May 10, 2011

Barbara Lee Leads House Passage of Legislation to Ensure Support for Victims of Devastating Earthquakes in Haiti

Media Contact:  Joel Payne, (202) 225-2661

Washington, DC – Earlier today, Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) led House passage of HR 1016, the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act.  This legislation directs the government to report on the status of humanitarian, reconstruction, and development efforts in the aftermath of the tragic January earthquake in Haiti.  Representative Lee introduced this bill earlier this year, and it has 22 co-sponsors in the House. 

Passage of this bill not only ensures that we remember those who lost their lives in the earthquake, but it reaffirms U.S. commitment to support the people of Haiti as they combat the ongoing cholera epidemic and rebuild their neighborhoods, lives, and country.

Below are Representative Lee’s House floor remarks in advance of House passage of this bill.  These remarks are presented as prepared for delivery: 

“I rise in support of H.R. 1016, the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act, legislation I authored to direct the United States Government to report on the status of humanitarian, reconstruction, and development efforts in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake of January 12, 2010.

“Let me thank Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Berman, Chairman Mack, Ranking Member Engel, and the staffs of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Republican and Democratic Leaders’ offices for bringing this bill to the floor.

“I also would like to acknowledge the hard work of my Congressional Black Caucus colleagues, Reps. Payne, Waters, Conyers, Clarke, and so many others who have worked tirelessly in support of the Haitian people and ongoing U.S. humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Haiti. 

“Today, we are provided with an opportunity to not only remember those who have lost their lives, but to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to support Haitians as they struggle to combat the ongoing cholera epidemic and to rebuild their neighborhoods, lives, and country following the devastation of January 12.

“Following the earthquake, my colleagues and I came together to pass a bill I authored, H.Res. 1021, by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 411 to 1, expressing solidarity with the Haitian people and support for the long-reconstruction term needs of the country.

“Through the bill on the floor today, we are provided with an opportunity to assess the progress that we have made, the extraordinary challenges that remain, and the areas in which improvement is greatly needed.

“I traveled to Haiti immediately following the earthquake, and again in November during Haiti’s recent elections, and I saw firsthand the real progress that has been made. The cholera outbreak – an ongoing and devastating setback – for example, revealed the ramped up capacity of Haiti's national laboratory. The lab was able to identify the cholera strain very rapidly, improving our ability to respond to the outbreak – a feat that would have been impossible just a year earlier.

“However, significant improvements remain desperately needed. The unprecedented relief effort has given way to a sluggish (at best) reconstruction effort. Part of this pace can be attributed to the sheer magnitude of the problems Haiti faces, as well as Haiti's legal and bureaucratic hurdles including the lack of an adequate land tenure policy. Without a doubt, however, part of the blame rests with the lack of urgency on the part of the international community.

“At the international donors conference in March 2010, 58 donors pledged over $5.5 billion to support Haiti’s Action Plan for Recovery and Development. According to the United Nations, as of March of this year, only about 37 percent of these funds have been disbursed. This is unacceptable. If we are to break the cycle of disaster–emergency relief–disaster in which Haiti has been trapped for many years, we must act with the same sense of urgency in reconstruction as we did immediately following the quake.

“In addition to delivering on our promises, we must ensure that those promises are in line with the will of the Haitian people. The international community recognized early on that if our efforts were to be sustainable, they had to reflect the priorities of the Government of Haiti. The establishment of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) was a very good idea in this regards; and moving forward, we must ensure that it is inclusive, transparent, and adequately resourced.

“Additionally, we must substantially improve our communication with and the participation of Haitian civil society. The United States and UN are sponsoring outreach for civil society organizations; however, many Haitians still hold the perception that recovery efforts are dominated by exclusive foreign actors. Unless civil society is involved at every major stage of the post-earthquake response, this perception will remain, and it will prove detrimental to the sustainability of our efforts.

“In this vein, we must give special priority to programs that protect vulnerable populations – including internally displaced persons, women, children, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities. And ensuring these populations are significantly involved in recovery efforts reinforces their protection. The UN Secretary General, for example, has specifically stated that women should be involved in security decisions that affect their daily lives as a means of combating the alarming level of gender-based violence since the earthquake.

“On the topic of vulnerable populations, we must take a critical look at the resumption of deportations to Haiti. Given the fragile state in which Haiti remains, I call on the Department of Homeland Security to halt deportations until it proves that its policy does not violate international human rights laws and it demonstrates that Haiti is able to support the influx of deportees. If we are truly committed to helping our neighbor, we must ensure that we are not assisting Haiti with one hand while undermining its stability with the other.

“Lastly, we must continue to support the Haitian Public Health Ministry to prevent the spread of cholera, treat those affected with the disease, and build up health systems. The international community must plan for the long-term presence of the disease, which is now endemic, and provide the necessary resources to ensure that this planning is thorough and complete.

“Throughout this unceasing series of tragedies and crises, Haitians have continued to demonstrate unwavering resilience, dignity, and courage. Although Haiti has fallen off the 24-hour news cycle, let us not forget the promises we have made to our neighbors just off our shores.

“I urge my colleagues to support this bill to allow us to ensure that we are indeed delivering on our promises.”

Video of Representative Lee’s floor remarks is available HERE

 

Follow Barbara Lee on Twitter @RepBarbaraLee

 

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