VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPE #1258/01 2392003
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 272003Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY LIMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1123
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION PRIORITY 2573
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 6790
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8498
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 4074
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1490
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ AUG 5277
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 9809
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 2737
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO PRIORITY 2591
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS LIMA 001258 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER PE
SUBJECT: CODEL PRICE: HDAC INAUGURATES RELATIONSHIP WITH 
PERU'S CONGRESS 
 
REF: LIMA 1114 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: The August 15-19 visit to Peru of Codel 
Price -- representing the House Democracy Assistance 
Commission (HDAC) -- inaugurated formal legislative to 
legislative relations between the U.S. and Peruvian 
Congresses.  Codel discussions focused on four topics: 
representation (constituent relations); Congress's oversight; 
legislative research and analysis; and information 
technology.  Follow-on activities will include Peruvian 
Congress and staff training in Washington, possible future 
visits to Peru by staff or former members of Congress, and 
ongoing exchanges of information.  HDAC Chairman Price and 
his colleagues underscored the importance of the legislative 
branch in representing political constituencies, forging 
solutions to social challenges and expanding the reach of 
democracy -- strongly reinforcing the USG's top policy 
priority in Peru.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The U.S. House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC) 
Codel members visited Peru from August 15-19.  Participating 
were HDAC Chairman David Price (D -North Carolina), Ranking 
Republican David Dreier (R-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Lois 
Capps (D -CA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Sam Farr (D-CA), 
Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Brian Bilbray (R-CA).  In addition to 
formally initiating Congress-to-Congress ties, delegation 
members visited Arequipa and the regional office of PPC 
Congressman Juan Carlos Eguren, met with President Garcia and 
PM Velazquez Quesquen (septel), and engaged in peer-to-peer 
discussions on a range of topics with their congressional 
counterparts.  Staff-level discussions took place in parallel. 
 
¶3.  (U) Led by Congressman Price, HDAC's visit to Peru 
inaugurated official ties between the U.S. House of 
Representatives and Peru's Congress.  Peru's inclusion as an 
HDAC country sprang from a number of sources, including the 
Peruvian Congressional leadership's interest in addressing 
some of the legislature's institutional weaknesses and 
reversing its low approval ratings.  During an August 2008 
courtesy call with the Ambassador, then-President of Congress 
(and current PM) Velazquez Quesquen requested U.S. 
insitutional support and subsequently created a special 
congressional "modernization" group to carry the effort 
forward.  In February of this year, HDAC staff members 
visited Peru to assess the merits of establishing a formal 
relationship.  This assessment resulted in Peru's being 
selected as an HDAC partner and in identifying key areas of 
potential cooperation.  Codel Price's inaugural visit 
culminated in the signing of a framework agreement between 
the two legislatures that provides for the exchange of 
information; knowledge sharing and consultations; and 
training programs for members and staff. 
 
Peer to Peer Exchanges 
---------------------- 
¶4.  (U) Codel Price focused on four topics: representation 
and constituent relations; the oversight role of congress; 
legislative research and analysis; and information 
technology.  The visit began in Arequipa, Peru's second 
largest city and the informal capital of the southern 
highlands.  Codel Price visited the district office of 
Congressman Juan Carlos Eguren in Arequipa, one of the most 
advanced in Peru in terms of its mechanisms and procedures 
for constituent outreach.  (Eguren's office has received some 
technical assistance from the International Republican 
Institute in the context of USAID's political party 
strengthening program.)  U.S. members asked about the 
structural challenges associated with providing constituent 
services in large, multi-member congressional districts, and 
their Peruvian counterparts allowed that in some cases it was 
next to impossible.  (Lima, for example, has 35 congress 
people representing almost 10 million people at large.)  In 
Congress, the U.S. members held well-attended peer-to-peer 
sessions with Peruvian members to discuss best practices in 
constituent relations and outreach; Congressional oversight 
of defense, trade, and budget issues; and the use of 
technology in internal and external communications. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In their meetings, U.S. representatives asked about 
the role of the Peruvian Congress in addressing issues of 
 
national interest, including helping resolve conflict such as 
that which erupted in the Amazon region in June.  Several 
Peruvian counterparts pointed to a legacy of centralization 
and a psychological mindset of relying on a strong executive 
to resolve problems in acknowledging Congress' limited role 
in this and other key areas.  Peruvian legislators further 
pointed out that they lacked important functions and 
capabilities that the U.S. Congress had, most importantly the 
power of the purse strings.  In parallel, members of the 
staff delegation from the Congressional Research Service 
(CRS) and the Library of Congress held individual 
consultations with the Peruvian Congress' research and 
analysis unit and information technology department.  U.S. 
congressional staffers described the services they provide to 
the U.S. Congress, and helped their counterparts prioritize 
activities and areas for future development. 
 
Future Areas for HDAC Assistance 
-------------------------------- 
¶6.  (U) A number of follow-on activities are already being 
planned.  For example, six Peruvian legislators will be 
invited to Washington for a multi-country mid-October 
training workshop on committee operations.  (Post is working 
with HDAC to identify and extend invitations to appropriate 
members.)  Two Peruvian staffers will be invited to 
Washington to participate in a December parliamentary staff 
institute training session focusing on legislative research. 
HDAC staff also discussed the possibility of providing 
further technical assistance in areas such as establishing a 
budget office, legislative research design, IT disaster 
recovery plans, and database design.  Staff and/or former 
members of Congress will also potentially participate in 
future visits to Peru. The areas of concentration chosen will 
depend on the political will and interest of Peru's Congress 
to tackle weaknesses. 
 
Comment: Legislative Relationship Can Strengthen Democracy 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
¶7.  (SBU) HDAC Chairman Price and his colleaugues underscored 
the importance of the legislative branch in representing 
political constituencies, forging solutions to social 
challenges and expanding the reach of democracy.  They 
pointed out Congress's crucial role in absorbing messages 
from different regions of the country, listening to different 
sectors of the population and reflecting these diverse 
concerns back to government entitities and actors in order to 
improve the state's responsiveness to popular needs and 
demands.  They also highlighted the similar range of 
challenges faced by the U.S. Congress, including widespread 
skepticism reflected in low numbers for the institution as a 
whole in public opinion polls.  (This was balanced, however, 
by generally high marks given most individual congressional 
representatives by voters in their districts.)  In sum, Codel 
Price's central message regarding the importance of a 
legislative power actively engaged in the country's 
political, social and economic debates resonated strongly 
with the USG's top policy priority in Peru: strengthen 
democratic institutions, increase public confidence in 
representative government and reduce latent popular support 
for anti-democratic political projects. 
 
¶8.  (U) Codel Price cleared this message.  (Septel will 
address HDAC Codel's meeting with President Alan Garcia.) 
NEALON