I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3711 

To require the President to call a White House Conference on Haiti. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2011 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 

Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the President to call a White House Conference 

on Haiti. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘White House Con5 ference on Haiti Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Haiti is the poorest country in the Western 

9 Hemisphere. 


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1 (2) On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude 

2 earthquake struck the country of Haiti. 

3 (3) The earthquake caused massive devastation 

4 across Haiti, destroying government buildings, hos5 pitals, schools, and vital aid offices including the 

6 headquarters of the United Nations mission to 

7 Haiti. 

8 (4) An estimated 3,000,000 people have been 

9 directly affected by the disaster in Haiti, nearly one10 third of the country’s population, who are currently 

11 at risk of long-term displacement and vulnerability. 

12 (5) Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was still in 

13 the process of recovering from a recent series of hur14 ricanes and tropical storms, previous natural disas15 ters, and food shortages and rising commodity 

16 prices, but was showing encouraging signs of im17 provement. 

18 (6) On October 21, 2010, the Centers for Dis19 ease Control and Prevention confirmed an outbreak 

20 of cholera in Haiti. 

21 (7) As of May 29, 2011, there have been 

22 321,066 cases of cholera and 5,337 deaths, and 

23 500,000 total cases are expected by the end of the 

24 year. 


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1 (8) President Obama vowed the ‘‘unwavering 

2 support’’ of the United States and pledged a ‘‘swift, 

3 coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives and 

4 support the recovery in Haiti’’. 

5 (9) Prior to the earthquake, there were approxi6 mately 10,000 nongovernmental organizations oper7 ating in Haiti. 

8 (10) At least 3,000,000 Haitians live abroad. 

9 (11) Haitians abroad provide significant capital 

10 to local economies in Haiti through travel and remit11 tances and have the potential to advance reconstruc12 tion efforts by providing needed skills and resources. 

13 (12) The response to the tragedy from the glob14 al community has been overwhelmingly positive. 

15 (13) Individuals, businesses, and philanthropic 

16 organizations across the United States and through17 out the international community have responded in 

18 support of Haiti during this time of crisis. 

19 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE. 

20 (a) AUTHORITY TO CALL CONFERENCE.—Not later 

21 than June 30, 2012, the President shall call the White 

22 House Conference on Haiti (in this Act referred to as the 

23 ‘‘Conference’’) to be convened not later than 6 months 

24 after the selection of the Policy Committee established in 

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1 ommendations on ways to assist in the recovery and long2 term development of Haiti. 

3 (b) PLANNING AND DIRECTION.—The Secretary of 

4 State and the Secretary of Homeland Security (in this Act 

5 referred to as the ‘‘Co-chairs’’) shall plan, conduct, and 

6 convene the Conference, in consultation with other appro7 priate Cabinet members. 

8 (c) PURPOSES OF CONFERENCE.—The purposes of 

9 the Conference are to— 

10 (1) bring attention to the ongoing challenges 

11 facing Haiti and the progress made in its recovery 

12 from the January 12, 2010, earthquake; 

13 (2) promote collaboration and coordination be14 tween the United States Government, foreign gov15 ernments, the private sector, international non16 governmental organizations, and the Haitian Dias17 pora; 

18 (3) identify gaps or duplication in the provision 

19 of humanitarian assistance; 

20 (4) highlight innovative ideas for sustainable re21 building and redevelopment in Haiti; 

22 (5) share best practices in development assist23 ance in Haiti and in nations facing similar chal24 lenges; 


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1 (6) develop opportunities for greater involve2 ment in Haiti’s recovery by the Haitian Diaspora 

3 and the private sector; 

4 (7) review the structure, scope, and effective5 ness of existing policies and initiatives by public and 

6 private entities regarding development assistance, 

7 stability, and long-term economic growth in Haiti; 

8 and 

9 (8) identify possible changes to United States 

10 immigration, trade, and foreign aid policies that may 

11 assist in a more rapid, sustainable recovery. 

12 SEC. 4. POLICY COMMITTEE; RELATED COMMITTEES. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than July 31, 2012, 

14 there is established a Policy Committee comprising of 17 

15 members to be selected as follows: 

16 (1) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—Nine mem17 bers shall be selected by the President and shall in18 clude— 

19 (A) 3 members who are officers or employ20 ees of the United States; and 

21 (B) 6 members with experience in address22 ing the needs of disaster-stricken and devel23 oping countries. 

24 (2) HOUSE APPOINTEES.— 


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1 (A) SELECTION BY SPEAKER.—Two mem2 bers shall be selected by the Speaker of the 

3 House of Representatives after consultation 

4 with the chairperson of the Committee on For5 eign Affairs, the chairperson of the Committee 

6 on Homeland Security, the chairperson of the 

7 Committee on the Judiciary, the chairperson of 

8 the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 

9 the chairperson of the Committee on Financial 

10 Services, of the House of Representatives. 

11 (B) SELECTION BY MINORITY LEADER.— 

12 Two members shall be selected by the minority 

13 leader of the House of Representatives, after 

14 consultation with the ranking minority members 

15 of such committees. 

