IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 31 

Recognizing the anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti on January 

12, 2010, honoring those who lost their lives, and expressing continued 

solidarity with the Haitian people. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2013 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. BROWN of Florida, 

Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. 

DEUTCH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. MENG, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PAYNE, and Ms. NORTON) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti 

on January 12, 2010, honoring those who lost their 

lives, and expressing continued solidarity with the Haitian people. 

Whereas on January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake 

struck the country of Haiti; 

Whereas according to the United States Geological Survey 

(USGS), the earthquake epicenter was located approximately 15 miles southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince; 

Whereas according to USGS, the earthquake was followed by 

59 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the most severe measuring 6.0; 


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Whereas according to the Government of Haiti, more than 

316,000 people died as a result of the earthquake; 

Whereas according to the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration, an estimated 

3,000,000 people have been directly affected by the disaster, nearly one-third of the country’s population, and 

1,300,000 people were displaced to settlements; 

Whereas casualty numbers and infrastructure damage, including to roads, ports, hospitals, and residential dwellings, place the earthquake as the worst cataclysm to hit 

Haiti in over two centuries and, proportionally, one of the 

world’s worst natural disasters in modern times; 

Whereas the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) conducted by the Government of Haiti, the United Nations, 

the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, 

and other experts estimates that damage and economic 

losses totaled $7,800,000,000, approximately 120 percent 

of Haiti’s gross domestic product in 2009; 

Whereas the PDNA estimates that $11,500,000,000 over 

three years is required for Haiti’s reconstruction and to 

lay the groundwork for long-term development; 

Whereas prior to the earthquake, more than 70 percent of 

Haitians lived on less than $2 per day and Haiti ranked 

158 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human 

Development Index; 

Whereas prior to the earthquake, Haiti was still in the process of recovering from a catastrophic series of hurricanes 

and tropical storms, food shortages and rising commodity 

prices, and political instability, but was showing encouraging signs of improvement; 


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Whereas President Barack Obama vowed the ‘‘unwavering 

support’’ of the United States and pledged a ‘‘swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives and support 

the recovery in Haiti’’; 

Whereas Congress passed House Resolution 1021 on January 

21, 2010, on a vote of 411 to 1, expressing its ‘‘deepest 

condolences and sympathy for the horrific loss of life’’ 

and bipartisan ‘‘support for the recovery and long-term 

reconstruction needs of Haiti’’; 

Whereas the response to the tragedy from the global community, and especially from the countries of the Western 

Hemisphere, has been overwhelmingly positive; 

Whereas the initial emergency response of the men and 

women of the United States Government, led by the 

United States Agency for International Development and 

United States Southern Command, was swift and resolute; 

Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic organizations across the United States and throughout the international community responded in support of Haiti and its 

populace during this crisis, sometimes in innovative ways 

such as fundraising through text messaging, which some 

estimates reveal has raised more than $40,000,000; 

Whereas significant challenges still remain in Haiti as it 

works to recover and rebuild; 

Whereas according to the International Organization for Migration, approximately 360,000 people remain in spontaneous and organized camps in Haiti and hundreds of 

thousands of Haiti’s poor continue to live in precarious 

housing conditions that make them vulnerable to potential future natural disasters; 


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Whereas in 2012 alone, Haiti faced a long drought period 

and 2 major tropical storms that destroyed 70 percent of 

agricultural crops in Haiti, impacting the lives of nearly 

2,000,000 people facing food insecurity; 

Whereas a devastated agricultural sector has a ripple effect 

throughout the Haitian economy and affects the most 

vulnerable, particularly children and poor women and 

men; 

Whereas Haiti’s food insecurity results largely from entrenched neglect of its agricultural sector, particularly 

smallholder farmers who grow most of the Haitian food, 

and account for a large percentage of the food insecure 

populations; 

Whereas according to numerous nongovernmental organizations and United States contractors, the pace of reconstruction has lagged significantly behind the original 

emergency relief phase; 

Whereas according to an independent United Nations panel 

investigation, on October 19, 2010, an outbreak of cholera was detected in the Lower Artibonite region, originating from a tributary near the Minustah camp at 

Mirebelais, where the panel found that sanitation conditions ‘‘were not sufficient to prevent fecal contamination 

of the Meye Tributary System of the Artibonite River’’; 

