THE Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, has been invited by the US Senate majority leader, Mr Bob Dole, and the House Speaker, Mr Newt Gingrich, to address a joint meeting of Congress later this year.
"In my view, Prime Minister John Bruton has demonstrated great leadership and courage in the quest for peace in Northern Ireland," Mr Dole said.
"I hope that he will accept our invitation to speak before a joint meeting of Congress in the near future," he said. "The United States should continue an important role in facilitating the peace process."
Mr Gingrich called Mr Bruton "a driving force in the search for peace in Northern Ireland".
The invitation took some members of Congress by surprise. The Speaker's office did not respond last autumn when more than 100 members, including some 50 senators, lobbied him to invite the President, Mrs Robinson, to address a joint meeting of Congress on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Famine. That petition was organised by Senator Edward Kennedy, a political opponent of the Speaker.
Mr Gingrich has also shown an inclination to take advice from the British embassy on matters concerning Ireland, according to a congressional source. Last year he initially refused to invite the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, to the Speaker's lunch after representations from the British embassy.
Referring to Mr Bruton's remarks at the lunch Mr Gingrich hosted on Thursday, he said: "I am convinced that the American people will benefit greatly from his insights into the unfolding peace process."