This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Visit by Congressmen
20/03/2005
A delegation of senior politicians from the US undertake
the first ever official Congress visit to Scotland
today.
The group include:
- Congressmen John Duncan and Mike McIntyre, who
co-sponsored the House of Representatives Tartan Day
resolution;
- Michael Oxley, co-author of the landmark
Sarbanes-Oxley Act which set higher standards for
corporate governance in response to business scandals;
and
- David Scott, co-chairman of the Democratic Group on
National Security.
The Congressmen will meet the First Minister, Deputy
First Minister and Minister for Finance and Public Service
Reform Tom McCabe. There will be a series of other visits
and meetings over the five-day programme, which was
initiated by the Scottish Executive's US office in
Washington.
Mr McCabe - who will meet Congressman Duncan again in
Washington next month as part of Tartan Week - said:
"The Executive is totally committed to promoting
Scotland in the US and elsewhere in the world. Tartan Week
is an extremely important focus for our work in the US -
but Scotland is promoted 365 days a year in the US through
our Office there.
"This first ever official Congress visit to Scotland -
initiated by our US Office - is an excellent opportunity to
showcase Scotland to an influential group of senior US
politicians. It also allows us to build on the deep links
which already exist between Scotland the US.
"We are delighted to have the four Congressmen here
because they are key influencers for Scotland on Capitol
Hill - Congressmen Duncan and McIntyre co-sponsored the
recent House of Representatives Tartan Day resolution. This
visit is further evidence that the devolved government is
ensuring Scotland's voice is heard on the world stage."
Congressman John J Duncan Jr said:
"I look forward to serving as a member of this
delegation and participating in a series of informative,
productive meetings regarding Scotland and its relationship
with the United States.
"I am very proud of my Scottish heritage and was pleased
the House of Representatives passed a resolution earlier
this month calling for a National Tartan Day. Both the
United States and Scotland will benefit greatly from this
experience."
Biographical details of the Congressmen can be found on
the House of Representatives website at
www.house.gov
Some other excerpts from the programme are:
- Monday March 21 - Meeting with Scottish Executive
Permanent Secretary;
- Tuesday March 22 - Meeting with Glasgow School of
Art and US students, meeting with Glasgow City Council,
meeting with Scottish Enterprise and SDI, meeting with
University of Glasgow and meeting with
VisitScotland;
- Wednesday March 23 - Meeting on Dundee Life
Sciences, Meeting with St Andrews University and
meeting with US students;
- Thursday March 24 - Meeting and tour of the
Scottish Parliament, meeting with Royal Bank of
Scotland.
The Congressmen will also meet the First Minister,
Deputy First Minister and Mr McCabe.