On Wednesday, Reps. Adam Schiff, Frank Pallone, Gus Bilirakis, Jackie Speier, and Dina Titus announced that the Library of Congress will recognize the Armenian Genocide by amending the catalog entry that previously referred to the Armenian “massacre.”

This decision from Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress was announced after bipartisan letters to the Library and a formal request for a subject heading change initiated by the University of California-Los Angeles library. This change comes after both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation recognizing the facts of the Armenian Genocide in 2019. Dr. Hayden informed the Members in a phone call.

“It is welcome news that the Library of Congress, at our urging, will now use the historically accurate term ‘Armenian Genocide.’ This is one further step in overcoming the decades long campaign of denial that has silenced too many about the murder of 1.5 million Armenians,” said Rep. Schiff. “This recognition is particularly meaningful at a time when the genocide of a century ago seems all too immediate, as Azerbaijan and Turkey are committing atrocities right now in Artsakh.”

“This long-overdue correction by the Library of Congress – a principled, fact-based stand for the integrity of American institutions against malign foreign influence – comes at a particularly meaningful moment for Americans of Armenian heritage,” said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the ANCA. “We see today the painful, real-world results of American leaders having allowed Turkey to bully our country into a century of silence on the Armenian Genocide. As Ankara and Baku openly seek to complete the destruction of the Armenian homeland with the ongoing brutal onslaught on Artsakh and Armenia – our government remains all too fearful of truth-telling to Erdogan and Aliyev. That has to end.”

“The decision by the Library of Congress represents another blow to decades-old and well-financed Turkish campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide and whitewash America’s proud record of humanitarian intervention to save countless lives,” said Armenian Assembly executive director Bryan Ardouny.