[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 187 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6736-S6737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                 Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. 150

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I come to the floor again with respect 
to S. Res. 150, which I introduced with Senator Cruz, to recognize the 
Armenian Genocide. I am glad that he is with me today in a call for 
unanimous consent on this resolution. We are proud to report that we 
have 28 sponsors on this important resolution.
  Last month, the House of Representatives passed a version of this 
resolution by a vote of 405-11--405-11. That sent a strong bipartisan 
message of dedication to the truth--dedication to historical fact, 
dedication to a principle held by so many in Congress--that genocide is 
genocide.
  As a country, we should do whatever we can to prevent future 
genocides, but when it happens, we have an obligation as a country to 
call it what it is. If not, we operate without the facts outside of 
reality. We aren't being honest to ourselves and to the world. This 
resolution gives us that reckoning and sets the record straight, a 
record that so many administrations over the years have sought to 
obscure. These administrations, Republican and Democrat, have dug their 
heads into the sand, despite the words of U.S. diplomats who were there 
at the time, who saw the genocide with their own eyes.
  Let me just share a couple of examples. Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. 
Ambassador to Turkey, from 1913 to 1916, wrote in his memoir that, 
``When the Turkish authorities gave the order for these deportations, 
they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race; they 
understood this well, and in their conversations with me, they made no 
particular attempt to conceal this fact. I am confident that the whole 
history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. 
The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost 
insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 
1915.'' This was Henry Morgenthau Ambassador's quote.
  On June 5, 1915, the United States Consul in Aleppo, Jesse Jackson, 
wrote, ``There is a living stream of Armenians pouring into Aleppo from 
the surrounding towns and villages, the principal ones being Marash, 
Zeitoun, Hasanbeyli, Osmania, Baghtche, Adana, Dortyol, Hadjin.
  ``The Ottoman Government has been appealed to by various prominent 
people and even those in authority to put an end to these conditions, 
under the representations that it can only lead to the greatest blame 
and reproach, but all to no avail. It is without doubt a carefully 
planned scheme to thoroughly extinguish the Armenian race.''
  On July 24, 1915, in a report to Ambassador Morgenthau, the U.S. 
Consul in Harput, Leslie Davis, stated, ``Any doubt that may have been 
expressed in previous reports as to the Government's intention in 
sending away the Armenians have been removed. It has been no secret 
that the plan was to destroy the Armenian race as a race. Everything 
was apparently planned months ago.''
  And, finally, on October 1, 1916, a telegram to the Secretary of 
State Robert Lansing, the U.S. Charge d'Affaires Hoffman Philip wrote, 
``The department is in receipt of ample details demonstrating the 
horrors of the anti-Armenian campaign. For many months past I felt that 
the most efficacious method for dealing with the situation from an 
international standpoint would be to flatly threaten to withdraw our 
Diplomatic Representative from a country where such barbarous methods 
are not only tolerated but actually carried out by order of the 
existing Government.''
  Finally, Abram Elkus, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the 
Ottoman Empire from 1916 to 1917, telegrammed the Secretary of State at 
the time on October 17, 1916, stating ``In order to avoid opprobrium of 
the civilized world, which the continuation of massacres [of the 
Armenians] would arouse, Turkish officials have now adopted and 
are executing the unchecked policy of extermination through starvation, 
exhaustion, and brutality of treatment hardly surpassed even in Turkish 
history.''

  American officials, those with the most credible and legitimate 
understanding of what took place, made these statements. They are part 
of the historical record, and they mark one of the prouder moments in 
the history of the State Department and our diplomacy.
  Finally, there are 27 countries in the world that have already 
recognized the Armenian genocide. Eleven of them are NATO countries: 
Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, 
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia. None of them have 
ruptured their relationship with Turkey. None of them have ended their 
relationship with Turkey as it relates to recognizing the Armenian 
genocide as a historical fact.

