IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 23 

Recognizing the catastrophic impact of the 2022 monsoon season in Pakistan 

and the devastation inflicted upon the Pakistani people. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2023 

Ms. JACKSON LEE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 

the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the catastrophic impact of the 2022 monsoon 

season in Pakistan and the devastation inflicted upon 

the Pakistani people. 

Whereas, in June 2022, catastrophic monsoon rains began in 

Pakistan and intensified to Biblical proportions by August, leaving over one-third of the country under water 

and directly impacting the lives of 33,000,000 Pakistanis; 

Whereas despite flooding having subsided by 56 percent from 

the July-August peak, over 1,700 people have lost their 

lives, one-third of whom were children, 12,900 people 

were injured, 20,600,000 currently require humanitarian 

assistance, and 7,900,000 have been displaced; 


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•HRES 23 IH 

Whereas over 5,500,000 Pakistanis currently do not have access to clean drinking water, flood waters in many areas 

remain stagnant, and waterborne diseases remain a 

major concern as the floods left the country’s most economically vulnerable regions imperiled and struggling 

with a humanitarian catastrophe; 

Whereas over 7,000,000 women and children are in desperate 

need of nutrition and immediate lifesaving support, with 

food shortages causing pregnant women to be at heightened risk of having low birthweight babies, and 1 in 9 

Pakistani children suffering from acute malnutrition; 

Whereas accelerated glacier melt, brought on by climate 

change, descending from the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, 

and Himalaya mountain ranges in northern Pakistan, is 

a major contributing factor to the Indus River’s unprecedented level of overflow and the enormous destruction 

that resulted; 

Whereas a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment by the Pakistani 

Ministry of Planning and Development estimated that the 

country’s economy has sustained a $15,200,000,000 loss; 

Whereas an estimated 2,300,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the floods, many of which were swept away, 

demolished, or rendered uninhabitable, leaving the housing sector with financial losses estimated to be upwards 

of $5,600,000,000; 

Whereas the total cost of damage to transportation infrastructure is estimated to be $281,000,000, 13,000 kilometers of roads were damaged or destroyed, and about 

3,100 kilometers of in-service railway tracks were damaged, around 40 percent of the country’s total in-service 

railways; 


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•HRES 23 IH 

Whereas damage to fiber optic transmission lines, feeder cables, and transmission towers threatens the performance 

of Pakistan’s telecommunications infrastructure; 

Whereas the floods have resulted in approximately 1,200,000 

livestock deaths, and damaged 9,400,000 acres of agricultural land around the country, including a 35-percent 

loss of this year’s Kharif season cash crops including rice 

and cotton, which are among Pakistan’s major exports; 

Whereas the flooding’s economic implications to the country 

will long outlast the persistent standing water, which the 

World Bank evaluated and estimated that 2.2 percent of 

the fiscal year 2022 gross domestic product was lost as 

a direct impact of the floods; 

Whereas the Pakistani government’s ‘‘2022 Post-Disaster 

Needs Assessment’’ suggested that the flooding will cause 

the country’s poverty rate to increase by up to 4 percentage points, pushing up to 9,000,000 people newly into 

poverty; 

Whereas Pakistan is a longtime ally and strategic partner of 

the United States linked by strong diplomatic relations 

since Pakistan’s independence in 1947; 

Whereas, from September 4 through 6, 2022, a congressional 

delegation visited the areas in Pakistan that were most 

severely plagued by the floods; 

Whereas the congressional delegation met with Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto 

Zardari, United States Ambassador Donald Blome, and 

the United States Deputy Chief of Mission Andrew 

Schofer to assess the damage, receive a briefing from 

Pakistani military rescuers, and discuss short-term relief 

efforts; 


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•HRES 23 IH 

Whereas the congressional delegation met with the National 

Disaster Management Authority Chairman, Lieutenant 

General Akhtar Nawaz Satti, who presented dozens of 

images of schools, hospitals, bridges, thousands of miles 

of roads, and entire towns decimated by the flood water; 

Whereas the congressional delegation met with representatives from the Pakistan Red Crescent and met with Pakistani Climate Minister, Sherry Rehmen, who provided her 

assessment of measures necessary for rehabilitation efforts in the flood-affected areas; 

Whereas the congressional delegation flew over the most severely impacted areas and witnessed devastating human 

and territorial destruction, with water extending in every 

direction, women and children racing to be rescued by 

helicopters, and displaced people everywhere who, having 

been on the frontlines of the floods, suffered tragic losses; 

Whereas the perils in Pakistan have made it unsafe for Pakistanis to return to their home country amid this crisis, 

and on September 8, 2022, 19 Members of Congress coauthored a letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging 

the Department of Homeland Security to grant Temporary Protected Status to eligible Pakistani nationals residing within United States borders; 

Whereas the United States Government has appropriated 

$83,543,866 in humanitarian funding for the Pakistan 

flood response in fiscal years 2022–2023, of which the 

United States Agency for International Development has 

provided Pakistan with $35,924,587 in humanitarian assistance since August 30, 2022; 

Whereas the Governments of France, Japan, Qatar, Jordan, 

Turkey, and other nations have provided Pakistan with 


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•HRES 23 IH 

food and other emergency relief assistance and the European Commission deployed personnel to support logistics 

and supply chain management needs; and 

Whereas the House of Representatives supports Pakistan, a 

longtime friend and ally of the United States, for moral 

humanitarian reasons, strategic reasons, and the importance of maintaining favorable diplomatic relations: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the United States is a world leader in pro4 viding humanitarian assistance to those in need, and 

5 amid the recent flooding and devastation, will con6 tinue to support Pakistan and its people for humani7 tarian, diplomatic, and strategic reasons, and to re8 inforce the resplendent friendship between our peo9 ples; 

10 (2) the Biden administration should act expedi11 tiously to grant Temporary Protected Status to eligi12 ble Pakistani nationals who currently reside in the 

13 United States; 

14 (3) the American people stand in solidarity with 

15 the people of Pakistan and share their emotions of 

16 sadness during this grave time and will continue to 

17 support Pakistan during the arduous rebuilding ef18 forts; and 


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•HRES 23 IH 

1 (4) the Pakistani-American community is a 

2 treasured and intrinsic component of American soci3 ety that feels Pakistan’s tragedy personally, and 

4 with whom all Americans are united. 

Æ 


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