IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 135 
Providing for the establishment of a commission in the House of 
Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging democracies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2005 
Mr. DREIER (for himself, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. HYDE, Mr. LAN-
TOS, Mr. KIRK, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Mr. GILLMOR) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Providing for the establishment of a commission in the House 
of Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging de-
mocracies. 
Resolved, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘House Democ-
racy Assistance Commission Resolution’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The House of Representatives makes the following 
findings:
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(1) Since its founding, the United States has 
championed the expansion of democracy around the 
world. 
(2) Indeed, beginning with the Continental Con-
gress and continuing through the modern Congress, 
representative institutions have served as a critical 
component through which the American people have 
expressed their views on policy issues and through 
which the power of other government branches has 
been balanced. 
(3) In his second inaugural address on January 
20, 2005, President George W. Bush declared: ‘‘We 
are led by events and common sense to one conclu-
sion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly 
depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The 
best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of 
freedom in all the world. . . . So it is the policy of 
the United States to seek and support the growth of 
democratic movements and institutions in every na-
tion and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending 
tyranny in our world.’’. 
(4) Strong institutions, particularly national 
legislatures with proper infrastructure, are essential 
for democracies to mature and to withstand cyclical 
turnover in governments.
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(5) Furthermore, the parliaments of emerging 
democracies are commonly comprised of new legisla-
tors, citizens from many walks of life, who face the 
challenges of creating new democratic systems with-
out the benefit of previous legislative experience. The 
legislatures of these fledgling democracies often lack 
training, equipment, or resources to carry out their 
work effectively. 
(6) Many parliaments do not possess the nec-
essary technology, such as modern computer equip-
ment, software, or access to databases and electronic 
resources, to facilitate the timely flow of legislative 
information to lawmakers and legislative staff. 
(7) Parliaments in fledgling democracies also 
frequently lack trained staff to provide nonpartisan 
policy information, to draft legislation, and to advise 
legislators on policy matters. 
(8) Newly democratic parliaments may lack the 
resources to establish internal libraries, reference 
materials, and archiving capabilities for use by legis-
lators and staff. 
(9) From 1990 through 1996, the United 
States House of Representatives, in conjunction with 
the House Information Systems Office (later known 
as House Information Resources) and the Congres-
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sional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of 
Congress, provided equipment and technical assist-
ance to newly democratic parliaments in Central and 
Eastern European countries, including Albania, Bul-
garia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lat-
via, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, 
and Ukraine, in an effort to develop and strengthen 
those institutions. 
(10) This program, commonly known as the 
‘‘Frost-Solomon Task Force’’, not only served the 
United States foreign policy goal of helping to estab-
lish democratic institutions in other countries, but 
also developed significant goodwill in the countries in 
which it was implemented. The program was de-
signed to improve the efficiency of parliaments and 
the professionalism of their members and staff, as 
well as to increase transparency and accountability. 
(11) A program similar to the Frost-Solomon 
Task Force would enable Members, officers, and 
staff of the House of Representatives to share their 
expertise and experience with their counterparts in 
other countries, in keeping with the declared policy 
of the United States to support the growth of demo-
cratic institutions, thereby undertaking what Presi-
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dent Bush called ‘‘the idealistic work of helping raise 
up free governments’’. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 
There is established in the House of Representatives 
a commission to be known as the House Democracy As-
sistance Commission (hereafter in this resolution referred 
to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION. 
(a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 
shall be composed of Members of the House of Represent-
atives, the number of whom shall be determined by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, in consultation 
with the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. 
Majority party members shall be appointed by the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives and minority party mem-
bers shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the 
House of Representatives. 
(b) TERMS OF MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REP-
RESENTATIVES.—Each member of the Commission shall 
be appointed for a term that is concurrent with the Con-
gress in which the appointment is made. Such a member 
may be reappointed for one or more subsequent terms in 
accordance with the preceding sentence. 
(c) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Commis-
sion shall be designated by the Speaker of the House of