Embassy of the United States

2008 Embassy Events

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Congresswoman Schwartz and members of the House Democracy Assistance Commission with Speaker Bakradze at the Georgian Parliament

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Congresswoman Schwartz and members of the House Democracy Assistance Commission with Speaker Bakradze at the Georgian Parliament

Delegation from the U.S. House Democracy Assistance Commission Meet with Parliamentary Counterparts in Tbilisi

Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), led a congressional delegation from the House Democracy Assistance Commission to Tbilisi to gain greater insight into the challenges currently facing the country and to witness firsthand the post-August war Georgian climate.  The delegation, which included Congresswoman Schwartz (D-PA) and Congressmen Dreier (R-CA), Schiff (D-CA), Payne (D-NJ), and Shuster (R-PA), spent one day in Tbilisi meeting with counterparts in the Georgian Parliament: the Parliamentary Speaker, ruling party members of Parliament and the Parliamentary opposition, before also meeting with the President.  The delegation presented computer software and server to create a unified computer network within the Parliament. The next day, the delegation traveled to the city of Gori, where they were able to visit IDP housing, meet with the Governor, and with displaced English teachers and the Rector of Gori University, and speak with EU monitors.  The Embassy Tbilisi public affairs section organized two press conferences for the delegation during their short visit, one at the Parliament to include the computer donation, and one at the Chancellery, where Ambassador Tefft made a formal announcement of $47 million in assistance to Georgia as part of the $1 billion economic support package announced by President Bush and Secretary of State Rice earlier this year, and approved by the U.S. Congress.