Bi-partisan Congressional Delegation Meets President Johnson Sirleaf

Monrovia, Liberia - A seven member United States bi-partisan congressional delegation has held talks in Monrovia with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Monday’s discussions with the Liberian leader come at the end of a five-nation African tour by the congressional delegation.

According to an Executive Mansion press release, the delegation discussed, among other issues, the country’s post conflict recovery programs, including security and the need to strengthen Liberia’s police force to enable the country to provide a secured environment that is crucial to investment. Members of the delegation praised the President for the sound fiscal policies instituted by Government to enhance national reconstruction and development. The visit of the bi-partisan delegation, said the head of the delegation, Representative Howard Berman, is another testimony of the continued admiration US lawmakers have for the Liberian President. Congressman Berman assured President Johnson Sirleaf that US lawmakers were keen on ensuring that the United States fulfills its commitments to Liberia’s recovery programs.

President Johnson Sirleaf thanked members of the congressional delegation for the support Liberia continues to receive from the administration and the American people as well as the U.S. congress in supplementary budgetary allotments.  The support, the President said, has enabled her Government to carry out its development agenda.

The President briefed the congressional delegation on ongoing efforts by Government towards national development, including the recent Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum (LPRF) in Berlin. The Liberian leader expressed the hope that with the cooperation from the country’s development partners, Liberia will be able to embark on its development agenda, using the Strategy as a framework.

The President assured the congressional delegation that Government was determined to institute its reform agenda despite challenges.  “We have made steady progress, but we still have a long way to go,” the President acknowledged, urging the U.S. lawmakers to continue their support.

The US lawmakers praised the President for the stance she and other African leaders have taken regarding the political situation in Zimbabwe. They expressed the hope that African governments will bring more pressure to bear on the government of Zimbabwe to find a way out of the political crisis in that Southern African country. 

The bi-partisan congressional delegation was in town on the last leg of a five-nation tour of Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana and Liberia. Its members included  the head of the delegation, California Congressman, Howard Berman, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Vice Chairman of the Judiciary Committee; Congressman George Miller of the 7th District of Columbia, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee; Representative Ed Royce, a senior member of Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees; Congressman Tom Davis, a member of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on the District of Columbia; Congressman Donald Payne, a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor; and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, a member of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education.