[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 24 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 24

  Establishing the House Democracy Assistance Commission for the One 
                        Hundred Tenth Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2007

 Mr. Price of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Dreier, Mrs. Capps, Mr. 
 Holt, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Reyes, Mr. 
 Fortenberry, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Lantos, Ms. Watson, Ms. 
  Woolsey, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Honda, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
 Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Payne, Mr. Cole of Oklahoma, Mr. Hoyer, 
Mr. Kirk, Mr. Pomeroy, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Bordallo, and Mr. 
    Davis of Alabama) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Establishing the House Democracy Assistance Commission for the One 
                        Hundred Tenth Congress.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

    There is established in the House of Representatives a commission 
to be known as the House Democracy Assistance Commission (hereafter in 
this resolution referred to as the ``Commission'').

SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Number and Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 20 
Members of the House of Representatives, of whom 11 shall represent the 
majority party and be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and 9 shall represent the minority party and be 
appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Terms of Members of the House of Representatives.--Each member 
of the Commission shall be appointed for a term that is concurrent with 
the Congress in which the appointment is made. Such a member may be 
reappointed for one or more subsequent terms in accordance with the 
preceding sentence.
    (c) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Commission shall be 
designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from among 
the members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
under subsection (a).

SEC. 3. DUTIES.

    (a) Activities.--The Commission shall work with the legislatures of 
partner countries, as determined pursuant to subsections (b) and 
(c)(3), on a frequent and regular basis in order to--
            (1) enable Members, officers, and staff of the House of 
        Representatives and congressional support agencies to provide 
        expert advice and consultation to members and staff of the 
        legislatures of partner countries;
            (2) enable members and staff of legislatures of partner 
        countries to study the operations of the House of 
        Representatives and its support agencies; and
            (3) provide recommendations to the Administrator of the 
        United States Agency for International Development regarding 
        the provision of material assistance, such as modern automation 
        and office systems, information technology, and library 
        supplies, as the Commission determines to be needed by a 
        legislature of a partner country in order to improve the 
        efficiency and transparency of its work, and to oversee the 
        provision of such assistance.
    (b) Selection of Partner Legislatures.--
            (1) In general.--In order to carry out the activities 
        described in subsection (a), the Commission may conduct, as 
        needed, studies on the feasibility of programs of assistance 
        for legislatures of countries described in paragraph (2) for 
        the purpose of strengthening the legislative infrastructure of 
        such countries. Such studies shall assess--
                    (A) the independent and substantive role that each 
                legislature plays, or could reasonably be expected to 
                play, in the legislative process and government 
                oversight;
                    (B) the potential benefit to each legislature of 
                expert advice from and consultation with Members and 
                staff of the House of Representatives in areas such as 
                the development of research services and legislative 
                information systems, legislative procedure, committee 
                operations, budget process, government oversight, and 
                constituent services; and
                    (C) the need in each legislature for material 
                assistance, such as modern automation and office 
                systems, information technology, and research 
                materials, in order to improve efficiency and 
                transparency.
            (2) Countries described.--The countries referred to in 
        paragraph (1) are countries that have established, have re-
        established, or are developing democratic legislatures which 
        would benefit from the assistance described in this resolution.
            (3) Additional partner legislatures.--From any countries 
        studied in accordance with paragraph (1), the Commission may 
        select one or more legislatures to receive assistance under the 
        provisions of this resolution, subject to a written expression 
        of interest from the highest ranking office within the 
        legislature of a selected country.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than December 31, 2007, and each 
        December 31 thereafter, the Commission shall prepare and submit 
        to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority 
        Leader of the House of Representatives, appropriate House 
        committees, the Office of Interparliamentary Affairs of the 
        House of Representatives, and the Administrator of the United 
        States Agency for International Development, an annual report 
        on the Commission's activities, including a review of the 
        activities of the Commission in the current year and a proposal 
        for the activities of the Commission in the upcoming year, as 
        described in subsection (a).
            (2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate 
        House committees'' means the following committees of the House 
        of Representatives:
                    (A) The Committee on International Relations.
                    (B) The Committee on Appropriations.
                    (C) The Committee on House Administration.
                    (D) The Committee on Rules.

SEC. 4. ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall carry out the duties 
described in section 3 using the staff and resources of the Committee 
on International Relations, including the use of consultants or 
temporary employees, such as individuals with expertise in development 
of democratic parliaments, legislative systems management, legislative 
research, parliamentary procedure, related legislative matters, and 
technology systems management, as appropriate.
    (b) Participation of Legislative Branch Employees.--At the request 
of the Commission, the head of any office of the House of 
Representatives or any congressional support agency may assist the work 
of the Commission by--
            (1) detailing personnel to the staff of the Committee on 
        International Relations or another standing committee of the 
        House of Representatives; or
            (2) authorizing personnel to participate in activities of 
        the Commission.

SEC. 5. TRANSITION FROM FORMER COMMISSION.

    (a) Continuation of Existing Programs.--The Commission may continue 
programs of assistance with legislatures of partner countries which 
were initiated by the former Commission.
    (b) Transfer of Authorities and Resources.--Any authorities and 
resources of the former Commission which remain available as of the day 
before the date of the adoption of this resolution, including 
unobligated funds, shall be transferred and made available to the 
Commission.
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the ``former Commission'' means 
the House Democracy Assistance Commission established under the House 
Democracy Assistance Commission Resolution (House Resolution 135, One 
Hundred Ninth Congress, agreed to March 14, 2005).
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