Costa Introduces Bill to Make Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue the Official Group of US Congress-European Parliament Relations
WASHINGTON - Rep. Jim Costa (CA-16) introduced the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue Act, legislation that would give official status to the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue and expand the group's U.S. delegation to include members of the U.S. Senate. The Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue supports relationships between members of the U.S. House of Representatives and European Parliament. Rep. Costa co-chairs the group with Radosław Sikorski, Member of the European Parliament.
"Formalizing the official interparliamentary group between the U.S. Congress and European Union is vital to maintaining our important relationship with our European allies," said Costa. "By expanding and formalizing the U.S. delegation to the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue, we provide a stronger foundation for advancing our interests abroad. This dialogue will continue to facilitate direct communication with American and European lawmakers on economic, trade, and sensitive international security issues like the current escalation between Russia and Ukraine."
Specifically, the legislation will:
Designate official status to the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue.
Permit up to 24 members of Congress to participate and meet with European counterparts twice a year.
Authorize the Speaker of the House and House Minority Leader to appoint half the members, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to appoint the other half of the members. At least four members from each chamber must be on the respective foreign affairs committee.
Require a report on any expenditures resulting from annual appropriations.
The Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue meets twice per year, once in the United States and once in Europe. Created in 1999, the dialogue is committed to bipartisanship and focuses on issues of mutual concern between the United States and the European Union: including trade, economic policy, energy and climate policy, data protection, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity.
More information on the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue can be found here.