Last week, Speaker of the House John Boehner announced the 2012 Congress Bundestag/Bundesrat exchange, “an annual exchange program for staff members from both countries” that “gives professional staff the opportunity to observe and learn about each other’s political institutions and interact on issues of mutual interest.”

Boehner explained that a staff delegation from the U.S. Congress will travel to Germany at the end of May to meet with members of the German Bundestag and Bundesrat, staff members of these two government bodies, as well as representatives of political, business, academic, and media agencies. A group of German staff members will come to the U.S. in April to attend similar meetings in Washington, DC.

“The Congress-Bundestag/Bundesrat Exchange is highly regarded in Germany and the United States, and is one of several exchange programs sponsored by public and private institutions in the United States and Germany to foster better understanding of the politics and policies of both countries,” Boehner said.