Fortenberry Chosen to Serve on House Democracy Assistance Commission

Washington D.C. - Congressman Jeff Fortenberry today announced he has been named to the House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC) for the 110th Congress. The Commission's purpose is to strengthen democratic institutions by assisting legislatures in emerging democracies throughout the world.

"America can help build a more peaceful world in many ways," Fortenberry said. "One way is by offering a hand of friendship to developing governments that embrace the ideals of a representative government. This is the mission of the House Democracy Assistance Commission, and I am proud to again be a participating member." The House Democracy Assistance Commission, with bipartisan cooperation, serves as a model and seeks to provide procedural, technical, and material assistance to legislatures and their members in developing democracies around the world. This Commission works to strengthen the building blocks of effective, independent national legislatures, such as budgetary analysis, legislative research, and oversight of the executive branch. The Commission is unique in its peer-to-peer, legislature-to-legislature method of democracy building.

Currently, the House Democracy Assistance Commission is implementing programs for legislatures in twelve nations: Afghanistan, Colombia, East Timor, Georgia, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Mongolia, and Ukraine. Some examples of the Commission's work include helping create a national archival library in East Timor, supporting the establishment of an independent office of fiscal analysis in Kenya, and providing oversight of the Parliament of Afghanistan budget.

Congressman Fortenberry participated in the House Democracy Assistance Commission in the 109th Congress.

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