16 (3) SENATE APPOINTEES.— 

17 (A) SELECTION BY MAJORITY LEADER.— 

18 Two members shall be selected by the majority 

19 leader of the Senate, after consultation with 

20 members of the Committee on Foreign Rela21 tions, the Committee on Homeland Security 

22 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 

23 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and 

24 the Committee on Finance, of the Senate. 


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1 (B) SELECTION BY MINORITY LEADER.— 

2 Two members shall be selected by the minority 

3 leader of the Senate, after consultation with 

4 members of such committees. 

5 (b) VOTING; CHAIRPERSON.— 

6 (1) VOTING.—The Policy Committee shall act 

7 by the vote of a majority of the members present. 

8 A quorum of Committee members shall not be re9 quired to conduct Committee business. 

10 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Under Secretary of 

11 State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs shall 

12 serve as the chairperson of the Policy Committee. 

13 The chairperson may vote only to break a tie vote 

14 of the other members of the Policy Committee. 

15 (c) DUTIES OF THE POLICY COMMITTEE.—The Pol16 icy Committee shall initially meet at the call of the Co17 chairs, not later than 30 days after the last member is 

18 selected under subsection (a). Subsequent meetings of the 

19 Policy Committee shall be held at the call of the chair20 person. Through meetings, hearings, and working ses21 sions, the Policy Committee shall— 

22 (1) make recommendations to the Co-chairs to 

23 facilitate the timely convening of the Conference; 


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1 (2) submit to the Co-chairs a proposed agenda 

2 for the Conference not later than 90 days after the 

3 first meeting of the Policy Committee; 

4 (3) make recommendations for the delegates of 

5 the Conference; 

6 (4) establish the number of delegates to be se7 lected under section 5; and 

8 (5) establish an executive committee consisting 

9 of 3 members of the Policy Committee to work with 

10 delegates of the Conference. 

11 SEC. 5. CONFERENCE DELEGATES. 

12 To carry out the purposes of the Conference, the Co13 chairs shall bring together delegates representative of the 

14 spectrum of thought in the fields of development and hu15 manitarian assistance, infrastructure development, trade, 

16 democratic strengthening, and Haitian culture and his17 tory, without regard to political affiliation or past partisan 

18 activity, who shall include— 

19 (1) representatives of the United States and 

20 international governments; 

21 (2) members of the Haitian Diaspora; 

22 (3) representatives of international nongovern23 mental organizations; and 

24 (4) individuals from private sector entities. 


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1 SEC. 6. CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATION. 

2 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering this section, 

3 the Co-chairs shall— 

4 (1) provide written notice to all members of the 

5 Policy Committee of each meeting, hearing, or work6 ing session of such Committee not later than 48 

7 hours before the occurrence of such meeting, hear8 ing, or working session; 

9 (2) request the cooperation and assistance of 

10 the heads of such other Federal departments and 

11 agencies as may be appropriate, including the detail12 ing of personnel; 

13 (3) make available for public comment a pro14 posed agenda prepared by the Policy Committee, 

15 which will reflect to the greatest extent possible the 

16 major issues facing assistance to Haiti with the pur17 poses of the Conference set forth in section 3(c); 

18 (4) prepare and make available background ma19 terials that the Co-chairs deem necessary for the use 

20 of delegates to the Conference; and 

21 (5) employ such additional personnel as may be 

22 necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act 

23 without regard to provisions of title 5, United States 

24 Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

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1 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 

2 classification and General Schedule pay rates. 

3 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Co-chairs’s respon4 sibilities and functions under this section, the Co-chairs 

5 shall ensure that— 

6 (1) the proposed agenda prepared under sub7 section (a)(3) is published in the Federal Register 

8 not later than 30 days after such agenda is approved 

9 by the Policy Committee; 

10 (2) the personnel employed under subsection 

11 (a)(5) are fairly balanced in terms of points of views 

12 represented and are appointed without regard to po13 litical affiliation or previous partisan activities; 

14 (3) the recommendations of the Conference are 

15 not inappropriately influenced by any public official 

16 or by any special interest, but instead are the result 

17 of the independent and collective judgment of the 

18 delegates of the Conference; and 

19 (4) before the Conference is convened— 

20 (A) current and adequate statistical data 

21 and other information on health and social out22 comes in Haiti, and 

23 (B) such information as may be necessary 

24 to evaluate programs and policies relating to 

25 Haiti, 


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1 which the Co-chairs may obtain by making grants to 

2 or entering into an agreement with, public agencies 

3 or nonprofit organizations, are readily available in 

4 advance of the Conference to the delegates. 

