III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 26 

Recognizing the anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti on January 

12, 2010, honoring those who lost their lives in that earthquake, and 

expressing continued solidarity with the Haitian people. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 26, 2011 

Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. KERRY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Mr. CASEY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. CORKER, 

Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. RUBIO, and Ms. LANDRIEU) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti 

on January 12, 2010, honoring those who lost their 

lives in that earthquake, and expressing continued solidarity with the Haitian people. 

Whereas on January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 

on the Richter scale struck the country of Haiti; 

Whereas, according to the United States Geological Survey, 

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

of Haiti; 

Whereas, according to the United States Geological Survey, 

the earthquake was followed by 59 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 on the Richter scale or greater, with the most 


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severe measuring a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter 

scale; 

Whereas, according to the Government of Haiti, more than 

230,000 people died as a result of the earthquake, including 103 citizens of the United States; 

Whereas an untold number of international aid personnel also 

died as a result of the earthquake, including more than 

100 United Nations personnel; 

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

(1) an estimated 3,000,000 people, or nearly 1⁄3 of 

the population of Haiti, have been directly affected by the 

disaster; and 

(2) an estimated 1,300,000 people were displaced 

from their homes to settlements; 

Whereas casualty numbers and infrastructure damage, including damage to roads, ports, hospitals, and residential 

dwellings, place the earthquake as the worst cataclysm to 

hit Haiti in more than 200 years and, proportionally, as 

one of the worst natural disasters in the world in modern 

times; 

Whereas the Post Disaster Needs Assessment, which was 

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, which is equal to 

approximately 120 percent of the gross domestic product 

of Haiti in 2009; 

Whereas the Post Disaster Needs Assessment estimates that 

$11,500,000,000 is needed during the next 3 years for 


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the reconstruction of Haiti and to lay the groundwork for 

long-term development; 

Whereas Haiti was the poorest, least developed country in the 

Western Hemisphere before the January 2010 earthquake, when— 

(1) more than 70 percent of Haitians lived on less 

than $2 per day; and 

(2) Haiti was ranked of 149th out of 182 countries 

on the United Nations Human Development Index; 

Whereas, before the earthquake, Haiti was in the process of 

recovering from a catastrophic series of hurricanes and 

tropical storms, food shortages, rising commodity prices, 

and political instability, but was showing encouraging 

signs of improvement; 

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 Senate Resolution 392, which was agreed to on January 21, 2010, by unanimous consent— 

(1) expressed the profound sympathy and unwavering support of the Senate for the people of Haiti; and 

(2) urged all nations to commit to assisting the people of Haiti with their long-term needs; 

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 


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United States Southern Command, was swift and resolute; 

Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic organizations throughout the United States and the international 

community responded to the crisis by supporting Haiti 

and its people through innovative ways, such as fundraising through text messaging; 

Whereas more than $2,700,000,000 is estimated to have been 

raised from private donations in response to the tragedy 

in Haiti; 

Whereas the Haitian diaspora community in the United 

States, which was integral to emergency relief efforts— 

(1) has annually contributed significant monetary 

support to Haiti through remittances; and 

(2) continues to seek opportunities to partner with 

the United States Agency for International Development 

and other Federal agencies to rebuild Haiti; 

Whereas Haiti continues to suffer from extreme poverty, 

gross inequality, a deficit of political leadership at all levels, and weak or corrupt state institutions; 

Whereas significant long-term challenges remain as Haiti 

works to recover and rebuild; 

Whereas the International Organization for Migration estimates that approximately 800,000 people remain in spontaneous and organized camps in Haiti; 

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

original emergency relief phase; 

Whereas there is an acute need— 


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(1) to increase local capacity in health care and education; and 

(2) to focus international attention on employment 

opportunities, rubble removal, permanent and sustainable 

shelter, reconstruction of roads, safety and security, and 

fundamental human rights in Haiti, especially in temporary camps and shelters; 

Whereas the alleged irregularities and fraud that occurred in 

the election held in Haiti on November 28, 2010, have 

imperiled the credibility of the electoral process, undermined the recovery effort, and further destabilized security throughout Haiti; 

Whereas political leadership is required to ensure that a 

democratically elected government, which is respected by 

the people of Haiti and recognized by the international 

community, is prepared to assume office on February 7, 

2011, or shortly thereafter; 

Whereas, on October 19, 2010, an outbreak of cholera was 

detected in the lower Artibonite region of Haiti; 

Whereas initial efforts to contain the epidemic were disrupted 

by Hurricane Tomas and resulting widespread flooding, 

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

Whereas, according to the Haitian Ministry of Public Health 

and Population, between the outbreak in October 2010 

and January 21, 2011— 

(1) more than 3,850 people have died from cholera 

in Haiti; and 

(2) more than 194,000 people in Haiti have been affected by the disease; 


