Barbara Lee Statement on the Food Crisis in Haiti

For Immediate Release

(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) released the following statement in response to food crisis in Haiti:

"I join my colleagues in urging President Bush to take immediate steps to stem the food crisis In Haiti. We must provide immediate food aid to help the people of Haiti, while extending debt relief programs to free up government funds to address the needs of the people.

"Eighty percent of Haiti’s population lives on less than two dollars a day. Meanwhile, the cost of staple foods which Haiti’s economy depends on, such as rice, beans, fruit, and condensed milk, has gone up by 50 percent in just the past year.

"The upcoming emergency supplemental will provide an opportunity to help shore up funding for our international food aid programs. As a member of the Appropriations Committee I will be working with my colleagues to ensure that Haiti’s needs are addressed in the context of the global food crisis.

"Alleviating the effect of the recent rise in food prices is just the first step however. We must also reengage with the government of Haiti and ensure that we have the long term policies in place to assist the country to further develop and sustain its economy. Specifically we can assist Haiti by providing the necessary technical expertise and building human capacity to help Haiti address its own problems.

"I will introduce legislation in the coming weeks to accomplish this very goal through the creation of a professional exchange program. There are many Haitian Americans living in the US today who have technical expertise in a wide array of areas such as agriculture, education, health care and infrastructure development, who want to return to Haiti and assist their people. My bill would create a mechanism to facilitate this knowledge transfer in order to meet the needs and goals of the Haitian government and the Haitian people.

"I urge the President not to let the current political and economic instability in Haiti go unanswered. We must provide immediate relief to help the Haitian people and take steps to ensure a safe, stable and promising future for Haiti and all Haitians."

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