Congressman Boozman and members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Washington, Nov 18 -

Two U.S. Representatives from Arkansas, John Boozman (AR-03) and Mike Ross (AR-04), traveled last week to Spain and Italy as part of an official North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO-PA) diplomatic mission representing the United States. 

Both members of Congress attended meetings in Spain and participated in a Veterans Day wreath laying ceremony at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial where 7,861 American military personnel killed in World War II are buried.  The leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives appointed both Ross and Boozman as delegates to the NATO-PA, an inter-parliamentary organization of legislators from the 26 member countries of NATO and 13 associate countries. 

Boozman, a Co-Rapporteur for the Subcommittee on Transatlantic Economic Relations of the NATO-PA Political Committee presented a paper to the Assembly on the Rise of the Indian economy and it’s transatlantic implications.

"It is invaluable to work and dialogue with our NATO allies so that we can meet our security challenges of the 21st Century," Boozman said.

Ross, who was previously elected Rapporteur of the Transatlantic Relations Subcommittee of the NATO-PA Political Committee, made a presentation to the Assembly based on the premise that Iran should be on NATO’s political agenda to bring increased global attention to the rising concern of Iran as a threat to democracies around the world including Israel.

“As a delegate to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, I am honored to have the opportunity to represent the United States and advocate our concerns and interests to our allies across the world,” said Ross.  “Laying a wreath at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery on Veterans Day was an incredibly moving experience.  To stand on a site that represented so much sacrifice in defense of liberty and freedom as part of a massive global partnership was something I will always remember.”

As part of their NATO-PA duties, both Boozman and Ross visited Afghanistan earlier this year in May for a first-hand view of the progress our nation’s military and NATO forces are making in the ongoing war against terrorism and in rebuilding the country and its infrastructure.

Congressional members of NATO-PA are appointed by the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives to serve on the bipartisan assembly that travels to other NATO countries to discuss issues of common interest and concern, such as strengthening global partnerships, improving trade relations, reducing drug trafficking, and working with our allies to stop terrorism. Delegates to the NATO-PA are nominated by their respective governments according to their national procedures on the basis of party representation in the parliaments. The Assembly therefore represents a broad spectrum of political opinion. 

The NATO-PA has been in existence since 1955 to build support for the NATO Alliance within the national legislatures and to provide recommendations to the Secretary General of NATO and the North Atlantic Council.  Many of the reforms in NATO have first come from the Assembly.  It also provides a way for legislators in member countries to stay informed about changes in NATO and about military reforms in the 16 associate countries.

For more information on the North American Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly, please visit http://www.nato-pa.int.