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Whereas, according to the Pan American Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

cholera could spread to as many as 400,000 people within the first year of the epidemic, potentially causing 

8,000 deaths at the current case fatality rate; 

Whereas the United States has provided $40,000,000 worth 

of assistance to combat the cholera epidemic, primarily 

through the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, to assist with stockpiling health commodities, equipping cholera treatments centers, providing public information, and 

developing a safe and sustainable water and sanitation 

system; 

Whereas the efforts to combat the cholera epidemic have 

helped to drive the mortality rate from cholera down 

from 7 percent to 1 percent of all contracted cases during 

the 3-month period ending on January 21, 2011; 

Whereas, during the first year following the January 12, 

2010 earthquake in Haiti, the people of Haiti have demonstrated unwavering resilience, dignity, and courage; 

Whereas at the conference of international donors entitled 

‘‘Towards a New Future for Haiti’’, which was held on 

March 31, 2010, 59 donors pledged approximately 

$5,570,000,000 (including nearly $1,200,000,000 

pledged by donors from the United States) to support the 

Action Plan for National Recovery and Development of 

the Government of Haiti; 

Whereas the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for 

Haiti estimates that approximately 63 percent of the recovery and development funds pledged for 2010 have 

been disbursed; and 


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Whereas Haiti requires 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 Senate— 

2 (1) honors those who lost their lives as a result 

3 of the tragic earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 

4 2010; 

5 (2) honors the sacrifices of the men and women 

6 of the Government of Haiti, the Government of the 

7 United States, the United Nations, and the inter8 national community in their responses to those af9 fected by the earthquake; 

10 (3) expresses continued solidarity with the peo11 ple of Haiti as they work to rebuild their neighbor12 hoods, livelihoods, and country; 

13 (4) reaffirms the commitment of the Senate to 

14 support the long-term reconstruction of Haiti, in 

15 partnership with the Government of Haiti and in co16 ordination with other donors; 

17 (5) supports the efforts of the Executive 

18 Branch to prevent the spread of cholera, treat per19 sons who contract the disease, provide technical as20 sistance to the Haitian Ministry of Public Health, 

21 and improve long-term water, sanitation, and health 

22 systems; 


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1 (6) expresses support for the United States 

2 Embassy team in Port-au-Prince, members of the 

3 United States Coast Guard, United States Armed 

4 Forces, other United States Government personnel, 

5 and all members of international organizations who 

6 have persevered through adverse local conditions and 

7 continue to serve Haiti and the Haitian people; 

8 (7) supports the continued effort of the Interim 

9 Haiti Recovery Commission, under the leadership of 

10 former President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister 

11 Bellerive, in its efforts to improve coordination, build 

12 state capacity, and bring donors and the Govern13 ment of Haiti together to effectively lead the recon14 struction process; 

15 (8) urges the international community— 

16 (A) to call on the leaders of Haiti to imme17 diately reach a democratic resolution to the cur18 rent electoral crisis to enable the newly elected 

19 leaders of the Government of Haiti to take of20 fice by February 7, 2011, or shortly thereafter; 

21 (B) to continue to focus assistance on the 

22 priorities of the Government of Haiti; 

23 (C) to develop, improve, and scale-up com24 munications and participatory mechanisms to 

25 more substantially involve Haitian civil society 


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1 at all stages of the cholera and post-earthquake 

2 responses; and 

3 (D) to give priority to programs that pro4 tect and involve vulnerable populations, includ5 ing internally displaced persons, children, and 

6 persons with disabilities; 

7 (9) urges aid agencies— 

8 (A) to train and use Haitian local and na9 tional authorities in the delivery of assistance; 

10 and 

11 (B) to enhance their coordination and con12 sultation with the Haitian people and key Hai13 tian Government ministries to ensure the effec14 tiveness of aid; and 

15 (10) expresses support for— 

16 (A) the continuation of the work of United 

17 States agencies, nongovernmental organizations, 

18 private volunteer organizations, regional institu19 tions, and United Nations agencies to confront 

20 the consequences of the crises affecting Haiti; 

21 (B) comprehensive assessments of the 

22 long-term needs for confronting the cholera epi23 demic in Haiti, including the construction of 

24 adequate water and sanitation infrastructure; 

25 and 


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1 (C) the continuation of humanitarian and 

2 development efforts between the Government of 

3 the United States and the Government of Haiti, 

4 the Haitian Diaspora, and international actors 

5 who support the goal of a better future for 

6 Haiti. 

Æ 


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