I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5006 

To require the President to call a White House Conference on Haiti. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2010 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. MEEK of Florida, 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, 

Ms. WATSON, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Ms. RICHARDSON, 

Mr. RUSH, Mr. SABLAN, and Mr. CAO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 

to the Committee on Rules, 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 

A BILL 

To require the President to call a White House Conference 

on Haiti. 

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 ‘‘White House Con5 ference on Haiti Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Haiti is the poorest country in the Western 

2 Hemisphere. 

3 (2) On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude 

4 earthquake struck the country of Haiti. 

5 (3) The earthquake caused massive devastation 

6 across Haiti, destroying government buildings, hos7 pitals, schools, and vital aid offices including the 

8 headquarters of the United Nations mission to 

9 Haiti. 

10 (4) An estimated 3,000,000 people have been 

11 directly affected by the disaster in Haiti, nearly one12 third of the country’s population, who are currently 

13 at risk of long-term displacement and vulnerability. 

14 (5) Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was still in 

15 the process of recovering from a recent series of hur16 ricanes and tropical storms, previous natural disas17 ters, and food shortages and rising commodity 

18 prices, but was showing encouraging signs of im19 provement. 

20 (6) President Obama vowed the ‘‘unwavering 

21 support’’ of the United States and pledged a ‘‘swift, 

22 coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives and 

23 support the recovery in Haiti’’. 


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1 (7) Prior to the earthquake, there were approxi2 mately 10,000 nongovernmental organizations oper3 ating in Haiti. 

4 (8) At least 3,000,000 Haitians live abroad. 

5 (9) Haitians abroad provide significant capital 

6 to local economies in Haiti through travel and remit7 tances and have the potential to advance reconstruc8 tion efforts by providing needed skills and resources. 

9 (10) The response to the tragedy from the glob10 al community has been overwhelmingly positive. 

11 (11) Individuals, businesses, and philanthropic 

12 organizations across the United States and through13 out the international community have responded in 

14 support of Haiti during this time of crisis. 

15 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE. 

16 (a) AUTHORITY TO CALL CONFERENCE.—Not later 

17 than December 31, 2010, the President shall call the 

18 White House Conference on Haiti (in this Act referred to 

19 as the ‘‘Conference’’) to be convened not later than 6 

20 months after the selection of the Policy Committee estab21 lished in section 4, in order to make fundamental policy 

22 recommendations on ways to assist in the recovery and 

23 long-term development of Haiti. 

24 (b) PLANNING AND DIRECTION.—The Secretary of 

25 State and the Secretary of Homeland Security (in this Act 


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1 referred to as the ‘‘Co-chairs’’) shall plan, conduct, and 

2 convene the Conference, in consultation with other appro3 priate Cabinet members. 

4 (c) PURPOSES OF CONFERENCE.—The purposes of 

5 the Conference are to— 

6 (1) bring attention to the ongoing challenges 

7 facing Haiti and the progress made in its recovery 

8 from the January 12, 2010, earthquake; 

9 (2) promote collaboration and coordination be10 tween the United States Government, foreign gov11 ernments, the private sector, international non12 governmental organizations, and the Haitian dias13 pora; 

14 (3) identify gaps or duplication in the provision 

15 of humanitarian assistance; 

16 (4) highlight innovative ideas for sustainable re17 building and redevelopment in Haiti; 

18 (5) share best practices in development assist19 ance in Haiti and in nations facing similar chal20 lenges; 

21 (6) develop opportunities for greater involve22 ment in Haiti’s recovery by the Haitian diaspora 

23 and the private sector; 

24 (7) review the structure, scope, and effective25 ness of existing policies and initiatives by public and 


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1 private entities regarding development assistance, 

2 stability, and long-term economic growth in Haiti; 

3 and 

4 (8) identify possible changes to United States 

5 immigration, trade, and foreign aid policies that may 

6 assist in a more rapid, sustainable recovery. 

