Congressman Is Gaining a Name in Foreign Affairs

June 20, 2005
latimes.com
By Johanna Neuman, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — According to conventional wisdom, there's no surer way for a young congressman to destroy his career than delving into foreign policy. Voters don't care about it, the old hands say, and time spent on what's happening overseas is time squandered. Democrat

Adam Schiff may be the exception that proves the rule. Now in his third term, the Burbank congressman seems to spend more time on foreign affairs every year. Yet in each of his two reelection campaigns, he's held on to more than 60% of the vote.
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[...] Schiff has continued to build a reputation as a skillful tactician, even as a Democrat in a Republican world.
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Schiff, born in Framingham, Mass., is the son of a Jewish clothing salesman who moved to California when Schiff was 9.
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[...] the foreign policy issue that Schiff rode to his first victory is one with exceptional appeal in his particular district — the charge that, between 1915 and 1923, rulers of the Ottoman Empire carried out a campaign of extermination that claimed about 1.6 million Armenian lives. California's 29th Congressional District is home to more Armenian American voters than any other in the state, and they have pressed to have the episode officially branded as genocide.

The present-day Turkish government denies genocide occurred, saying Armenian fatalities stemmed from attempts to quell civil unrest.
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For years the Armenian issue has languished in Congress, stymied by vehement Turkish opposition and by the reluctance of American presidents to antagonize an important ally. That hasn't stopped Schiff.

Last year, he spent hours in the parliamentarian's office crafting an amendment to the foreign aid bill that would pass parliamentary muster. The gambit worked — up to a point. The House voted to bar Turkey from using foreign aid funds to lobby against recognition of the genocide, which Armenian advocates took to be tacit recognition of their claim.

But then, under administration pressure not to upset Turkey, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) made sure the provision was removed early in the process.

This year, Schiff capitalized on current strains between Washington and Turkey, which did not allow U.S. troops to cross its territory to invade Iraq. More recently, American officials have chafed at Turkey's reluctance to let American military operations expand at Incirlik Air Base.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.