House Democracy Partnership - At a Glance

The House Democracy Partnership is a program of the House Democracy Assistance Commission and works with partner legislatures in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, and Timor-Leste. It carries out a wide array of technical and material assistance programs with partner legislatures, using the experience of Members of Congress and congressional staff, to improve the fundamental capabilities of legislatures to serve as effective, independent, representative bodies of government. The following is a sample of HDP's programs.

Member Outbound Programs

HDP Members have conducted thirty outbound delegations to 16 partner countries since 2006. Outbound programs facilitate discussions between Members and staff of the U.S. House of Representatives and their counterparts in partner legislatures on a variety of topics, including parliamentary operations, policy questions, bilateral relations and regional issues. The delegations also include programming focused on constituent relations, including site visits to constituencies to participate in town hall meetings or seminars on constituent outreach.

Staff Institutes

Rep. Price poses with some of the 28 participants (from 9 countries) in the inaugural Staff Institute
Rep. Price poses with some of the 28 participants
(from 9 countries) in the inaugural Staff Institute
Staff Institutes bring participants to Washington, DC, from partner legislatures for intensive training sessions focused on a specific topic of legislative activity. HDP has hosted more than 200 staff members in ten Legislative Staff Institutes, with programs on budget analysis, committee operations, research and policy analysis, and administration. HDP has also conducted regional staff institutes in Kenya, Macedonia and Poland on budget analysis, committee operations, and research, respectively.  

Member Inbound Programs

HDP has conducted nineteen Inbound Programs bringing over 200 members of partner legislatures to the United States for 7-10 days of training focusing on parliamentary operations and constituent service. HDP conducted programs in on committee operations, parliamentary operations, legislative research and budget analysis.

Defense Oversight

Civilian oversight of the defense sector is among the most critical needs for many partner legislatures.  HDP has partnered with the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies and the Asia Pacific Center for Strategic Studies and developed training programs for members of partner legislatures focusing on Defense Oversight.  HDP has now hosted a total of six Defense Oversight programs with legislatures of Afghanistan, Indonesia, Mongolia and Pakistan in coordination with the Department of Defense, The US Agency for International Development and the Department of State.

Staff Training and Assessment Delegations

HDP has mobilized expert resources in the U.S. House of Representatives to bring their expertise to bear in support of partner legislatures by sending specialized delegations of current and former Congressional staff to partner nations for training and assessment missions.  Some of the highlights have included: Budget Committee staffers trained Haitian MPs, staff from the Ethics Committee conducted training in Kenya and Ukraine, the Macedonian Parliament received training from both committee staff and district office directors, the Peruvian Congress received specialized training in conducting public hearing and legislative research, and the Library of Congress staff trained their counterparts in library operations in Timor-Leste and Liberia, among several other delegations. 

Material Assistance

Research Library built by HDP for the East Timorese Parliament.
Research Library built by HDP for the East Timorese Parliament.
With a limited budget, HDP provides material assistance in areas where it can achieve immediate impact. HDP has funded the construction and stocking of a parliamentary library in Timor-Leste and Liberia, the procurement of a computer server for the Macedonian Parliament, and the procurement of a computer server and IT upgrades for the Georgian Parliament, along with library material for several partners. To date, a total of $820,000 has been awarded. Material assistance goes hand in hand with training programs; for example, support for libraries in Timor-Leste, Liberia, Afghanistan, and Haiti is paired with training of library and research staff.