Leading U.S. senators urged the passage of Armenian Genocide bill—S.Res. 150—pending in the Senate a day after the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a similar resolution.

Senate Minority Leader Chuch Schumer (D-NY) on Wednesday called for the immediate consideration and passage of an Armenian Genocide recognition resolution in the Senate, Washington Post reported. 

“On the Armenian Genocide, I have been a believer of this for a long time: Turks don’t like to hear it because the truth hurts. And, if we don’t stand up to one genocide, we won’t stand up to any,” he told reporters.

By the way, on Wednesday, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen also called for the passage of S.Res. 150.

“Last night’s overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives—405 to 11—to recognize the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire is long overdue. It’s time for the Senate to do the same. Acknowledging history is the first step towards not repeating it,” he tweeted. 

In April, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Democrat Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and former presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced Armenian Genocide legislation reaffirming proper U.S. recognition and remembrance of this crime and rejecting U.S. complicity in its denial, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

S.Res. 150 currently has 20 co-sponsors.