IIB 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1016 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2011 

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

AN ACT 

To measure the progress of relief, recovery, reconstruction, 

and development efforts in Haiti following the earthquake of January 12, 2010, and for other purposes. 

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’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) On January 12, 2010, an earthquake meas7 uring 7.0 on the Richter magnitude scale struck the 

8 country of Haiti. 

9 (2) According to the United States Geological 

10 Survey (USGS)— 

11 (A) the earthquake epicenter was located 

12 approximately 15 miles southwest of Port-au13 Prince, the capital of Haiti; and 

14 (B) the earthquake was followed by 59 

15 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the 

16 most severe measuring 6.0. 

17 (3) According to the Government of Haiti, more 

18 than 316,000 people died as a result of the earth19 quake, including 103 citizens of the United States 

20 and more than 100 United Nations personnel. 

21 (4) According to the United Nations and the 

22 International Organization for Migration— 

23 (A) an estimated 3,000,000 people were di24 rectly affected by the disaster, nearly one-third 

25 of the country’s population; and 


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1 (B) more than 2,100,000 people were dis2 placed from their homes to settlements. 

3 (5) Casualty numbers and infrastructure dam4 age, including to roads, ports, hospitals, and residen5 tial dwellings, place the earthquake as the worst 

6 cataclysm to hit Haiti in over two centuries and, 

7 proportionally, one of the world’s worst natural dis8 asters in modern times. 

9 (6) The Post Disaster Needs Assessment 

10 (PDNA) conducted by the Government of Haiti, the 

11 United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-Amer12 ican Development Bank, and other experts estimates 

13 that damage and economic losses totaled 

14 $7,804,000,000, approximately 120 percent of Hai15 ti’s gross domestic product in 2009. 

16 (7) Haiti is the poorest, least developed country 

17 in the Western Hemisphere with, prior to the earth18 quake— 

19 (A) more than 70 percent of Haitians liv20 ing on less than $2 per day; and 

21 (B) a ranking of 149 out of 182 countries 

22 on the United Nations Human Development 

23 Index. 


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1 (8) House Resolution 1021, which was passed 

2 on January 21, 2010, on a vote of 411 to 1 ex3 pressed— 

4 (A) the House of Representatives’ ‘‘deepest 

5 condolences and sympathy for the horrific loss 

6 of life’’ caused by the earthquake; and 

7 (B) bipartisan support for Haiti’s recovery 

8 and reconstruction. 

9 (9) The initial emergency response of the men 

10 and women of the United States Government, led by 

11 the United States Agency for International Develop12 ment and United States Southern Command, was 

13 swift and resolute. 

14 (10) United States urban search and rescue 

15 (USAR) teams were immediately activated after the 

16 earthquake and deployed from Fairfax County, Vir17 ginia, Los Angeles County, California, Miami-Dade, 

18 Florida, the City of Miami, Florida, and Virginia 

19 Beach, Virginia, to assist the United States Agency 

20 for International Development (USAID) Disaster 

21 Assistance Response Team (DART), and New York 

22 City’s first responders asked the Office of U.S. For23 eign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) to activate a New 

24 York City urban search and rescue shortly there25 after. 


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1 (11) A month after the earthquake, the House 

2 of Representatives unanimously passed House Reso3 lution 1059 which expressed gratitude to these 

4 USAR units, and highlighted that the 511 United 

5 States rescue workers comprised roughly one-third 

6 of the entire international USAR effort in Haiti, and 

7 more than 130 people were rescued from under the 

8 rubble in Haiti by these units. 

9 (12) Individuals, businesses, and philanthropic 

10 organizations across the United States and through11 out the international community responded in sup12 port of Haiti and its populace during this crisis, 

13 sometimes in innovative ways such as fundraising 

14 through text messaging. 

15 (13) The Haitian diaspora in the United States, 

16 which was integral to emergency relief efforts— 

17 (A) has annually contributed significant 

18 monetary support to Haiti through remittances; 

19 and 

20 (B) continues to seek opportunities to 

21 partner with the United States Agency for 

22 International Development and other agencies 

23 to substantively contribute to the reconstruction 

24 of Haiti. 


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1 (14) Significant challenges still remain in Haiti 

2 as it works to recover and rebuild. 

3 (15) According to the International Organiza4 tion for Migration, approximately 680,000 people re5 main in spontaneous and organized camps in Haiti. 

6 (16) According to numerous nongovernmental 

7 organizations and United States contractors, the 

8 pace of reconstruction has lagged significantly be9 hind the original emergency relief phase. 

