On the recordJanuary 30, 2007
I was honored to serve on the House Democracy Assistance Commission during the 109th Congress, and I was privileged to travel on the commission's first trip to Indonesia and East Timor in February of 2006. One thing that has become clear is that to help advance democracy, transparency and the rule of law abroad, the United States can and must do more than just support elections. We must support the establishment of strong, independent democratic institutions, which provide the backbone of viable democracy. So in addition to elected executives, we must, and indeed it means, help legislative and judicial branches of government have the authority, the autonomy and the continuity that they need.
Source
govinfo.gov
