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Friends of New Zealand Congressional Caucus Following the November 2006 elections, Caucus membership now stands at 62. Click here to see an updated membership list. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), currently serving his fifth term in Congress, has replaced Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) as Caucus Co-chair with Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) following Mr. Kolbe’s retirement from Congress in January of 2007. Rep. Brady holds the leadership post of Deputy Whip and serves on the Ways & Means Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, and the House Policy Committee. The Congressman has long been an advocate of trade. He served as the White House’s point man in the successful passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. On November 15, 2006, the NZ-US Parliamentary Friendship Group was launched in the New Zealand Parliament. NZ US Council Chairman Rt. Hon Jim Bolger congratulated Group Chairman Gerry Brownlee and Deputy Chairman Shane Jones, as well as MPs from both major parties who joined the Friendship Group in recognition of the importance of New Zealand’s relationship with the United States. Mr. Bolger said that the Friendship Group provided a useful counterpart to the Friends of New Zealand Congressional Caucus in Washington DC. “Making progress on global issues New Zealanders care deeply about requires engagement with the world’s leading super power and largest consumer market. That engagement is assisted when our political leaders express bipartisan support for closer co-operation. It doesn’t mean we have to agree with the United States about everything. It does mean we see value in the relationship for our national interests”. Click to see letters that Caucus co-chairs Jim Kolbe and Ellen Tauscher wrote to NZ-US Parliamentary Friendship Group chair MP Gerry Brownlee, which were read at the launch reception by Council President John Mullen.
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