I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1016 

To measure the progress of relief, recovery, reconstruction, and development 

efforts in Haiti following the earthquake of January 12, 2010, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2011 

Ms. LEE of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Haiti Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) On January 12, 2010, an earthquake meas2 uring 7.0 on the Richter magnitude scale struck the 

3 country of Haiti. 

4 (2) According to the United States Geological 

5 Survey (USGS)— 

6 (A) the earthquake epicenter was located 

7 approximately 15 miles southwest of Port-au8 Prince, the capital of Haiti; and 

9 (B) the earthquake was followed by 59 

10 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the 

11 most severe measuring 6.0. 

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

13 than 316,000 people died as a result of the earth14 quake, including 103 citizens of the United States 

15 and more than 100 United Nations personnel. 

16 (4) According to the United Nations and the 

17 International Organization for Migration— 

18 (A) an estimated 3,000,000 people were di19 rectly affected by the disaster, nearly one-third 

20 of the country’s population; and 

21 (B) more than 1,300,000 people were dis22 placed from their homes to settlements. 

23 (5) Casualty numbers and infrastructure dam24 age, including to roads, ports, hospitals, and residen25 tial dwellings, place the earthquake as the worst 


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1 cataclysm to hit Haiti in over two centuries and, 

2 proportionally, one of the world’s worst natural dis3 asters in modern times. 

4 (6) The Post Disaster Needs Assessment 

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

6 United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-Amer7 ican Development Bank, and other experts estimates 

8 that damage and economic losses totaled 

9 $7,804,000,000, approximately 120 percent of Hai10 ti’s gross domestic product in 2009. 

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

12 in the Western Hemisphere with, prior to the earth13 quake— 

14 (A) more than 70 percent of Haitians liv15 ing on less than $2 per day; and 

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

17 on the United Nations Human Development 

18 Index. 

19 (8) House Resolution 1021, which was passed 

20 on January 21, 2010, on a vote of 411 to 1 ex21 pressed— 

22 (A) the House of Representatives ‘‘deepest 

23 condolences and sympathy for the horrific loss 

24 of life’’ caused by the earthquake; and 


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1 (B) bipartisan support for the recovery 

2 and reconstruction needs of Haiti. 

3 (9) The initial emergency response of the men 

4 and women of the United States Government, led by 

5 the United States Agency for International Develop6 ment and United States Southern Command, was 

7 swift and resolute. 

8 (10) Individuals, businesses, and philanthropic 

9 organizations across the United States and through10 out the international community responded in sup11 port of Haiti and its populace during this crisis, 

12 sometimes in innovative ways such as fundraising 

13 through text messaging. 

14 (11) The Haitian diaspora in the United States, 

15 which was integral to emergency relief efforts— 

16 (A) has annually contributed significant 

17 monetary support to Haiti through remittances; 

18 and 

19 (B) continues to seek opportunities to 

20 partner with the United States Agency for 

21 International Development and other agencies 

22 to substantively contribute to the reconstruction 

23 of Haiti. 

24 (12) Significant challenges still remain in Haiti 

25 as it works to recover and rebuild. 


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1 (13) According to the International Organiza2 tion for Migration, approximately 800,000 people re3 main in spontaneous and organized camps in Haiti. 

4 (14) According to numerous nongovernmental 

5 organizations and United States contractors, the 

6 pace of reconstruction has lagged significantly be7 hind the original emergency relief phase. 

8 (15) The widespread irregularities that oc9 curred in the elections held in Haiti on November 

10 28, 2010, led to outbursts of violence which under11 mined the recovery efforts. 

12 (16) On October 21, 2010, an outbreak of chol13 era was detected in the Lower Artibonite region. 

14 (17) Initial efforts to contain the epidemic were 

15 disrupted by Hurricane Toma ́s and resulting wide16 spread flooding, which led to the spreading and en17 trenchment of the disease throughout the country. 

18 (18) According to the Haitian Ministry of Pub19 lic Health and Population, as of February 25, 

20 2011— 

21 (A) more than 4,627 people have died from 

22 cholera; and 

23 (B) more than 248,442 have been infected 

24 from the disease. 


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1 (19) 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 (20) The United States has provided more than 

8 $45,192,163 worth of assistance to combat the chol9 era epidemic, including by assisting with stockpiling 

10 health commodities, equipping cholera treatment 

11 centers, providing public information, and improving 

12 water and sanitation systems. 

13 (21) The efforts to combat the cholera epidemic 

14 have helped to drive the mortality rate from cholera 

15 down from nearly 7 percent to 1.8 percent of all 

16 contracted cases as of February 25, 2011. 

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

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

20 (23) At the international donors conference 

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

22 31, 2010, 59 donors pledged over $5,500,000,000 to 

23 support Haiti. 

24 (24) The United Nations Office of the Special 

25 Envoy for Haiti estimates that nearly 


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1 $1,900,000,000 has been disbursed, with an addi2 tional amount of approximately $2,000,000,000 

3 committed. 

4 (25) Haiti needs sustained support from the 

5 international community in order to confront the on6 going cholera epidemic and to promote reconstruc7 tion and development. 

8 SEC. 3. REPORT. 

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

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

11 in consultation with the heads of all relevant agencies, in12 cluding the Department of State, the United States Agen13 cy for International Development, the Department of De14 fense, the Department of Health and Human Services, 

15 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall 

16 transmit to Congress a report on the status of post-earth17 quake humanitarian, reconstruction, and development ef18 forts in Haiti, including efforts to prevent the spread of 

19 cholera and treat persons infected with the disease. 

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

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

22 the— 

23 (1) overall progress of relief, recovery, and re24 construction in Haiti, including— 


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1 (A) programs and projects of the United 

2 States Government; 

3 (B) programs and projects to protect vul4 nerable populations, such as internally displaced 

5 persons, children, women and girls, and persons 

6 with disabilities; and 

7 (C) projects to improve water, sanitation, 

8 and health, and plans for improvements in 

9 these areas in the long-term; 

10 (2) extent to which United States and inter11 national efforts are in line with the priorities of the 

12 Government of Haiti and are actively engaging and 

13 working through Haitian ministries and local au14 thorities; 

15 (3) coordination among United States Govern16 ment agencies, and coordination between the United 

17 States Government and United Nations agencies, 

18 international financial institutions, and other bilat19 eral donors; 

20 (4) mechanisms for communicating the progress 

21 of recovery and reconstruction efforts to Haitian 

22 citizens, as well as recommendations on how these 

23 can be improved; 

24 (5) mechanisms through which Haitian civil so25 ciety, including vulnerable populations, is actively 


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1 participating in all major stages of recovery and re2 construction efforts, and recommendations on how 

3 these can be improved; and 

4 (6) mechanisms through which the Haitian di5 aspora is involved in recovery and reconstruction ef6 forts. 

7 (c) USE OF PREVIOUSLY APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

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

9 derive from existing discretionary funds of the depart10 ments and agencies specified in such subsection. 

Æ 


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