Washington, D.C. – Representative David Price (NC-04) released the following statement today in response to the announcement by California Republican David Dreier, the Chairman of the House Rules Committee, that he would retire at the end of this term. Rep. Dreier was also the founding chairman of the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), a peer-to-peer legislative strengthening program that works with members and staff in parliaments in developing democracies to increase their capacity. Rep. Price served as Chairman of HDP from 2007-2011 and currently serves as the commission's Co-Chair.

"Chairman Dreier is a consummate public servant whose deep respect for Congress as an institution will be sorely missed. I also count him as a close friend. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work alongside David throughout his distinguished career, dating back to our work in post-Soviet Europe during the early 1990s and culminating in our collaborative effort to found the House Democracy Partnership in 2005.

"Since then, we have worked closely together as HDP has established member-to-member and staff-to-staff partnerships with the legislatures of 17 developing democracies, traveling to the ends of the earth for interactions that enhance institutional independence and competence, accountability, transparency, and service to constituents in key countries such as Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Haiti. The success of this effort simply would not have been possible without David's passion for democratic ideals, his expert statesmanship and diplomatic flair, and his commitment to sharing the 223-year history of American democracy with those who have more recently embarked on a similar path. We have often disagreed vigorously on issues of party and policy, but with HDP, partisanship has always stopped at the water's edge.

"While the void left by David's departure will not be filled any time soon, I am confident he has many bright years ahead of him. I wish him well in his endeavors after Congress, and I hope and expect that he will continue to contribute to our country's diplomacy and to the development of democracy around the world."

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