Senator Ed Markey (D-MA center), ranking member of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, is thanked by human rights advocates (L to R): DC coordinator Eric Lachica, chaplain Georgette Beltran of US Fillipinos for Good Governance DC, spokeswoman Genie Nguyen of Voice of Vietnamese Americans and journalist AngelynTugado-Marzan for championing the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA) after a Senate hearing in July 2018 in Washington. (uspgg.org photo)