The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) will honor Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) for her exemplary work as a United States Representative, as well as her dedication, commitment, and passionate support of United States-Armenia relations. She will be recognized at the Assembly's Gala on Monday, September 16th in Washington, D.C. as part of the Assembly's National Advocacy Conference.

Congresswoman Speier has been a Member of the House of Representative for over a decade. She is a tireless advocate for women's rights, the public good, and the security of Americans. Among the many congressional caucuses that she supports, Congresswoman Speier is a Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, the Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)/Demining Caucus, and the Democratic Women's Caucus. Newsweek listed her as one of its 150 "Fearless Women" in the world.

As Chairwoman of the House Armed Services Committee Military Personnel Subcommittee and a Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, she has worked to ensure that legislators care for and support our servicemembers and their families, keep the United States secure from terrorists and hostile nations, to honor and support our veterans, and save taxpayers millions by fighting for improved cyber defenses and sound management practices at the Pentagon. On these committees and in her previous assignments, she has led numerous investigations to protect the public by exposing corruption and dysfunction.

Congresswoman Speier was the first member of Congress to advocate for fundamental reforms to end the epidemic of sexual assault in the military and on college campuses, and she is leading the fight against sexism in the fields of science and technology. During the last Congress, she led an effort to overhaul sexual harassment protections for members of the congressional workforce, and she is also at the forefront of efforts to end discrimination and close the gender pay gap through ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

"Congresswoman Jackie Speier's work in Congress is impressive. She is highly respected by her colleagues and is a tireless advocate for her constituents, state, and country. As one of the Co-Chairs of the Armenian Caucus, and as an Armenian American in the House, Congresswoman Speier is also making a difference for Armenia and successfully secured an additional $40 million in democracy assistance to Armenia in a House Appropriations Bill. She is more than deserving of this award, and we look forward to celebrating her achievements," stated Assembly Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted an amendment offered by Congresswoman Speier to H.R. 2740 - the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Legislative Branch, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2020 - to provide $40 million to Armenia for democracy assistance. The following week, she joined Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) as an original co-sponsor for H. Res. 296 praising Armenia's democracy and reaffirming the critical importance of the partnership between the U.S. and Armenia.