John Buechner: “I think everyone who has served in the Congress since 1987 will be aware of the fact that the Congressional Study Group…”

“I think everyone who has served in the Congress since 1987 will be aware of the fact that the Congressional Study Group between the United States Congress and the Bundestag is the largest of any of the cooperative relationships with other parliaments. Currently, over 160 Members of the sitting Congress participate in the Study Group, and the activities are certainly ones to be proud of and to certainly serve as a model for any other bicameral relationship. Both parties are represented in the Study Group, and they come from all regions of the country. Currently, the two Senate leaders are Tim Johnson and Bill Roth, and on the House side, the current chairman of our group is John LaFalce of New York, and he is joined by Joel Hefley of Colorado as the vice chairman. The support, although it is under the aegis of the Congress, the financial support actually comes from the German Marshal Fund and from generous donations from German-American business groups.”