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On recent trip to the Middle East, U.S. Rep. David Price said he was impressed in Pakistan and Afghanistan with a certain segment of their parliaments: women.

"We paid special attention to women members of parliament — who are a pretty aggressive group," said Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat. "Women members are, I think, very much in the vanguard of developing the institutions."

The speaker of Pakistan’s parliament is a woman, Price said, and was interested that Congress' House speaker also is a woman, Nancy Pelosi of California, reports Barb Barrett.

The congressional delegation Price led was made of members of the House Democracy Partnership, formally known as the House Democracy Assistance Commission, which mentors new democracies around the world. Price said the group included two women, U.S. Reps. Lois Capps of California and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.

As President Barack Obama continues to ponder the future of American troops in Afghanistan, U.S. Rep. David Price stressed this week that the matter isn’t just one for the military.

"Nobody thinks this should be a rushed decision – or a decision that should just be about the military,” Price said. “We have to be aware of the security requirements to back up national policy – not military action for its own sake.”

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, returned Monday from a week-long swing through the Middle East, reports Barb Barrett. While there, he spent three days in Afghanistan meeting with troops, generals and Afghan government officials.

Price said in an interview he doesn’t expect to brief the White House on the visit, but he did speak with the State Department before the trip, and he stressed afterward that Obama shouldn’t rush into a decision on Afghanistan.

"He should take the time and consideration he needs to to make the decision in a careful and responsible way,” Price said.

U.S. Rep. David Price has returned from a week-long trip to the Middle East.

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, led a congressional delegation with the House Democracy Assistance Commission, a bi-partisan group that mentors new democracies around the world, Barb Barrett reports.

The group was in Lebanon when the country’s new parliament and president were sworn in last week.

Then, they traveled to Afghanistan to meet with President Hamid Karzai. The group also spent time in Pakistan meeting with parliament leaders there before returning Monday to the United States.

Congressman David Price is in Peru leading a delegation to help strengthen the democratic institutions in that country.

The 4th district congressman is leading a bi-partisan House Democracy Assistance Commission, which is scheduled to sign an agreement on Tuesday with the Peruvian government to provide technical support for their parliament, Rob Christensen reports. He left Saturday and on Sunday, the 8-member congressional delegation visited the Southern city of Arequipa, where they visited a decentralized parliamentary office. Later in the week, the delegation is scheduled to go to Paraguay.

Price, a former political science professor, was instrumental in creating the commission, as a way of promoting democratic governments in Eastern Europe and other areas where democracy was trying to take hold.

U.S. Rep. David Price is not an easy traveler.

The Chapel Hill Democrat is going on an 11-day trip during the upcoming recess along with other members of the House Democracy Assistance Commission. (U.S. Rep. Brad Miller is joining him.)

The Washington Post's Al Kamen, who likes to critique lawmakers' junkets, called the trip to such political hotspots as Liberia, Kenya and Congo "no fun."

"In addition to meetings with heads of state, there are endless conferences and meetings about budgeting, legislative research and other exciting topics," he writes, tongue in cheek.

Price, a former professor who is something of a troubled democracy buff, has also taken trips to Lebanon, Afghanistan, East Timor, Haiti and Colombia — hardly the kinds of places you see on a poster in a travel agent's office. 

On the other hand, Mongolia's been pretty quiet since Gengis Khan died. 

U.S. Rep. David Price led a congressional delegation to Kosovo this weekend, the first official visit to the region since it declared independence this winter.

The country declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17, and the United States is one of 26 countries recognizing the independence.

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, is chairman of the House Democracy Assistance Commission, a group of congressional members who partner with parliaments in new democracies around the world, reports Barb Barrett.

Price met with Kosovo leaders Saturday morning. He also met with members of the N.C. National Guard stationed in Kosovo, talking with soldiers from the 430th Explosives and Ordnance Disposal unit out of Greenville.

The bipartisan congressional delegation also is visiting Macedonia and Ukraine.

U.S. Rep. David Price heads out of the country Friday for a weeklong trip to Indonesia and East Timor.

Price will lead half a dozen members of congress from the House Democracy Assistance Commission, of which he is chairman, Barb Barrett reports.

The group will conduct visits with parliament members in both countries, continuing partnerships formed with the two southeast Asian countries.

Price and his colleagues also will participate in the dedication of a new legislative research library in East Timor. It was built and stocked with the help of a $175,000 grant from the House of Representatives.

The U.S. House is scheduled to vote today on a resolution of sorrow, proposed by U.S. Rep. David Price of Chapel Hill, for the bombing in Afghanistan on Nov. 6 that killed at least 50 people, including six members of parliament.

When Price traveled to Afghanistan in November 2006, he met with parliament members in the fledgling democracy to educate them about laws and budgeting as part of Price’s work as chairman of the House Democracy Assistance Commission, reports Barb Barrett.

None of the slaim parliament members appear to be among those who met closely with Price, though they might have been in the room during some of the meetings, said Paul Cox, Price’s spokesman.

However, one of those injured, Shukria Barakzai, was among a group of women who met with Price and other members of Congress during the trip. A former magazine editor, Barakzai is an outspoken advocate for press freedom and women’s rights in the country.

The resolution, while not changing law, is a diplomatic expression of grief and solidarity from one legislative body to another. It is scheduled to be voted on this evening in the House under a suspension of the rules, meaning there will be no debate.