ANCA Supporters Strongly Back Congressman Brad Sherman
April 11, 2016Los Angeles, CA – Leaders, friends and supporters of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) gathered on Sunday, April 10, 2016 to express their full support for Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) at an event held at the home of longtime ANCA supporters Michael and Natalie Mahdesian. Congressman Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has had an enduring, strong and active relationship with the ANCA since he was first elected to Congress in 1997.
“The ANCA and our thousands of supporters in California’s San Fernando Valley strongly support Congressman Brad Sherman,” remarked ANCA-Western Region Chair Nora Hovsepian. “Time and again, Congressman Sherman has been a vocal and effective advocate on behalf of our community. Just last week, the Congressman issued a forceful rebuke of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s reckless attack against the freedom loving people of Artsakh. The ANCA is pleased that the Congressman has called for U.S. tax dollars not to be spent in Baku until Azerbaijan renounces violence and is eager for this prohibition to be enforced by the Obama Administration,” added Hovsepian.
On April 3, 2016, Congressman Sherman was one of the first Members of Congress to issue a statement on Azerbaijan’s attack against Artsakh. The statement from the Congressman read, “I strongly condemn this aggression and believe that U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan be cut off until it ceases its aggression, renounces violence, and commits to a purely peaceful resolution of the conflict.”
Last month, Congressman Sherman addressed a major ANCA priority – securing a Double Tax Treaty between the United States and Armenia – at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. On March 22, 2016, at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on the International Finance System, Congressman Sherman pressed U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to initiate a Double Tax Treaty with the Republic of Armenia. Treasury Secretary Lew, in response to Congressman Sherman’s inquiry, pledged to review the prospects for securing such a treaty between the United States and the Republic of Armenia.
Congressman Sherman represents California’s 30th Congressional District, which includes a large portion of the San Fernando Valley. The San Fernando Valley, which is home to a very large and active Armenian American community,, is a geographical area roughly bounded by the Santa Susana Mountains to the north and west, the Santa Monica Mountains to the south, and the San Gabriel Mountains to the east. It lies wholly within Los Angeles County and includes the cities of: Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills, and San Fernando, as well as the Valley portion of the City of Los Angeles.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.