IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 25 

Recognizing the anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti on January 

12, 2010, honoring those who lost their lives, and expressing continued 

solidarity with the Haitian people. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2015 

Ms. LEE (for herself and Ms. WILSON of Florida) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti 

on January 12, 2010, honoring those who lost their 

lives, and expressing continued solidarity with the Haitian people. 

Whereas, on January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake 

struck the country of Haiti; 

Whereas according to the United States Geological Survey 

(USGS), the earthquake epicenter was located approximately 15 miles southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince; 

Whereas according to USGS, the earthquake was followed by 

59 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the most severe measuring 6.0; 

Whereas according to the Government of Haiti, more than 

316,000 people died as a result of the earthquake; 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

2 

•HRES 25 IH 

Whereas according to the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration, an estimated 

3,000,000 people have been directly affected by the disaster, nearly one-third of the country’s population, and 

1,300,000 people were displaced to settlements; 

Whereas casualty numbers and infrastructure damage, including to roads, ports, hospitals, and residential dwellings, place the earthquake as the worst cataclysm to hit 

Haiti in over two centuries and, proportionally, one of the 

world’s worst natural disasters in modern times; 

Whereas the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) conducted by the Government of Haiti, the United Nations, 

the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, 

and other experts estimates that damage and economic 

losses totaled $7,800,000,000, approximately 120 percent 

of Haiti’s gross domestic product in 2009; 

Whereas the PDNA estimates that $11,500,000,000 over 

three years is required for Haiti’s reconstruction and to 

lay the groundwork for long-term development; 

Whereas prior to the earthquake, more than 70 percent of 

Haitians lived on less than $2 per day and Haiti ranked 

158 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human 

Development Index; 

Whereas prior to the earthquake, Haiti was still in the process of recovering from a catastrophic series of hurricanes 

and tropical storms, food shortages and rising commodity 

prices, and political instability, but was showing encouraging signs of improvement; 

Whereas President Barack Obama vowed the ‘‘unwavering 

support’’ of the United States and pledged a ‘‘swift, comstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

3 

•HRES 25 IH 

ordinated and aggressive effort to save lives and support 

the recovery in Haiti’’; 

Whereas Congress passed House Resolution 1021 on January 

21, 2010, on a vote of 411 to 1, expressing its ‘‘deepest 

condolences and sympathy for the horrific loss of life’’ 

and bipartisan ‘‘support for the recovery and long-term 

reconstruction needs of Haiti’’; 

Whereas the response to the tragedy from the global community, and especially from the countries of the Western 

Hemisphere, has been overwhelmingly positive; 

Whereas the initial emergency response of the men and 

women of the United States Government, led by the 

United States Agency for International Development and 

United States Southern Command, was swift and resolute; 

Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic organizations across the United States and throughout the international community responded in support of Haiti and its 

populace during this crisis, sometimes in innovative ways 

such as fundraising through text messaging, which some 

estimates reveal has raised more than $40,000,000; 

Whereas significant challenges still remain in Haiti as it 

works to recover and rebuild; 

Whereas according to the International Organization for Migration, as of June 2013, approximately 279,000 people 

remain in spontaneous and organized camps in Haiti and 

hundreds of thousands of Haiti’s poor continue to live in 

precarious housing conditions that make them vulnerable 

to potential future natural disasters; 

Whereas in 2012 alone, Haiti faced a long drought period 

and 2 major tropical storms that destroyed 70 percent of 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

4 

•HRES 25 IH 

agricultural crops in Haiti, impacting the lives of nearly 

2,000,000 people facing food insecurity; 

Whereas a devastated agricultural sector has a ripple effect 

throughout the Haitian economy and affects the most 

vulnerable, particularly children and poor women and 

men; 

Whereas Haiti’s food insecurity results largely from entrenched neglect of its agricultural sector, particularly 

smallholder farmers who grow most of the Haitian food, 

and account for a large percentage of the food insecure 

populations; 

Whereas according to numerous nongovernmental organizations and United States contractors, the pace of reconstruction has lagged significantly behind the original 

emergency relief phase; 

Whereas according to an independent United Nations panel 

investigation, on October 19, 2010, an outbreak of cholera was detected in the Lower Artibonite region, originating from a tributary near the Minustah camp at 

