IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3509 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 13 (legislative day, DECEMBER 11), 2013 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assessing Progress in 

3 Haiti Act of 2013’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) On January 12, 2010, a massive earth7 quake struck near the Haitian capital city of Port8 au-Prince, leaving an estimated 220,000 people 

9 dead, including 103 United States citizens, 101 

10 United Nations personnel, and nearly 18 percent of 

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

12 115,000 homes destroyed, and 1,500,000 people dis13 placed. 

14 (2) According to the Post Disaster Needs As15 sessment conducted by the Government of Haiti, 

16 with technical assistance from the United Nations, 

17 the World Bank, the Inter-American Development 

18 Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America 

19 and the Caribbean, and the European Commission, 

20 an estimated 15 percent of the population were di21 rectly affected by the disaster and related damages 

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

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

24 of the lowest socioeconomic indicators and the sec25 ond highest rate of income disparity in the world, 

26 conditions that have further complicated post-earthVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:35 Dec 14, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.RFS H3509

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1 quake recovery efforts and, according to the World 

2 Bank, have significantly reduced the prospects of 

3 economic growth spurring broader poverty reduction. 

4 (4) According to the World Food Program, 

5 more than 6,700,000 people in Haiti (out of a popu6 lation of about 10,000,000) are considered food inse7 cure nationally. 

8 (5) In October 2010, an unprecedented out9 break of cholera in Haiti resulted in over half a mil10 lion reported cases and over 8,000 deaths to date, 

11 further straining the capacity of Haiti’s public 

12 health sector and increasing the urgency of resettle13 ment and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) 

14 efforts. 

15 (6) The international community, led by the 

16 United States and the United Nations, mounted an 

17 unprecedented humanitarian response in Haiti, with 

18 donors pledging approximately $10,400,000,000 for 

19 humanitarian relief and recovery efforts, including 

20 debt relief, supplemented by $3,100,000,000 in pri21 vate charitable contributions, of which approximately 

22 $6,400,000,000 has been disbursed and an addi23 tional $3,800,000,000 has been committed as of 

24 September 30, 2013. 


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1 (7) The emergency response of the men and 

2 women of the United States Government, led by the 

3 United States Agency for International Development 

4 (USAID) and the United States Southern Com5 mand, as well as of cities, towns, individuals, busi6 nesses, and philanthropic organizations across the 

7 United States, was particularly swift and resolute. 

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

9 United States assistance has been allocated for hu10 manitarian relief and $2,300,000,000 has been allo11 cated for recovery, reconstruction, and development 

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

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

14 been obligated specifically to respond to the cholera 

15 epidemic. 

16 (9) Of the $3,600,000,000 in United States as17 sistance allocated for Haiti, $651,000,000 was ap18 portioned to the USAID to support an ambitious re19 covery plan, including the construction of a power 

20 plant to provide electricity for the new Caracol In21 dustrial Park (CIP) in northern Haiti, a new port 

22 near the CIP, and permanent housing in new settle23 ments in the Port-au-Prince, St-Marc, and Cap24 Haı ̈tien areas. 


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

2 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives held 

3 an oversight hearing on the status and effectiveness 

4 of post-earthquake United States aid to Haiti, fol5 lowing a House of Representatives-mandated, year6 long Government Accountability Office (GAO) report 

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

8 recovery effort. 

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

10 USAID had disbursed just 31 percent of its recon11 struction funds in Haiti, the port project was 2 

12 years behind schedule and over budget by an esti13 mated $189,000,000, the housing project has been 

14 reduced by 80 percent, and the sustainability of the 

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

16 all at risk. 

17 (12) GAO further found that Congress has not 

18 been provided with sufficient information to ensure 

19 that it is able to conduct effective oversight at a 

20 time when most funding remains to be disbursed, 

21 and specifically recommends that a periodic report22 ing mechanism be instituted to fill this information 

23 gap. 

24 (13) Donors have encountered significant chal25 lenges in implementing recovery programs and nearVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:35 Dec 14, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.RFS H3509

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1 ly 4 years after the earthquake an estimated 

2 171,974 people remain displaced in camps, unem3 ployment remains high, corruption is rampant, land 

4 rights remain elusive, allegations of wage violations 

5 are widespread, the business climate is unfavorable, 

6 and government capacity remains weak. 

7 (14) For Haiti to achieve stability and long 

8 term economic growth, donor assistance will have to 

9 be carefully coordinated with a commitment by the 

10 Haitian Government to transparency, a market 

11 economy, rule of law, and democracy. 

12 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

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

14 sustainable rebuilding and development of Haiti in a man15 ner that— 

16 (1) promotes efforts that are led by and sup17 port the Haitian people and the Haitian Government 

18 at all levels so that Haitians lead the course of re19 construction and development of Haiti; 

20 (2) builds the long term capacity of the Govern21 ment of Haiti and Haitian civil society; 

22 (3) reflects the priorities and particular needs 

23 of both women and men so they may participate 

24 equally and to their maximum capacity; 


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

2 resources, as well as builds community-level resil3 ience to environmental and weather-related impacts; 

4 (5) provides timely and comprehensive reporting 

5 on goals and progress, as well as transparent post 

6 program evaluations and contracting data; 

7 (6) prioritizes the local procurement of goods 

8 and services in Haiti where appropriate; and 

9 (7) promotes the holding of free, fair, and time10 ly elections in accordance with democratic principles 

11 and the Haitian Constitution. 

12 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that transparency, ac14 countability, democracy, and good governance are integral 

15 factors in any congressional decision regarding United 

16 States assistance, including assistance to Haiti. 

17 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

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

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

20 thereafter through September 30, 2016, the Secretary of 

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

22 post-earthquake recovery and development efforts in 

23 Haiti. 

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

25 (a) shall include— 


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1 (1) a summary of the Haiti Rebuilding and De2 velopment Strategy, including any significant 

3 changes to the strategy over the reporting period 

4 and an explanation thereof; 

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

6 States Government agencies other than USAID and 

7 the Department of State are conducting in the Haiti 

8 recovery effort, and the cost of that assistance; 

9 (3) an assessment of the progress of United 

10 States efforts to advance the objectives of the Haiti 

11 Rebuilding and Development Strategy through the 

12 ‘‘Post-Earthquake USG Haiti Strategy: Toward Re13 newal and Economic Opportunity’’ produced by the 

14 Department of State, compared to what remains to 

15 be achieved to meet specific goals, including— 

16 (A) a description of any significant 

17 changes to the Strategy over the reporting pe18 riod and an explanation thereof; 

19 (B) an assessment of progress, or lack 

20 thereof, over the reporting period toward meet21 ing the goals and objectives, benchmarks, and 

22 timeframes specified in the Strategy, includ23 ing— 

24 (i) a description of progress toward 

25 designing and implementing a coordinated 


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1 and sustainable housing reconstruction 

2 strategy that addresses land ownership, se3 cure land tenure, water and sanitation, 

4 and the unique concerns of vulnerable pop5 ulations such as women and children, as 

6 well as neighborhood and community revi7 talization, housing finance, and capacity 

8 building for the Government of Haiti to 

9 implement an effective housing policy; 

10 (ii) a description of efforts to con11 struct and sustain the proposed port, as 

12 well as an assessment of the current pro13 jected timeline and cost for completion; 

14 and 

15 (iii) a description of efforts to attract 

16 and leverage the investments of private 

17 sector partners to the CIP, including by 

18 addressing any policy impediments; 

19 (C) a description of the quantitative and 

20 qualitative indicators used to evaluate the 

21 progress toward meeting the goals and objec22 tives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in 

23 Strategy at the project level; 

24 (D) the amounts committed, obligated, and 

25 expended on programs and activities to impleVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:35 Dec 14, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.RFS H3509

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1 ment the Strategy, by sector and by imple2 menting partner at the prime and subprime lev3 els (in amounts of not less than $25,000); and 

4 (E) a description of the risk mitigation 

5 measures put in place to limit the exposure of 

6 United States assistance provided under the 

7 Strategy to waste, fraud, and abuse; 

8 (4) a description of measures taken to strength9 en, and an assessment of, Haitian governmental and 

10 non-governmental organizational capacity to under11 take and sustain United States-supported recovery 

12 programs; 

13 (5) a description of United States efforts to 

14 consult and engage with Haitian Government min15 istries and local authorities on the establishment of 

16 goals and timeframes, and on the design and imple17 mentation of new programs under the Post-Earth18 quake USG Haiti Strategy: Toward Renewal and 

19 Economic Opportunity; 

20 (6) a description of efforts to consult and en21 gage with Haitian civil society and grassroots orga22 nizations on the establishment of goals and time23 frames, and on the design and implementation of 

24 new programs under the Post-Earthquake USG 

25 Haiti Strategy: Toward Renewal and Economic OpVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:35 Dec 14, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.RFS H3509

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1 portunity, as well as efforts to coordinate with and 

2 engage the Haitian diaspora; 

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

4 ratification of the United Nations Convention 

5 Against Corruption, a description of United States 

6 and Haitian Government efforts to strengthen Hai7 tian Government institutions established to address 

8 corruption, as well as related efforts to promote pub9 lic accountability, meet public outreach and disclo10 sure obligations, and support civil society participa11 tion in anti-corruption efforts; 

12 (8) a description of efforts to leverage public13 private partnerships and increase the involvement of 

14 the Haitian private sector in recovery and develop15 ment activities and coordinate programs with the 

16 private sector and other donors; 

17 (9) a description and assessment of efforts to 

18 address the particular needs of vulnerable popu19 lations, including internally displaced persons, 

20 women, children, orphans, and persons with disabil21 ities, in the design and implementation of new pro22 grams and infrastructure; 

23 (10) an description of the impact that agri24 culture and infrastructure programs are having on 


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1 the food security, livelihoods, and land tenure secu2 rity of smallholder farmers, particularly women; 

3 (11) a description of mechanisms for commu4 nicating the progress of recovery and development 

5 efforts to the Haitian people, including a description 

6 of efforts to provide documentation, reporting and 

7 procurement information in Haitian Creole; and 

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

9 to strengthen its capacity to receive individuals who 

10 are removed, excluded, or deported from the United 

11 States. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 12, 

2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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