers, she has held 
many committee positions and chairmanships.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate them as the angels of peace for 
being honored with a Touched By an Angel Award.


                         The Armenian Genocide

  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, a few remarks on the Armenian genocide. My 
Armenian-American friends and neighbors in Los Angeles have asked me to 
speak tonight as a tribute to the victims of the Armenian genocide.
  As you know, in April 1915, approximately 1.5 million Armenians were 
systematically killed in an organized fashion by the Ottoman 
government. Ample documentation of these facts exist; yet today, almost 
9 decades later, the government of the modern state of Turkey still 
fails to acknowledge the fact of the Armenian genocide.
  Turkey's failure to acknowledge the truth is a burden on the alliance 
between our two nations. I would say to our President, it should be 
called as it is, a crime of genocide. So I call upon the President of 
the United States to uphold the commitment he made back when he was 
running for President and put the United States of America on record 
acknowledging the Armenian genocide.

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