[[Page S6737]]

  Why is the greatest country on the face of the earth, the United 
States of America, incapable--incapable--of doing this when these 11 
NATO countries haven't? So I want to thank the many individuals over 
the years, particularly the Armenian National Committee of America, the 
Armenian Assembly, and so many others, who have worked so hard 
alongside me to ensure the U.S. abides by its commitment to the truth 
and to a world where genocide truly never happens again.
  I have had a good friend and colleague who has been engaged with me 
in this latest effort, and I want to yield to him at this time, Senator 
Cruz.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I am proud to join with my friend and my 
colleague from New Jersey today in urging the Senate to take up and 
pass the resolution affirming U.S. recognition of the Armenian 
genocide. From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire carried out a forced 
deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians, of whom 1.5 million were 
killed. It was an atrocious genocide. That it happened is a reality 
that no amount of political doublespeak can cover up.
  In fact, the word ``genocide,'' which literally means the killing of 
an entire people, was coined by Raphael Lemkin to describe the horrific 
nature of the Ottoman Empire's calculated extermination of the 
Armenians. That is the genesis of the word ``genocide.''
  As America, we must never be silent in response to atrocities. Over 
100 years ago, the world sat silently as the Armenian people suffered 
and were systemically murdered. Many people today are still unaware of 
what happened. With this resolution--a bipartisan resolution--we are 
saying it is a policy of the United States to commemorate the Armenian 
genocide through official recognition and remembrance.
  Let me echo what my colleague from New Jersey just said. Doing so is 
not incompatible with continuing to deal with Turkey as an ally. Just 
last week, I sat down with President Erdogan and President Trump in the 
oval office. Turkey is a NATO ally and an important one, but friends 
and allies can speak the truth, and we are not honoring America and who 
we stand for if we are afraid to speak the truth and willing to 
participate in covering it up. We have a moral duty to acknowledge what 
happened to 1.5 million innocent souls. It is the right thing to do, 
and it is my hope that the Senate will do so in a bipartisan manner.
  I yield back the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Therefore, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from 
further consideration of S. Res. 150 and the Senate proceed to its 
immediate consideration; I further ask that the resolution be agreed 
to; the preamble be agreed to; and the motions to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. PERDUE. I am reserving the right to object.
  Mr. President, just yesterday, Secretary Pompeo joined the foreign 
ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, including Foreign Minister 
Cavusoglu from Turkey. Secretary Pompeo had quite a lot to discuss with 
him, as this administration continues its engagement with 
Turkey's leadership on the heels of President Trump's meeting with 
President Erdogan last week. In light of these diplomatic efforts, I 
respectfully object to this resolution at this time.

  While the content of the legislation before us merits undivided 
consideration, its passage would undermine the administration's 
overcoming real challenges in our bilateral relationship with Turkey. I 
look forward to working with the administration and Senator Cruz and 
Senator Menendez in holding our NATO ally responsible for its 
commitment made when it joined the NATO community of like-minded 
nations founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and 
the rule of law.
  For those reasons, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I am not new to this issue. I have been 
pursuing recognition of the Armenian genocide for the greater part of a 
decade, and there always seems to be some reason why, in fact, it is 
not a good moment. Well, it is like a rope-a-dope. It is like a rope-a-
dope. There is always another reason. There is always another excuse.
  The 11 NATO allies have done this, and they are still in NATO and 
still working with Turkey and still have diplomatic relationships with 
Turkey. It is amazing to me the greatest power on the face of this 
earth can't just speak truth of history. It amazes me. And so there 
never seems to be a good moment.
  Now, I have been here in the Senate long enough to know that 
objections to unanimous consent work both ways, so I am going to 
continue to bring this issue to the floor. I think Armenian Americans, 
the world, and history should record who stands on the side of 
recognizing genocide for what it is and who is not, and so I am not 
going to relax. If necessary, I am sure there will be moments in which 
those will seek consent on issues, and if the only way is to get a vote 
on this through the actual process on the floor, then I will force that 
issue because history demands it. Our conscience should call for it, 
and a decade of waiting to make this happen is enough.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I appreciate Senator Menendez always 
speaking up for human rights, regardless who the President is, 
regardless of any colleagues running for President, whenever the 
President calls on them, and Senator Menendez has always been a Senator 
here that stands up for his principles on international human rights.