David Price: “I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Dreier and I have partnered for many years in the work of the House Democracy…”

“I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Dreier and I have partnered for many years in the work of the House Democracy Partnership, which we and many others in this body believe in very deeply--that we need to be good colleagues, not just nationally, but internationally. And we need to reach out in ways that can strengthen democracy, strengthen representative institutions, in countries that are friends of our country. We can help encourage and strengthen those parliaments. That's exactly why we visited Libya back in the spring, a delegation led by Mr. Dreier. We were there a few weeks before Ambassador Stevens arrived. We were struck by the promise of Libya. Of course they've had 42 years of dictatorial rule. The country has been liberated through the efforts of NATO allies. There are still major challenges--obviously, security challenges, as we are learning in a tragic way today--but the country is gradually being secured. Constituent assembly elections have been held and parliamentary elections are on the way. So we have great hope for Libya. We have been and we will be a friend to Libya in helping to realize the promise of the Arab Spring. Our solemn purpose here today is to mark this tragic loss, the eighth Ambassador in U.S. history to be killed in the line of duty. Our personnel in Libya are dedicated personnel, the best that the U.S. has to offer. The work that they're doing there is challenging and dangerous.…”