Former Members of Congress

The organization conducted study groups with germany, japan, europe and korea to provide the Members of parliment in these countries with opportunities for frank discussions with current and Former Members of Congress of the united states on key issues affecting them through ongoing, unofficial and informal fora. These study groups were mainly supported by contributions from the german marshall fund of the united states, atlantik bruecke, the sasakawa peace foundation, and private corporations.

The organization emphasizes its international endeavors. Programs such as the global democracy initiative capitalize on the unique experience and skill set of fomer legislators in democracy-building and parliamentary strengthening missions. Other projects, for example, the congressional study groups, aim to create peer-to-peer dialogue involving current memberers of Congress and their collegues in other legislatures. In addition, an international extension of the Congress to campus program (most notably in the united kingdom,turkey, china, and canada), the organization aims to promote democracy abroad via projects such as the global democracy initiative (gdi). Gdi is a joint project conducted with the Former legislators' associations of canada and the european union (the association). Program activities included several training courses conducted in ottawa to prepare Former legislators for election observation missions. Gdi also includes them u.s. Legislators against corruption project, which seeks to strengthen anti-corruption efforts in emerging democracies. Via their relationship with the association, Former Members of Congress conduct democracy building missions such as legislative stengthening workshops or serving as election observers.

The goal of the organization is to promote public service, teach about Congress and strengthen representative democracy, while keeping its unique membership connected after leaving capitol hill. To achieve this goal, the organization conducts domestic programs, most notably the Congress to campus program, which sent bipartian teams of Former Members of Congress to almost 30 college campuses. This program also incorporated a webcast series (the civics connection), as well as a community outreach to include high school students and other interested citizens. In addition to a small admistrative fee charged to the universities visited, the Congress to campus program was supported, by the people-to-people ambassador program, and the stennis center for public services. In addition, via financial support from legacy international, the organization hosts visiting delegations from emerging democracies in the united states for training and education in the legislative process. The organization's main domestic focus for the past three years has been a nationwide effort to restore civic education in public classrooms. Bipartian teams of Former Members of Congress work with local entities and non profits to reach middle and high school students, as well as educators, in an effort to educate about the responsibilty that comes with citizenship, about the role of our three branches of government, and about the importance of free and fair elections.