Recent News and Activities

From September 19 to 21, 2012, the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), in conjunction with the Department of State and its Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) organized a seminar for 31 Members of Parliament, parliamentary staff, and civil society leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. This program was organized in cooperation with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

A delegation from the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) traveled to North Africa and the Balkans from March 30 to April 6, 2012, to renew the commission's partnership with the Kosovo Assembly and the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, to meet with the new parliament in Egypt, and to conduct a bilateral visit to Libya. The delegation was led by HDP Chairman David Dreier (R-CA) and Ranking Democratic Member David Price (D-NC) along with Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Erik Paulsen (R-MN), and Gerry Connolly (D-VA).

This week, House Democracy Partnership (HDP) Chairman Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Ranking Member David Price (D-NC) published an op-ed in Roll Call on their recent Congressional delegation to Ukraine and Georgia, where they met with leading parliamentarians, heads of state, and civil society organizations. Roskam and Price were joined on the trip by Reps.

From December 17 to 21, the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) organized a weeklong Parliamentary Staff Institute on committee operations for 23 staff from 12 HDP partner countries: Afghanistan, Georgia, Haiti, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Mongolia, Peru, and Timor-Leste. . Developing the capacity of legislative committee staff and committee operations is a central component of HDP's work with its partner legislatures.

From October 15 to 19, 2012, the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) organized a weeklong Parliamentary Staff Institute on budget analysis for 23 staff from 12 HDP partner countries: Colombia, Georgia, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Peru, and Timor-Leste.  Developing the capacity of budget staff is a central component of HDP's work with its partner legislatures.

From September 10 to 14, the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) organized a weeklong seminar for 14 Members of Parliament from three HDP partner countries (Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia). 

The Members of Parliament met with a dozen of their counterparts in the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss the organization and operation of public committee hearings, the importance of committee oversight, legislative ethics, and working with the press, the importance of a budget analysis capability, and the role of a committee chairperson.