[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 25 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HOUSE COMMISSION FOR ASSISTING DEMOCRATIC PARLIAMENTS RESOLUTION: A 
                 PRICE-BEREUTER-DREIER-FROST INITIATIVE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 2, 2004

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member wishes to thank his friend the 
distinguished gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Price, for working 
with me and introducing a resolution to establish the House Commission 
for Assisting Democratic Parliaments. This Member is proud to be an 
original cosponsor of this measure, along with the chairman and the 
ranking Democratic member of the Committee on Rules. Having been 
involved in the Frost-Solomon Task Force, which undertook a similar 
effort a decade ago, this Member is enthused to offer this new 
initiative.
  The spread of parliamentary democracy in Central and Eastern Europe 
is one of the great success stories in recent history. Of course, the 
efforts by those nations to overthrow their communist dictatorships in 
some cases traces back several decades, but the rapid downfall of those 
regimes began after the events of 1989 and accelerated in the early 
1990s.
  Sadly, some countries that gained independence after the collapse of 
the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia simply traded communist dictatorships 
for new dictatorships of nationalists and former apparatchiks. But most 
of these countries moved quickly to establish new democracies, holding 
free and fair elections and transforming their parliaments from rubber-
stamp facades into independent legislatures. However, this task proved 
easier on paper than in practice.
  As we well know in this Congress, our ability to legislate 
independently of the executive depends on our access to independent 
information and analysis. We are fortunate to have our own staffs and 
support agencies to which we can turn to research an issue and provide 
alternative points of view. Recognizing the importance of this, the 
Congress has created agencies like the General Accounting Office, 
Congressional Research Service and Congressional Budget Office to 
provide Members with independent views and oversight.
  In the newly democratic parliaments, this capacity and expertise was 
lacking. Recognizing its importance for legislative autonomy, in 1990 
the distinguished gentleman from Texas, Mr. Frost, established a task 
force through the Speaker's office to help them develop the needed 
capabilities. In cooperation with the late gentleman from New York, Mr. 
Solomon, the gentleman from Texas developed a program that allowed the 
House of Representatives to share the expertise of Members and staff, 
especially from the Congressional Research Service, with the newly 
democratic parliaments. The task force provided modest donations of 
information technology-related office equipment and reference materials 
for parliamentary libraries, thereby facilitating the establishment of 
independent research services.
  The task force also helped those parliaments develop parliamentary 
procedures and the means to inform Members and the general public about 
parliamentary activities in a timely and open fashion. At a modest 
cost, we were able to help these parliaments become effective 
legislatures and play their part in a democratic system.
  The Frost-Solomon Task Force was terminated in 1996. While most of 
those countries that received aid have indeed become full-fledged 
democracies, others still need a helping hand. The Price-Bereuter 
Resolution aims to provide that assistance.
  The resolution that has been introduced would create a House 
Commission for Assisting Democratic Parliaments, comprised of eight 
House Members--four Republicans and four Democrats--and it would have a 
small staff to coordinate its activities and help Members determine 
which parliaments would most benefit from such assistance.
  Much of the expertise that these parliaments require can be found in 
the House and its support agencies, so the resolution would allow 
congressional offices to detail employees to the Commission. 
Recognizing that many of those who worked on the initial Frost-Solomon 
Task Force have retired or are about to retire from congressional 
employment, the resolution allows the Commission to use those retirees 
as consultants, so that parliaments can benefit from their years of 
expertise.
  In addition to providing expert advice from Members and staff, the 
resolution envisions a modest assistance program to provide parliaments 
with information, technology-related equipment and with reference 
materials so that they could establish a research service and better 
disseminate legislative information. When the Commission identified 
needs in selected parliaments, it could recommend that the Agency for 
International Development provide certain equipment, materials or 
technical assistance to enable those parliaments to become more 
efficient and transparent.
  The first task of this Commission should be to finish the work that 
was begun in Central and Eastern Europe, but the resolution does not 
limit the Commission's scope to that region. Once this program is 
established, it could expand to assist parliaments in other countries, 
as appropriate, like those in the Caucasus and Central Asian regions 
and perhaps in other parts of the world. For example, the United States 
is committed to help create representative democracies in Afghanistan 
and Iraq. It would be worthwhile if the House were to work with the new 
parliaments in those nations to help them develop as autonomous 
institutions in a democratic society.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member was pleased to play a small part in the 
Frost-Solomon Task Force in the 1990s by participating in Frost-Solomon 
congressional delegations that reviewed the accomplishments of the 
assistance that had been given. Today, we have an opportunity to 
further assist in the emergence of democratic parliaments by enabling 
this House to share its expertise and to work with AID in providing the 
necessary assistance. This Member urges his colleagues to become co-
sponsors of the Price-Bereuter-Dreier-Frost resolution to create the 
House Commission for Assisting Democratic Parliaments.

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