10 (17) The widespread irregularities that oc11 curred in the elections held in Haiti on November 

12 28, 2010, led to outbursts of violence which under13 mined the recovery efforts. 

14 (18) On October 21, 2010, an outbreak of chol15 era was detected in the Lower Artibonite region. 

16 (19) Initial efforts to contain the epidemic were 

17 disrupted by Hurricane Toma ́s and resulting wide18 spread flooding, which led to the spreading and en19 trenchment of the disease throughout the country. 

20 (20) According to the Haitian Ministry of Pub21 lic Health and Population, as of March 28, 2011— 

22 (A) approximately 4,766 people have died 

23 from cholera; and 

24 (B) approximately 270,991 have been in25 fected from the disease. 


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1 (21) According to the Pan American Health 

2 Organization and the Centers for Disease Control 

3 and Prevention, cholera could spread to as many as 

4 400,000 people within the first year of the epidemic, 

5 potentially causing 7,600 deaths at the current case 

6 fatality rate. 

7 (22) The United States has provided more than 

8 $62,523,017 worth of assistance to combat the chol9 era epidemic, including by assisting with stockpiling 

10 health commodities, equipping cholera treatments 

11 centers, providing public information, and improving 

12 water and sanitation systems. 

13 (23) The efforts to combat the cholera epidemic 

14 have helped to drive the mortality rate from cholera 

15 down from nearly 7 percent to 1.7 percent of all 

16 contracted cases as of February 25, 2011. 

17 (24) Throughout the series of crises, the people 

18 of Haiti continue to demonstrate unwavering resil19 ience, dignity, and courage. 

20 (25) On March 20, 2011, presidential and par21 liamentary elections were held in Haiti without 

22 major disruptions or problems. 

23 (26) At the international donors conference 

24 ‘‘Towards a New Future for Haiti’’ held on March 


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1 31, 2010, 59 donors pledged over $5,000,000,000 to 

2 support Haiti. 

3 (27) The United Nations Office of the Special 

4 Envoy for Haiti estimates that nearly 

5 $1,900,000,000 has been disbursed, with an addi6 tional amount of approximately $2,000,000,000 

7 committed. 

8 (28) Haiti will need the support of the inter9 national community in order to confront the ongoing 

10 cholera epidemic and to promote reconstruction and 

11 development. 

12 SEC. 3. REPORT. 

13 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than six months 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, 

15 in consultation with the heads of all relevant agencies, in16 cluding the Department of State, the United States Agen17 cy for International Development, the Department of De18 fense, the Department of Health and Human Services, 

19 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall 

20 transmit to Congress a report on the status of post-earth21 quake humanitarian, reconstruction, and development ef22 forts in Haiti, including efforts to prevent the spread of 

23 cholera and treat persons infected with the disease. 


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

2 (a) shall include a description, analysis, and evaluation of 

3 the— 

4 (1) overall progress of relief, recovery, and re5 construction in Haiti, including— 

6 (A) programs and projects of the United 

7 States Government; 

8 (B) programs and projects to protect vul9 nerable populations, such as internally displaced 

10 persons, children, women and girls, and persons 

11 with disabilities; and 

12 (C) projects to improve water, sanitation, 

13 and health, and plans for improvements in 

14 these areas in the long-term; 

15 (2) extent to which United States and inter16 national efforts are in line with the priorities of the 

17 Government of Haiti and are actively engaging and 

18 working through Haitian ministries and local au19 thorities; 

20 (3) coordination among United States Govern21 ment agencies, and coordination between the United 

22 States Government and United Nations agencies, 

23 international financial institutions, and other bilat24 eral donors; 


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1 (4) mechanisms for communicating the progress 

2 of recovery and reconstruction efforts to Haitian 

3 citizens, as well as recommendations on how these 

4 can be improved; 

5 (5) mechanisms through which Haitian civil so6 ciety, including vulnerable populations, is actively 

7 participating in all major stages of recovery and re8 construction efforts, and recommendations on how 

9 these can be improved; 

10 (6) mechanisms through which the Haitian di11 aspora is involved in recovery and reconstruction ef12 forts; and 

13 (7) suitability of Haiti to receive aliens who are 

14 removed, excluded, or deported from the United 

15 States pursuant to United States law, and steps 

16 Haiti is taking to strengthen its capacity in this re17 gard. 

18 (c) USE OF PREVIOUSLY APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

19 Funding for the report required under subsection (a) shall 


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1 derive from existing discretionary funds of the depart2 ments and agencies specified in such subsection. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 10, 2011. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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