[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 14, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOUSE DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 14, 2006

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, it was one year ago today--
March 14, 2005--that the House gave final approval to the formation of 
the House Democracy Assistance Commission. Today I am pleased to report 
that the HDAC, which is chaired by Rep. David Dreier and on which I 
serve as ranking member, is off to an energetic and encouraging start.
  My hope in first proposing creation of the Commission in the 108th 
Congress was to build upon and extend the pioneering work of the Frost-
Solomon Task Force, which in the early 1990s extended support to the 
emerging democratic parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe. Those 
hopes began to be realized as Speaker Hastert got behind the idea, the 
authorizing resolution was refined and passed, and both Speaker Hastert 
and Leader Pelosi appointed serious, committed Members to carry out the 
work of the Commission.
  During calendar year 2005, the Commission entered into agreements 
with five parliaments around the world to provide material, technical, 
and procedural assistance to members of Parliament as they learn how to 
govern their nations responsibly, effectively, and--in many cases for 
the first time ever--democratically. The Commission has now, begun its 
work with these nations: East Timor, Georgia, Indonesia, Kenya, and 
Macedonia.
  Our relationship with these countries will continue, hopefully over 
the course of several, years. At the same time, the Commission will be 
undertaking programs with a new round of emerging democratic 
parliaments in 2006. We hope to continue to support our country's 
ideals and interests in key nations around the world through our 
assistance.
  While our program is still in its early stages, we have already seen 
clear evidence of the impact it can have. Last month, the Commission's 
first delegation of members of Congress traveled to Indonesia and East 
Timor and began to train members of those nations' parliaments. I want 
to especially thank the members of this delegation--Rep. Jim Kolbe, 
Rep. Lois Capps, Rep. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Allyson Schwartz--who I 
understand were greeted with warm welcomes and rapt attention in both 
countries. While in East Timor, this delegation announced that the 
House Democracy Assistance Commission would be helping East Timor build 
a parliamentary library from the ground up, no small accomplishment in 
a nation with extremely limited resources. Our Commission's work goes 
far beyond building physical structures, however; we are helping to 
build the foundations of effective and lasting democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, the House Democracy Assistance Commission is an all-too-
rare example of sincere bipartisan cooperation, Chairman Dreier, who 
chairs our commission, has helped us carry out our work with no 
considerations other than the best interests of the House, the United 
States, and our partner parliaments, Under his leadership, our 
Commission's 16 members have been able to demonstrate to our partners 
our deeply-felt, shared respect for and admiration of American 
democracy and the esteemed institution of the House of Representatives. 
We also owe a particular debt of gratitude to the Commission's Staff 
Director, John Lis, whose energy and vision have helped us launch the 
Commission in such a promising way.
  Every day, members of Congress are called upon to assess and oversee 
our Nation's policies toward developing democracies around the world. 
The House Democracy Assistance Commission offers the House an 
opportunity to directly contribute to the sustainability and 
effectiveness of these democracies. We are working to establish 
democracy not just in name but also in practice, training our partners 
in the nuts and bolts of democratic government. Mr. Speaker, I can 
think of no more important work for ensuring our national security and 
maintaining our role as leader of the free world. I thank you and I 
thank my colleagues for your support, and I look forward to continuing 
our work.

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