IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 543 
Providing for the establishment of a commission in the House of 
Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging democracies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 26, 2004 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. DREIER, and 
Mr. FROST) submitted the following 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 Commis-
sion For Assisting Democratic Parliaments Resolution’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The House of Representatives makes the following 
findings:
•HRES 543 IH 
(1) Since its founding, the United States has 
championed the development 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) Establishing democratic institutions in 
other countries is in the national interest of the 
United States and constitutes a goal of United 
States foreign policy. 
(4) For democracies to mature and to with-
stand cyclical turnover in government, strong gov-
ernment institutions, particularly national legisla-
tures with appropriate infrastructure, are critical. 
(5) Furthermore, the legislative branches of 
governments of emerging democracies are largely 
comprised of new legislators, citizens from many 
walks of life, who face the challenges of creating new 
democratic systems without the benefit of previous 
legislative experience. The legislatures of these fledg-
•HRES 543 IH 
ling democracies lack training, equipment, or re-
sources to carry out their work effectively. 
(6) Currently, many parliaments do not possess 
the necessary technology, such as modern computer 
equipment, 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-
sional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of 
Congress, provided equipment and technical assist-
ance to new parliaments in Central and Eastern Eu-
ropean countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, the 
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lith-
•HRES 543 IH 
uania, 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 its members and staff, as well 
as to increase transparency and accountability. 
(11) A program similar to the Frost-Solomon 
Task Force, which strengthens professionalism and 
efficiency within parliaments in democratic coun-
tries, continues to be in the national interests of the 
United States. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 
There is established in the House of Representatives 
a commission to be known as the House Commission For 
Assisting Democratic Parliaments (hereafter in this reso-
lution referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).
•HRES 543 IH 
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION. 
(a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 
shall be composed of 8 Members of the House of Rep-
resentatives— 
(1) of which 4 members shall be appointed by 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 
(2) of which 4 members shall be appointed by 
the Minority Leader of the House of Representa-
tives. 
(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; VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Chair-
person of the Commission shall be designated by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives from among the 
members appointed under subsection (a)(1). The Vice 
Chairperson shall be designated by the Minority Leader 
of the House of Representatives from among the members 
appointed under subsection (a)(2). 
SEC. 5. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall appoint 
and fix the pay of such personnel as the Commission con-
siders appropriate.
•HRES 543 IH 
(b) DETAIL
OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH EMPLOY-
EES.—At the request of the Commission, the head of any 
office in the legislative branch may detail any of the per-
sonnel of that office to the Commission to assist it in car-
rying out its duties under this resolution. Any individual 
detailed by an office to the Commission pursuant to this 
subsection shall retain the individual’s status as an em-
ployee of the office for purposes of pay and benefits. 
(c) EMPLOYMENT OF CONSULTANTS.—The Commis-
sion may employ consultants to assist in carrying out its 
duties as described in section 6, including individuals with 
expertise in development of democratic parliaments, legis-
lative systems management, legislative research, par-
liamentary procedure, related legislative matters, and 
technology systems management. 
SEC. 6. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 
(a) STUDY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con-
duct an annual study on the feasibility of programs 
of assistance for parliaments of countries described 
in paragraph (2) for the purpose of strengthening 
the parliamentary infrastructure of such countries. 
This study may be conducted more frequently, if the 
Commission so decides. The study shall assess—
•HRES 543 IH 
(A) how the parliament in each country 
studied plays, or could reasonably be expected 
to play, an independent and substantive role in 
the legislative process and government over-
sight; 
(B) how improving access to information 
and developing independent and objective re-
search and analytical capabilities would enable 
the parliament in each country studied to im-
prove the effectiveness of members and profes-
sional staff and would increase legislative trans-
parency and accountability; and 
(C) how modern automation and office sys-
tems would improve efficiency and transparency 
in the work of the parliament in each country 
studied. 
(2) COUNTRIES DESCRIBED.—The countries re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) are countries that— 
(A) have established or are developing 
democratic parliaments which would benefit 
from assistance described in this resolution; and 
(B) express to the United States Govern-
ment an interest to receive such assistance. 
(3) SELECTED
COUNTRIES.—From the coun-
tries studied, the Commission shall select one or
•HRES 543 IH 
more parliaments that it recommends should receive 
assistance under the provisions of this resolution, 
based on the criteria in paragraph (1). 
(b) REPORT.—The Commission shall prepare and 
submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the 
appropriate House committees, and the Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Development, 
an annual report on the following: 
(1) RESULTS OF STUDY.—The results of the 
study conducted pursuant to subsection (a). 
(2) COMMISSION
ACTIVITIES.—In accordance 
with the results of such study, a proposal for the ac-
tivities of the Commission in the following year, as 
described in subsection (c). 
(3) RECOMMENDATIONS TO USAID.—(A) In ac-
cordance with the results of such study, rec-
ommendations to the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development to de-
sign and implement programs of assistance for par-
liaments 
of 
selected 
countries, 
including 
rec-
ommendations to achieve the purposes of subpara-
graphs (B) through (D). 
(B) Such programs of assistance may include—
•HRES 543 IH 
(i) efforts to establish or improve existing 
libraries of parliaments of selected countries, in-
cluding, but not limited to, providing equip-
ment, Internet access, books, reference mate-
rials, government documents, periodical sub-
scriptions and databases; and 
(ii) efforts to improve the efficiency and 
transparency of legislation and proceedings in 
parliaments of selected countries, including, but 
not limited to, providing equipment, Internet 
access, and desktop publishing capabilities. 
(C)(i) In coordination with parliaments in se-
lected countries, USAID should develop detailed, 
multiyear plans for providing equipment, strength-
ening library collections, and enhancing research and 
analysis capabilities in those parliaments. 
(ii) Plans described in clause (i) should include 
specific goals to be achieved through the provision of 
assistance, estimated costs of meeting the goals, the 
conditions under which assistance should be pro-
vided, the type of equipment and resources to be 
provided, and annual plans for assessing the extent 
to which the goals have been achieved. 
(D) All equipment and books that are provided 
to selected countries should be inscribed to designate
•HRES 543 IH 
the items as gifts from the United States of Amer-
ica. 
(c) ACTIVITIES.—The Commission shall work with 
the parliaments of selected countries on a frequent and 
regular basis in order to— 
(1) allow Commission members and staff to 
provide expert advice to members and staff of the 
parliaments of selected countries; 
(2) enable members and staff of parliaments in 
selected countries to visit the House of Representa-
tives and its support agencies to learn about their 
operations first-hand; and 
(3) observe and provide recommendations re-
garding the implementation of the assistance pro-
grams described in subsection (b)(3). 
SEC. 7. TRAVEL. 
Members and staff of the Commission are authorized 
to travel to foreign countries to carry out this resolution. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
In this resolution: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
HOUSE
COMMITTEES.—The 
term ‘‘appropriate House committees’’ means the 
Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 
House Administration, the Committee on Inter-
•HRES 543 IH 
national Relations, and the Committee on Rules of 
the House of Representatives. 
(2) EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘equipment’’ in-
cludes basic office and automation equipment (copi-
ers, fax, telephone answering machines, an initial 
complement of personal computers and printers, 
software, CD-ROMs, and auxiliary storage media), 
and library collections and library support automa-
tion, as well as the associated training and technical 
assistance to effectively use such equipment. 
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated from the ap-
plicable accounts of the House of Representatives to the 
Commission to carry out this resolution such sums as may 
be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
2008. 
Æ