[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7585-7586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   CELEBRATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL REPUBLICAN 
                               INSTITUTE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 20, 2004, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 2 minutes.

[[Page 7586]]


  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise because today marks a very important 
anniversary. We all know that Ronald Reagan in the mid-1980s talked 
about the fact that as we pursued an end to the Cold War militarily, 
one of the important things for us to do was to also engage in 
democracy-building around the world. Today actually marks the 20th 
anniversary of the International Republican Institute, which is an arm 
of the National Endowment For Democracy.
  We all remember the anxious final years of the Cold War, when 
President Reagan, in a speech he gave in 1982 to the British 
Parliament, envisioned moving toward a world in which all people are at 
least free to determine their own destiny. Now, that speech led to the 
creation of the National Endowment for Democracy, and within that is 
the International Republican Institute. Since that time, the IRI has 
conducted programs in over 75 countries, from Haiti to Kazakhstan. Its 
efforts to train political parties, encourage voter participation, and 
enact institutional reforms within governments have no doubt 
contributed greatly to President Reagan's goal.
  IRI's continued commitment is evident in its current efforts in Iraq 
and Afghanistan. As we confront the threat of terrorism in the post-
September 11 world, I am confident that the International Republican 
Institute will continue as an important contributor to the cause of 
freedom.

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