5 (c) GIFTS.—The Co-chairs may accept, on behalf of 

6 the United States, gifts (in cash or in kind, including vol7 untary and uncompensated services), which shall be avail8 able to carry out this Act. Gifts of cash shall be available 

9 in addition to amounts appropriated to carry out this Act. 

10 Gifts may be earmarked by the donor or the executive 

11 committee for a specific purpose. 

12 (d) RECORDS.—The Co-chairs shall maintain records 

13 regarding— 

14 (1) the sources, amounts, and uses of gifts ac15 cepted under subsection (c); and 

16 (2) the identity of each person receiving assist17 ance to carry out this Act, and the amount of such 

18 assistance received by each such person. 

19 SEC. 7. REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE. 

20 (a) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 100 days 

21 after the Conference adjourns, the Policy Committee shall 

22 prepare a preliminary report on the Conference which 

23 shall be published in the Federal Register and submitted 

24 to Members of Congress and relevant administration offi25 cials. The Policy Committee shall request that Members 


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1 of Congress and administration officials submit to the Pol2 icy Committee, not later than 45 days after receiving such 

3 report, their views and findings on such report. 

4 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

5 the date on which the Conference adjourns, the Policy 

6 Committee shall— 

7 (1) prepare a final report of the Conference 

8 which shall include a compilation of the views and 

9 findings of the Members of Congress and adminis10 tration officials received under subsection (a); and 

11 (2) publish in the Federal Register, and trans12 mit to the President and to Congress, the rec13 ommendations for the administrative action and the 

14 legislation necessary to implement the recommenda15 tions contained in such report. 

16 SEC. 8. STATUS REPORTS. 

17 (a) INITIAL STATUS REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date on which the Conference adjourns, the 

19 Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public 

20 Affairs shall— 

21 (1) prepare a status report documenting the im22 plementation of the recommendations contained in 

23 the final report described in section 7(b)(1); and 


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1 (2) publish in the Federal Register, and trans2 mit to the President and to Congress, such status 

3 report. 

4 (b) SUBSEQUENT STATUS REPORTS.—Not later than 

5 5 years after the date on which the Conference adjourns, 

6 and every 5 years thereafter until all recommendations in 

7 the final report described in section 7(b)(1) are achieved, 

8 the Comptroller General shall— 

9 (1) prepare a status report documenting the im10 plementation of the recommendations contained in 

11 such final report; and 

12 (2) publish in the Federal Register, and trans13 mit to the President and to Congress, such status 

14 report. 

15 SEC. 9. COMMITTEE HEARINGS. 

16 (a) HEARINGS ON REPORTS.—The Committee on 

17 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate shall each 

19 hold hearings on the recommendations and status reports 

20 received by Congress under sections 7(b)(2), 8(a)(2), and 

21 8(b)(2). 

22 (b) HEARINGS.—The Committee on Foreign Affairs 

23 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

24 Foreign Relations of the Senate shall each hold annual 

25 hearings on recovery and long-term development of Haiti. 


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1 (c) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Sub2 sections (a) and (b) are enacted— 

3 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

4 the House of Representatives and Senate, and, as 

5 such, they shall be considered as part of the rules 

6 of the House or Senate (as the case may be), and 

7 such rules shall supersede any other rule of the 

8 House or Senate only to the extent that rule is in9 consistent therewith; and 

10 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

11 right of either House to change such rules (so far 

12 as relating to the procedure in such House) at any 

13 time, in the same manner, and to the same extent 

14 as in the case of any other rule of the House or Sen15 ate. 

16 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

19 appropriated to carry out this Act— 

20 (A) such sums as may be necessary for the 

21 first fiscal year in which the Policy Committee 

22 plans the Conference and for the following fis23 cal year; and 

24 (B) such sums as may be necessary for the 

25 fiscal year in which the Conference is held. 


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1 (2) LIMITATION.—Any new spending authority 

2 or new authority to enter into contracts under this 

3 Act, and under which the United States is obligated 

4 to make outlays, shall be effective only to the extent, 

5 and in such amounts, as are provided in advance in 

6 appropriations Acts. 

7 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (3), funds appropriated to carry out this Act 

10 and funds received as gifts under section 6(c) shall 

11 remain available for obligation or expenditure until 

12 the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on the 

13 date the Conference adjourns. 

14 (2) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Except as provided 

15 in paragraph (3), any such funds neither obligated 

16 nor expended before the expiration of the 1-year pe17 riod beginning on the date the Conference adjourns 

18 shall be returned to the United States Treasury. 

19 (3) CONFERENCE NOT CONVENED.—If the Con20 ference is not convened before December 31, 2012, 

21 a trust fund shall be established and such funds 

22 shall be deposited in the trust fund and shall only 

23 be available for a future Conference on Haiti. 

Æ 


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