Whereas initial efforts to contain the epidemic were disrupted 

by Hurricane Toma ́s and resulting widespread flooding, 

which led to the spreading and entrenchment of the disease throughout the country; 

Whereas according to the Haitian Ministry of Public Health 

and Population, as of December 12, 2012, more than 


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7,820 people have died from cholera and more than 

629,000 have been infected; 

Whereas according to the Pan American Health Organization 

and the World Health Organization, cholera could spread 

to 118,000 people within the next year, potentially causing over 1,400 deaths at the current case fatality rate; 

Whereas the Governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, jointly with the Pan American Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the 

United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have developed a 10-year plan to eliminate cholera 

from Hispaniola through treatment, hygiene education, 

and the building of sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure; 

Whereas the United Nations Secretary-General announced 

that only approximately 10 percent of the funds needed 

to execute this plan have been secured; 

Whereas throughout these crises, the people of Haiti continue 

to demonstrate unwavering resilience, dignity, and courage; 

Whereas at the international donors conference ‘‘Towards a 

New Future for Haiti’’ held on March 31, 2010, 59 donors pledged approximately $5,600,000,000, including 

nearly $1,150,000,000 from the United States, to support the Government of Haiti’s Action Plan for National 

Recovery and Development; 

Whereas the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for 

Haiti estimates that of the recovery and development 

funds pledged for 2010 through 2012, approximately 53 

percent has been disbursed; and 


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Whereas Haiti requires the sustained assistance from the 

United States and the international community in order 

to confront the ongoing cholera epidemic and promote reconstruction and development: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) honors those who lost their lives due to the 

3 tragic earthquake of January 12, 2010; 

4 (2) honors the sacrifice of the men and women 

5 of the Government of Haiti, the United States Gov6 ernment, the United Nations, and the international 

7 community in their response to those affected by the 

8 calamity; 

9 (3) expresses continued solidarity with the peo10 ple of Haiti as they work to rebuild their neighbor11 hoods, livelihoods, and country; 

12 (4) reaffirms its commitment to support Haiti, 

13 in partnership with the Government of Haiti and in 

14 coordination with other donors, in long-term recon15 struction; 

16 (5) supports the efforts of the Administration 

17 to increase food security in Haiti through sustain18 able agriculture programs, shore up housing initia19 tives for Haiti’s poor and vulnerable, prevent the 

20 spread of cholera, treat persons who contract the 

21 disease, provide technical assistance to the Haitian 


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1 Ministry of Public Health, and improve longer-term 

2 water, sanitation, and health systems; 

3 (6) urges the President and the international 

4 community to— 

5 (A) continue to focus assistance on build6 ing the capacity of Haiti’s public sector to 

7 sustainably provide basic services to its people; 

8 (B) develop, improve, and scale-up commu9 nications and participatory mechanisms to more 

10 substantially involve Haitian civil society at all 

11 stages of the post-earthquake responses; and 

12 (C) give priority to programs that protect 

13 and involve vulnerable populations, including in14 ternally displaced persons, children, women and 

15 girls, and persons with disabilities; 

16 (7) urges the President to— 

17 (A) continue to make available to United 

18 States agencies, nongovernmental organizations, 

19 private volunteer organizations, regional institu20 tions, and United Nations agencies the re21 sources necessary to confront the consequences 

22 of the natural disaster; 

23 (B) support the efforts of the United Na24 tions Secretary-General to secure the necessary 

25 resources required to fully execute plans to 


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1 eliminate cholera from the island of Hispaniola 

2 through enhanced treatment and prevention ef3 forts, and through the development of clean 

4 water and sanitation infrastructure that is ac5 cessible to all Haitians; 

6 (C) continue to lead humanitarian and de7 velopment efforts with the Government of Haiti, 

8 the Haitian Diaspora, and international actors 

9 who share in the goal of a better future for 

10 Haiti; 

11 (D) maximize responsible local and re12 gional procurement; 

13 (E) establish improved and transparent 

14 mechanisms for monitoring the implementation 

15 of United States Government-funded aid pro16 grams; and 

17 (F) work with Haitian authorities and pri18 vate landowners to prevent the forced eviction 

19 of internally displaced person communities and 

20 provide decent housing for the poorest and most 

21 vulnerable Haitians; and 

22 (8) desires a clear understanding for what 

23 would constitute success in the priority areas identi24 fied by the United States Department of State. 

Æ 


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