I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3509 

To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on the 

status of post-earthquake recovery and development efforts in Haiti. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2013 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ROYCE, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. 

WILSON of Florida, Ms. WATERS, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, 

Mr. RADEL, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. BASS, and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a 

report on the status of post-earthquake recovery and 

development efforts in 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 ‘‘Assessing Progress in 

5 Haiti Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) On January 12, 2010, a massive earth2 quake struck near the Haitian capital city of Port3 au-Prince, leaving an estimated 316,000 people 

4 dead, including 103 United States citizens, 101 

5 United Nations personnel, and nearly 18 percent of 

6 the nation’s civil service, as well as 300,000 injured, 

7 115,000 homes destroyed, and 2,000,000 people dis8 placed. 

9 (2) According to the Post Disaster Needs As10 sessment conducted by the Government of Haiti, 

11 with technical assistance from the United Nations, 

12 the World Bank, the Inter-American Development 

13 Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America 

14 and the Caribbean, and the European Commission, 

15 an estimated 15 percent of the population were di16 rectly affected by the disaster and related damages 

17 and economic losses totaled $7,804,000,000. 

18 (3) Even before the earthquake, Haiti had some 

19 of the lowest socioeconomic indicators and the sec20 ond highest rate of income disparity in the world, 

21 conditions that have further complicated post-earth22 quake recovery efforts and, according to the World 

23 Bank, have significantly reduced the prospects of 

24 economic growth spurring broader poverty reduction. 


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1 (4) Today, according to the United Nations, the 

2 Government of Haiti, Haitian civil society, and 

3 international nongovernmental organizations, more 

4 than 8,000,000 people in Haiti, out of a population 

5 of approximately 10,000,000, continue to struggle to 

6 meet their food security needs as a result of the 

7 earthquake, tropical storms and hurricanes, rising 

8 global food prices, and long term neglect of the agri9 cultural sector. 

10 (5) In October 2010, an unprecedented out11 break of cholera in Haiti resulted in over half a mil12 lion reported cases and over 8,000 deaths to date, 

13 further straining the capacity of Haiti’s public 

14 health sector and increasing the urgency of resettle15 ment and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) 

16 efforts. 

17 (6) The international community, led by the 

18 United States and the United Nations, mounted an 

19 unprecedented humanitarian response in Haiti, with 

20 donors pledging approximately $14,000,000,000 for 

21 humanitarian relief and recovery efforts, including 

22 debt relief, supplemented by $3,100,000,000 in pri23 vate charitable contributions, of which approximately 

24 $6,400,000,000 has been disbursed and an addiVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:59 Nov 18, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509

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1 tional $3,800,000,000 has been committed as of 

2 September 30, 2013. 

3 (7) The emergency response of the men and 

4 women of the United States Government, led by the 

5 United States Agency for International Development 

6 (USAID) and the United States Southern Com7 mand, as well as of cities, towns, individuals, busi8 nesses, and philanthropic organizations across the 

9 United States, was particularly swift and resolute. 

10 (8) Since 2010, a total of $1,300,000,000 in 

11 United States assistance has been allocated for hu12 manitarian relief and $2,300,000,000 has been allo13 cated for recovery, reconstruction, and development 

14 assistance in Haiti, including $1,140,000,000 in 

15 emergency appropriations and $95,000,000 that has 

16 been obligated specifically to respond to the cholera 

17 epidemic. 

18 (9) Of the $3,600,000,000 in United States as19 sistance allocated for Haiti, $651,000,000 was ap20 portioned to the USAID to support an ambitious re21 covery plan, including the construction of a power 

22 plant to provide electricity for the new Caracol In23 dustrial Park (CIP) in northern Haiti, a new port 

24 near the CIP, and permanent housing in new settleVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:59 Nov 18, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509

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1 ments in the Port-au-Prince, St-Marc, and Cap2 Haı ̈tien areas. 

3 (10) On October 9, 2013, the Committee on 

4 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives held 

5 an oversight hearing on the status and effectiveness 

6 of post-earthquake United States aid to Haiti, fol7 lowing a House of Representatives-mandated, year8 long Government Accountability Office (GAO) report 

9 that was highly critical of some aspects of USAID’s 

10 recovery effort. 

11 (11) According to GAO, as of June 30, 2013, 

12 USAID had disbursed just 35 percent of its recon13 struction funds in Haiti, the port project was 2 

14 years behind schedule and over budget by an esti15 mated $189,000,000, the housing project has been 

16 reduced by 80 percent, and the sustainability of the 

17 power plant, the port, and the housing projects were 

18 all at risk. 

19 (12) GAO further found that Congress has not 

20 been provided with sufficient information to ensure 

21 that it is able to conduct effective oversight at a 

22 time when most funding remains to be disbursed, 

23 and specifically recommends that a periodic report24 ing mechanism be instituted to fill this information 

25 gap. 


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1 (13) Donors have encountered significant chal2 lenges in implementing recovery programs and near3 ly 4 years after the earthquake an estimated 

4 279,000 people remain displaced in camps, unem5 ployment remains high, corruption is rampant, land 

6 rights remain elusive, allegations of wage violations 

7 are widespread, the business climate is unfavorable, 

8 and government capacity remains weak. 

9 (14) For Haiti to achieve stability and long 

10 term economic growth, donor assistance will have to 

11 be carefully coordinated with a commitment by the 

12 Haitian Government to transparency, a market 

13 economy, rule of law, and democracy. 

