Dreier Announces House Democracy Assistance Commission Membership

March 15, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC ‑ Congressman David Dreier (R‑San Dimas, CA), House Rules Committee Ranking Republican, today announced the selection of 20 Members of the House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC). Dreier was chosen as the Commission’s Ranking Republican Member, and Congressman David Price (D-Chapel Hill, North Carolina) was named Chairman. The Commission's purpose is to strengthen democratic institutions by assisting legislatures in emerging democracies throughout the world.

"I'm very proud of the work that this Commission began in the last Congress," said Dreier, who served as the Commission’s first Chairman. "We are already seeing the great benefits that these partnerships are producing. I look forward to continuing to work with my fellow HDAC colleagues in our efforts to advance the spread of democracy around the globe."

HDAC serves as a model of bipartisan cooperation to promote a common goal among Members of the House. Central to HDAC's work is providing procedural, technical, and material assistance to legislatures and their members in developing democracies around the world, drawing on the experience of the U.S. Congress in legislative governance. Commission Members and their staff work in Washington and on site in partner countries to build the capacity of democratic institutions and work with elected officials 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. Examples of the Commission's work include helping to set up a national archival library in East Timor, supporting the establishment of an independent office of fiscal analysis in Kenya, and assisting the Parliament of Afghanistan with oversight of its budget.

Among the Members serving on the Commission are Californians Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) and Sam Farr (D-Carmel). Also on the Commission are: John Boozman (AR‑3), Jeff Fortenberry (NE‑1), Joe Wilson (SC‑2), Judy Biggert (IL‑13), Jerry Weller (IL‑11), Jeff Miller (FL‑1), Wayne Gilchrest (MD‑1), Bill Shuster (PA‑9), Rush Holt (NJ‑12), Alyson Schwartz (PA‑13), Don Payne (NJ‑10), Earl Pomeroy (ND‑AL), John Salazar (CO‑3), Keith Ellison (MN‑5) and Mazie Hirono (HI‑2).