During a recent parliamentary exchange program facilitated by NDI, the Ranking Member of the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), Rep. David Price (D-NC), opened up to a group of 22 members of parliament (MPs) and parliamentary staff from nine countries, sharing that “most Americans are cynical about the integrity of the system. And the reason is because big money talks.” This phenomenon is not unique to the United States. Trust in political institutions is in global decline and despite their critical role as the cornerstone of democratic government, parliaments may experience this decline more than any other institution. Even if they impact only a relatively small number of representatives, corruption scandals over parliamentary expenses, accusations of bribery and fraud, inappropriate personal conduct, polarized political discourse, and even violent altercations on the plenary floor all continue to fuel popular frustration in many countries.

Given the global reach of these challenges and the value of connecting reform-minded parliamentarians across countries, NDI recently facilitated an exchange program on behalf of HDP, a bipartisan commission of the U.S. House of Representatives with a mission to strengthen the legislative institution through peer-to-peer exchange. The program brought MPs and senior parliamentary staffers from Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Macedonia, Pakistan, and Peru together with counterparts in the U.S. Congress for a week in Washington, D.C., to explore the role of parliament in strengthening public integrity systems.

HDP recently commemorated a decade of support to partner legislatures. Over its ten years, the bipartisan commission has helped build parliamentary capacity for legislative research and budget analysis, committee operations, and constituent outreach. This was the first HDP exchange to focus on ethics and integrity in governance. The weeklong program examined the topic through a variety of lenses with sessions focused on the role of an Ethics Committee chair with Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX),  on maintaining records of member assets and lobbyist registries with the House Clerk, on ensuring the physical security of the legislature with the Office of the House Sergeant-at-Arms, and on establishing and enforcing  rules of procedure with the House Parliamentarian . Delegates received technical guidance from the Special Committee on Intelligence and Wayne State University’s Levin Center on conducting oversight investigations. The visiting members of parliament also participated in a vibrant discussion with the Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, the Honorable Kadri Veseli, who reflected on the role of the legislature as a unifying institution in times of partisanship and political polarization. Delegates also viewed a markup on tax policy of the House Committee on Ways and Means and visited the district office of Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), where staff emphasized the important distinction between constituent service and political or campaign activity.

According to participants, among the agenda’s highlights was a close look at the work of the Office of Congressional Ethics during which its director emphasized the importance of an independent body to hold the legislature to account. One participant underscored the relevance of the session to ongoing reform initiatives that have been supported by NDI and HDP, explaining, “In Georgia [we] are working on developing a code of ethics and [this program will inform] the new code development process.” Another delegate shared her plans to introduce legislation recommending revisions to the rules of procedure to promote good conduct.

Throughout the week, delegates shared their own reform initiatives with parliamentary peers, including perspectives from a former guerilla turned leading player in Colombia’s ongoing peace negotiations, chairs of the Public Accounts Committees in both chambers of the Liberian legislature who were integral in their country’s reconciliation process, a key figure in initiatives to bolster oversight of intelligence agencies in the wake of ongoing allegations of government wiretapping in Macedonia, and cross-party leaders of Georgia’s open parliament council.

Hon. Navarro Wolf of Colombia poses in front of the Capitol on a recent HDP exchange.

Members of Congress participating in the program included the HDP Chair, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), who reflected on the role of party leadership in ensuring discipline and cohesion; HDP Ranking Member, Rep. David Price (D-NC), who shared his ongoing efforts as a champion of campaign finance reform; and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), and Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), who reflected on the positive and negative roles played by the media in uncovering malfeasance or fanning the flames of scandal. Rep. Titus and Rep, Gwen Moore (D-WI) shared perspectives on the challenges faced by women and minority legislators, with Titus remarking “the media tends to ask women questions about fashion, family and fertility. They ask men about tax policy.”

At a luncheon to close the exchange, Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), a 12-term Congressman who recently announced his retirement after five decades of public service, shared his own journey into politics, describing his Peace Corps experience in a Colombian barrio, which impressed upon him the importance of strong governance institutions that protect and provide for citizens. In his remarks, Farr praised delegates’ willingness to confront the challenging topic of government integrity, candidly reflect on the reasons behind loss of citizen trust in governing institutions, and collaboratively brainstorm possible solutions.

The program’s impact will emerge as delegates return to their home legislatures and adapt these experiences to their own country contexts, from drafting ethics codes to forming cross-party caucuses on questions of ethical conduct and legislative transparency. As former Rep. Earl Pomeroy (retired, D-ND) remarked of the importance of HDP as a mechanism for peer-to-peer learning, “We want your system to get stronger and we want our system to get stronger. We learn from one another.”