7 SEC. 4. POLICY COMMITTEE; RELATED COMMITTEES. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than June 30, 

9 2010, there is established a Policy Committee comprising 

10 of 17 members to be selected as follows: 

11 (1) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—Nine mem12 bers shall be selected by the President and shall in13 clude— 

14 (A) 3 members who are officers or employ15 ees of the United States; and 

16 (B) 6 members with experience in address17 ing the needs of disaster-stricken and devel18 oping countries. 

19 (2) HOUSE APPOINTEES.— 

20 (A) SELECTION BY SPEAKER.—Two mem21 bers shall be selected by the Speaker of the 

22 House of Representatives after consultation 

23 with the chairperson of the Committee on For24 eign Affairs, the chairperson of the Committee 

25 on Homeland Security, the chairperson of the 


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1 Committee on the Judiciary, the chairperson of 

2 the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 

3 the chairperson of the Committee on Financial 

4 Services, of the House of Representatives. 

5 (B) SELECTION BY MINORITY LEADER.— 

6 Two members shall be selected by the minority 

7 leader of the House of Representatives, after 

8 consultation with the ranking minority members 

9 of such committees. 

10 (3) SENATE APPOINTEES.— 

11 (A) SELECTION BY MAJORITY LEADER.— 

12 Two members shall be selected by the majority 

13 leader of the Senate, after consultation with 

14 members of the Committee on Foreign Rela15 tions, the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 

17 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and 

18 the Committee on Finance, of the Senate. 

19 (B) SELECTION BY MINORITY LEADER.— 

20 Two members shall be selected by the minority 

21 leader of the Senate, after consultation with 

22 members of such committees. 

23 (b) VOTING; CHAIRPERSON.— 

24 (1) VOTING.—The Policy Committee shall act 

25 by the vote of a majority of the members present. 


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1 A quorum of Committee members shall not be re2 quired to conduct Committee business. 

3 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Under Secretary of 

4 State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs shall 

5 serve as the chairperson of the Policy Committee. 

6 The chairperson may vote only to break a tie vote 

7 of the other members of the Policy Committee. 

8 (c) DUTIES OF THE POLICY COMMITTEE.—The Pol9 icy Committee shall initially meet at the call of the Co10 chairs, not later than 30 days after the last member is 

11 selected under subsection (a). Subsequent meetings of the 

12 Policy Committee shall be held at the call of the chair13 person. Through meetings, hearings, and working ses14 sions, the Policy Committee shall— 

15 (1) make recommendations to the Co-chairs to 

16 facilitate the timely convening of the Conference; 

17 (2) submit to the Co-chairs a proposed agenda 

18 for the Conference not later than 90 days after the 

19 first meeting of the Policy Committee; 

20 (3) make recommendations for the delegates of 

21 the Conference; 

22 (4) establish the number of delegates to be se23 lected under section 5; and 


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1 (5) establish an executive committee consisting 

2 of 3 members of the Policy Committee to work with 

3 delegates of the Conference. 

4 SEC. 5. CONFERENCE DELEGATES. 

5 To carry out the purposes of the Conference, the Co6 chairs shall bring together delegates representative of the 

7 spectrum of thought in the fields of development and hu8 manitarian assistance, infrastructure development, trade, 

9 democratic strengthening, and Haitian culture and his10 tory, without regard to political affiliation or past partisan 

11 activity, who shall include— 

12 (1) representatives of the United States and 

13 international governments; 

14 (2) members of the Haitian diaspora; 

15 (3) representatives of international nongovern16 mental organizations; and 

17 (4) individuals from private sector entities. 