Mirebelais, where the panel found that sanitation conditions ‘‘were not sufficient to prevent fecal contamination 

of the Meye Tributary System of the Artibonite River’’; 

Whereas initial efforts to contain the epidemic were disrupted 

by Hurricane Toma ́s and resulting widespread flooding, 

which led to the spreading and entrenchment of the disease throughout the country; 

Whereas according to the Haitian Ministry of Public Health 

and Population, as of January 31, 2014, more than 

8,562 people have died from cholera and more than 

698,304 have been infected; 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

5 

•HRES 25 IH 

Whereas the Governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, jointly with the Pan American Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the 

United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have developed a 10-year plan to eliminate cholera 

from Hispaniola through treatment, hygiene education, 

and the building of sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure; 

Whereas throughout these crises, the people of Haiti continue 

to demonstrate unwavering resilience, dignity, and courage; 

Whereas at the international donors conference ‘‘Towards a 

New Future for Haiti’’ held on March 31, 2010, 59 donors pledged approximately $5,600,000,000, including 

nearly $1,150,000,000 from the United States, to support the Government of Haiti’s Action Plan for National 

Recovery and Development; 

Whereas, as of January 2013, the United Nations Office of 

the Special Envoy for Haiti estimates that of the recovery and development funds pledged for 2010 through 

2012, approximately 56 percent has been disbursed; and 

Whereas Haiti requires the sustained assistance from the 

United States and the international community in order 

to confront the ongoing cholera epidemic and promote reconstruction and development: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) honors those who lost their lives due to the 

3 tragic earthquake of January 12, 2010; 

4 (2) honors the sacrifice of the men and women 

5 of the Government of Haiti, the United States Govmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

6 

•HRES 25 IH 

1 ernment, the United Nations, and the international 

2 community in their response to those affected by the 

3 calamity; 

4 (3) expresses continued solidarity with the peo5 ple of Haiti as they work to rebuild their neighbor6 hoods, livelihoods, and country; 

7 (4) reaffirms its commitment to support Haiti, 

8 in partnership with the Government of Haiti and in 

9 coordination with other donors, in long-term recon10 struction; 

11 (5) supports the efforts of the Administration 

12 to increase food security in Haiti through sustain13 able agriculture programs, shore up housing initia14 tives for Haiti’s poor and vulnerable, prevent the 

15 spread of cholera, treat persons who contract the 

16 disease, provide technical assistance to the Haitian 

17 Ministry of Public Health, and improve longer-term 

18 water, sanitation, and health systems; 

19 (6) urges the President and the international 

20 community to— 

21 (A) continue to focus assistance on build22 ing the capacity of Haiti’s public sector to 

23 sustainably provide basic services to its people; 

24 (B) develop, improve, and scale-up commu25 nications and participatory mechanisms to more 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

7 

•HRES 25 IH 

1 substantially involve Haitian civil society at all 

2 stages of the post-earthquake responses; and 

3 (C) give priority to programs that protect 

4 and involve vulnerable populations, including in5 ternally displaced persons, children, women and 

6 girls, and persons with disabilities; and 

7 (7) urges the President to— 

8 (A) continue to make available to United 

9 States agencies, nongovernmental organizations, 

10 private volunteer organizations, regional institu11 tions, and United Nations agencies the re12 sources necessary to confront the consequences 

13 of the natural disaster; 

14 (B) support the efforts of the United Na15 tions Secretary-General to secure the necessary 

16 resources required to fully execute plans to 

17 eliminate cholera from the island of Hispaniola 

18 through enhanced treatment and prevention ef19 forts, and through the development of clean 

20 water and sanitation infrastructure that is ac21 cessible to all Haitians; 

22 (C) continue to lead humanitarian and de23 velopment efforts with the Government of Haiti, 

24 the Haitian Diaspora, and international actors 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

8 

•HRES 25 IH 

1 who share in the goal of a better future for 

2 Haiti; 

3 (D) maximize responsible local and re4 gional procurement; 

5 (E) establish improved and transparent 

6 mechanisms for monitoring the implementation 

7 of United States Government-funded aid pro8 grams; and 

9 (F) work with Haitian authorities and pri10 vate landowners to prevent the forced eviction 

11 of internally displaced person communities and 

12 provide decent housing for the poorest and most 

13 vulnerable Haitians. 

Æ 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS