I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4573 

To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, 

the Inter-American Development Bank, and other multilateral development institutions to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 

States to cancel immediately and completely Haiti’s debts to such institutions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2010 

Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. FRANK of 

Massachusetts, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. COHEN, Ms. PINGREE of 

Maine, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. HONDA, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. 

DELAHUNT, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. FILNER, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. MEEK of 

Florida, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. KUCINICH, and Mr. FARR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the 

United States Executive Directors at the International 

Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American 

Development Bank, and other multilateral development 

institutions to use the voice, vote, and influence of the 

United States to cancel immediately and completely Haiti’s debts to such institutions, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Debt Relief for Earth5 quake Recovery in Haiti Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

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

9 earthquake struck the country of Haiti. 

10 (2) Casualty estimates, still being compiled, as 

11 well as infrastructure damage, including to roads, 

12 ports, hospitals, and residential dwellings, place this 

13 earthquake as the worst cataclysm to hit Haiti in 

14 over two centuries. 

15 (3) An estimated 3,000,000 people have been 

16 directly affected by the disaster in Haiti, nearly one17 third of the country’s population, who are currently 

18 at risk of long-term displacement and vulnerability. 

19 (4) The destruction of infrastructure, particu20 larly to the port, airport, roads, and telecommuni21 cations, continues to hinder the immediate delivery 

22 of humanitarian assistance in Haiti. 

23 (5) Haiti is the poorest, least developed country 

24 in the Western Hemisphere, and prior to the earthVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:37 Feb 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4573.IH H4573

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1 quake was ranked 149 out of 182 countries on the 

2 United Nations Human Development Index. 

3 (6) Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was still in 

4 the process of recovering from a ruinous recent se5 ries of hurricanes and tropical storms, food short6 ages and rising commodity prices, and political in7 stability, but was showing encouraging signs of im8 provement. 

9 (7) President Obama vowed the ‘‘unwavering 

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

11 coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives and 

12 support the recovery in Haiti’’. 

13 (8) The response to the tragedy from the global 

14 community has been overwhelmingly positive. 

15 (9) The initial emergency response of the men 

16 and women of the United States Government, led by 

17 the United States Agency for International Develop18 ment and United States Southern Command, has 

19 been swift and resolute. 

20 (10) Individuals, businesses, and philanthropic 

21 organizations across the United States and through22 out the international community have responded in 

23 support of Haiti and its populace during this time 

24 of crisis. 


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1 (11) Throughout this terrible calamity, the Hai2 tian people continue to demonstrate unwavering re3 silience, dignity, and courage. 

4 (12) Once proper surveys and assessments are 

5 conducted, the initial and crucial emergency relief 

6 response will likely move to a comprehensive mission 

7 requiring sustained assistance from the United 

8 States and the international community for recon9 struction and development efforts. 

10 (13) The Government of Haiti cannot afford to 

11 invest in reconstruction and development efforts, 

12 while continuing to make payments on debts owed to 

13 multilateral financial institutions like the Inter14 national Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, 

15 and the Inter-American Development Bank and to 

16 other international creditors. 

17 (14) Prior to the earthquake, debt service pay18 ments to multilateral financial institutions and other 

19 international creditors already were a tremendous 

20 burden that interfered with the ability of the Gov21 ernment of Haiti to meet the needs of its people. 

22 (15) On June 30, 2009, the World Bank an23 nounced that Haiti qualified for and received $1.2 

24 billion in debt relief from the IMF, the World Bank, 

25 and other multilateral financial institutions. 


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1 (16) In order to qualify for debt relief, the Gov2 ernment of Haiti successfully developed and imple3 mented a comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy 

4 Paper, under the direction of the IMF and the 

5 World Bank. 

6 (17) According to the U.S. Department of the 

7 Treasury, despite previous debt relief, Haiti still 

8 owes a total of $709 million in debts to multilateral 

9 financial institutions, including $447 million to the 

10 Inter-American Development Bank, $165 million to 

11 the IMF, $39 million to the World Bank, and $58 

12 million to the International Fund for Agricultural 

13 Development. 

14 (18) According to the IMF, Haiti owed Ven15 ezuela $167 million and Taiwan $92 million at the 

16 end of September, 2008; furthermore, the amounts 

17 of these debts may have grown since that time. 

18 (19) The cancellation of Haiti’s debts to multi19 lateral financial institutions and other international 

20 creditors will allow the Government of Haiti to use 

21 its meager resources for essential reconstruction and 

22 development efforts. 


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1 SEC. 3. CANCELLATION OF HAITI’S DEBTS TO INTER2 NATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

3 Title XVI of the International Financial Institutions 

4 Act (22 U.S.C. 262p et seq.) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1628. CANCELLATION OF HAITI’S DEBTS TO INTER7 NATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

8 ‘‘The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 

9 United States Executive Directors at the International 

10 Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruc11 tion and Development (World Bank), the Inter-American 

12 Development Bank, and other multilateral development in13 stitutions (as defined in section 1701(c)(3)) to use the 

14 voice, vote, and influence of the United States to— 

15 ‘‘(1) cancel immediately and completely all 

16 debts owed by Haiti to such institutions; 

17 ‘‘(2) suspend Haiti’s debt service payments to 

18 such institutions until such time as the debts are 

19 canceled completely; and 

20 ‘‘(3) provide additional assistance from such in21 stitutions to Haiti in the form of grants so that 

22 Haiti does not accumulate additional debts.’’. 

23 SEC. 4. CANCELLATION OF HAITI’S DEBTS TO OTHER 

24 CREDITORS. 

25 The Secretary of the Treasury shall commence imme26 diate efforts to urge other bilateral, multilateral, and priVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:37 Feb 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4573.IH H4573

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1 vate creditors to cancel immediately and completely all 

2 debts owed by Haiti to such creditors. 

Æ 


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