14 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

15 It is the policy of the United States to support the 

16 sustainable rebuilding and development of Haiti in a man17 ner that— 

18 (1) promotes efforts that are led by and sup19 port the Haitian people and the Haitian Government 

20 at all levels so that Haitians lead the course of re21 construction and development of Haiti; 

22 (2) builds the long term capacity of the Govern23 ment of Haiti and Haitian civil society; 


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1 (3) reflects the priorities and particular needs 

2 of both women and men so they may participate 

3 equally and to their maximum capacity; 

4 (4) respects and helps restore Haiti’s natural 

5 resources, as well as builds community-level resil6 ience to environmental and weather-related impacts; 

7 (5) provides timely and comprehensive reporting 

8 on goals and progress, as well as transparent post 

9 program evaluations and contracting data; 

10 (6) prioritizes the local procurement of goods 

11 and services in Haiti where appropriate; and 

12 (7) promotes the holding of free, fair, and time13 ly elections in accordance with democratic principles 

14 and the Haitian Constitution. 

15 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act and every 180 days 

18 thereafter through September 30, 2016, the Secretary of 

19 State shall submit to Congress a report on the status of 

20 post-earthquake recovery and development efforts in 

21 Haiti. 

22 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 

23 (a) shall include— 

24 (1) a summary of the Haiti Rebuilding and De25 velopment Strategy, including any significant modiVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:59 Nov 18, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509

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1 fications to the strategy over the reporting period 

2 and an explanation thereof; 

3 (2) a breakdown of the work that the United 

4 States Government agencies other than USAID and 

5 the Department of State are conducting in the Haiti 

6 recovery effort, and the cost of that assistance; 

7 (3) an assessment of the progress of United 

8 States efforts to advance the objectives of the Haiti 

9 Rebuilding and Development Strategy through the 

10 ‘‘Post-Earthquake USG Haiti Strategy: Toward Re11 newal and Economic Opportunity’’ produced by the 

12 Department of State, compared to what remains to 

13 be achieved to meet specific goals, including— 

14 (A) a description of any significant 

15 changes to the Strategy over the reporting pe16 riod and an explanation thereof; 

17 (B) an assessment of progress, or lack 

18 thereof, over the reporting period toward meet19 ing the goals and objectives, benchmarks, and 

20 timeframes specified in the Strategy, includ21 ing— 

22 (i) a description of progress toward 

23 designing and implementing a coordinated 

24 and sustainable housing reconstruction 

25 strategy that addresses land ownership, seVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:59 Nov 18, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509

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1 cure land tenure, water and sanitation, 

2 and the unique concerns of vulnerable pop3 ulations such as women and children, as 

4 well as neighborhood and community revi5 talization, housing finance, and capacity 

6 building for the Government of Haiti to 

7 implement an effective housing policy; 

8 (ii) a description of efforts to con9 struct and sustain the proposed port, as 

10 well as an assessment of the current pro11 jected timeline and cost for completion; 

12 and 

13 (iii) a description of efforts to attract 

14 and leverage the investments of private 

15 sector partners to the CIP, including by 

16 addressing any policy impediments; 

17 (C) a description of the quantitative and 

18 qualitative indicators used to evaluate the 

19 progress toward meeting the goals and objec20 tives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in 

21 Strategy at the project level; 

22 (D) the amounts committed, obligated, and 

23 expended on programs and activities to imple24 ment the Strategy, by sector and by impleVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:59 Nov 18, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509

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1 menting partner at the principal and sub2 recipient levels, where practicable; and 

3 (E) a description of the risk mitigation 

4 measures put in place to limit the exposure of 

5 United States assistance provided under the 

6 Strategy to abuse and mismanagement; 

7 (4) a description of measures taken to strength8 en, and an assessment of, Haitian governmental and 

9 non-governmental organizational capacity to under10 take and sustain United States-supported recovery 

11 programs; 

12 (5) a description of United States efforts to 

13 consult and engage with Haitian Government min14 istries and local authorities on the establishment of 

15 goals and timeframes, and on the design and imple16 mentation of new programs under the Haiti Rebuild17 ing and Development Strategy; 

18 (6) a description of efforts to consult and en19 gage with Haitian civil society and grassroots orga20 nizations on the establishment of goals and time21 frames, and on the design and implementation of 

22 new programs under the Haiti Rebuilding and De23 velopment Strategy, as well as efforts to coordinate 

24 with and engage the Haitian diaspora; 


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1 (7) consistent with the Government of Haiti’s 

2 ratification of the United Nations Convention 

3 Against Corruption, a description of United States 

4 and Haitian Government efforts to strengthen Hai5 tian Government institutions established to address 

6 corruption, as well as related efforts to promote pub7 lic accountability, meet public outreach and disclo8 sure obligations, and support civil society participa9 tion in anti-corruption efforts; 

10 (8) a description of efforts to leverage public11 private partnerships and increase the involvement of 

12 the Haitian private sector in recovery and develop13 ment activities and coordinate programs with the 

14 private sector and other donors; 

15 (9) a description and assessment of efforts to 

16 give priority to the particular needs and views of vul17 nerable populations, including internally displaced 

18 persons, women, children, orphans, and persons with 

19 disabilities, in the design and implementation of new 

20 programs and infrastructure; 

21 (10) an assessment of the impact that agri22 culture and infrastructure programs are having on 

23 the food security, livelihoods, and land tenure secu24 rity of smallholder farmers, particularly women; 


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1 (11) a description of mechanisms for commu2 nicating the progress of recovery and development 

3 efforts to the Haitian people, including a description 

4 of efforts to provide documentation, reporting and 

5 procurement information in Haitian Creole; and 

6 (12) a description of the steps Haiti is taking 

7 to strengthen its capacity to receive individuals who 

8 are removed, excluded, or deported from the United 

9 States. 

Æ 


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