PanARMENIAN.Net - Representative David Valadao (D-CA) - a longstanding legislative champion of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Armenian issues on Capitol Hill - has been named as the incoming Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, reports the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"The ANCA welcomes Congressman Valadao's leadership on the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, remarked ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian. "The fact the Congressman Valadao was named to the powerful House Committee on Appropriations earlier this month - which controls all federal spending - will make him an even more important ally for the U.S. humanitarian aid package we are seeking to secure for the heroic people of Artsakh," the ANCA Chairman added.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, January 27, Rep. Valadao cited the importance of strengthening the U.S.-Armenia-Artsakh relationship. "Armenia is a nation so many of my constituents know and love," said Congressman Valadao. "During my time in Congress, I introduced several resolutions formally recognizing the Ottoman Empire's deportation and extermination of over two million Armenian people and, after years of Armenian-American advocacy for this cause, the House and the Senate finally passed H.Res. 296, Affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide. However, my fight on behalf of my Armenian-American constituents must continue. Armenians living in Nagorno Karabakh recently faced attacks from Azerbaijani forces in violation of their decade-old ceasefire agreement. This kind of aggression is unacceptable and must end immediately. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress on this issue and other issues of importance to the Armenian-American community as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues. We must continue to advocate for the Armenian people and encourage the new Administration to maintain and strengthen relationships between the United States, Armenia, and Artsakh."

Congressman Valadao, who returned to Congress in 2021 after a tightly contested election against incumbent TJ Cox, has a long history of championing issues of special concern to Armenians and their allies in Fresno and across California's Central Valley. In 2017, he traveled to Artsakh, over objections from the State Department, and spearheaded passage of the Valadao Amendment appropriating life-saving humanitarian aid to de-mine Artsakh. Upon his return to the U.S. House, he was appointed to a post on the influential Appropriations Committee.