Moreover, AHEPA has been in direct communication with key congressional offices and committee staff to ensure the community's voice is heard. Supreme President Horiates has written twice to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) with regard to Turkey's aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. AHEPA has urged Majority Leader McConnell to bring legislation that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives to the Senate Floor for a vote. The legislation includes a bill to sanction Turkey for its actions in northeast Syria and a resolution that affirms the Armenian genocide. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect Against Conflict by Turkey (PACT) Act, a bill to impose sanctions on Turkey, sponsored by Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX) by an overwhelming vote of 403 to 16, on October 29, 2019. On the same day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide also by an overwhelming margin of 405 to 11 (see more page 20). In November, Supreme President Horiates also met with several members of Congress and their staffs, including those who are leading efforts to sanction Turkey, to discuss these pressing issues and how best to move forward on Capitol Hill. 16 | THE AHEPAN ยท Winter 2019 www.ahepa.orghttp://www.ahepa.org