18 SEC. 6. CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATION. 

19 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering this section, 

20 the Co-chairs shall— 

21 (1) provide written notice to all members of the 

22 Policy Committee of each meeting, hearing, or work23 ing session of such Committee not later than 48 

24 hours before the occurrence of such meeting, hear25 ing, or working session; 


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1 (2) request the cooperation and assistance of 

2 the heads of such other Federal departments and 

3 agencies as may be appropriate, including the detail4 ing of personnel; 

5 (3) make available for public comment a pro6 posed agenda prepared by the Policy Committee, 

7 which will reflect to the greatest extent possible the 

8 major issues facing assistance to Haiti with the pur9 poses of the Conference set forth in section 3(c); 

10 (4) prepare and make available background ma11 terials that the Co-chairs deem necessary for the use 

12 of delegates to the Conference; and 

13 (5) employ such additional personnel as may be 

14 necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act 

15 without regard to provisions of title 5, United States 

16 Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

17 service, and without regard to chapter 51 and sub18 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 

19 classification and General Schedule pay rates. 

20 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Co-chairs’s respon21 sibilities and functions under this section, the Co-chairs 

22 shall ensure that— 

23 (1) the proposed agenda prepared under sub24 section (a)(3) is published in the Federal Register 


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1 not later than 30 days after such agenda is approved 

2 by the Policy Committee; 

3 (2) the personnel employed under subsection 

4 (a)(5) are fairly balanced in terms of points of views 

5 represented and are appointed without regard to po6 litical affiliation or previous partisan activities; 

7 (3) the recommendations of the Conference are 

8 not inappropriately influenced by any public official 

9 or by any special interest, but instead are the result 

10 of the independent and collective judgment of the 

11 delegates of the Conference; and 

12 (4) before the Conference is convened— 

13 (A) current and adequate statistical data 

14 and other information on health and social out15 comes in Haiti, and 

16 (B) such information as may be necessary 

17 to evaluate programs and policies relating to 

18 Haiti, 

19 which the Co-chairs may obtain by making grants to 

20 or entering into an agreement with, public agencies 

21 or nonprofit organizations, are readily available in 

22 advance of the Conference to the delegates. 

23 (c) GIFTS.—The Co-chairs may accept, on behalf of 

24 the United States, gifts (in cash or in kind, including vol25 untary and uncompensated services), which shall be availVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:32 Apr 14, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5006.IH H5006

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1 able to carry out this Act. Gifts of cash shall be available 

2 in addition to amounts appropriated to carry out this title. 

3 Gifts may be earmarked by the donor or the executive 

4 committee for a specific purpose. 

5 (d) RECORDS.—The Co-chairs shall maintain records 

6 regarding— 

7 (1) the sources, amounts, and uses of gifts ac8 cepted under subsection (c); and 

9 (2) the identity of each person receiving assist10 ance to carry out this Act, and the amount of such 

11 assistance received by each such person. 

12 SEC. 7. REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE. 

13 (a) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 100 days 

14 after the Conference adjourns, the Policy Committee shall 

15 prepare a preliminary report on the Conference which 

16 shall be published in the Federal Register and submitted 

17 to Members of Congress and relevant administration offi18 cials. The Policy Committee shall request that Members 

19 of Congress and administration officials submit to the Pol20 icy Committee, not later than 45 days after receiving such 

21 report, their views and findings on such report. 

22 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

23 the date on which the Conference adjourns, the Policy 

24 Committee shall— 


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1 (1) prepare a final report of the Conference 

2 which shall include a compilation of the views and 

3 findings of the Members of Congress and adminis4 tration officials received under subsection (a); and 

5 (2) publish in the Federal Register, and trans6 mit to the President and to Congress, the rec7 ommendations for the administrative action and the 

8 legislation necessary to implement the recommenda9 tions contained in such report. 

10 SEC. 8. STATUS REPORTS. 

11 (a) INITIAL STATUS REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

12 after the date on which the Conference adjourns, the 

13 Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public 

14 Affairs shall— 

15 (1) prepare a status report documenting the im16 plementation of the recommendations contained in 

17 the final report described in section 7(b)(1); and 

18 (2) publish in the Federal Register, and trans19 mit to the President and to Congress, such status 

20 report. 

21 (b) SUBSEQUENT STATUS REPORTS.—Not later than 

22 5 years after the date on which the Conference adjourns, 

23 and every 5 years thereafter until all recommendations in 

24 the final report described in section 7(b)(1) are achieved, 

25 the Comptroller General shall— 


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1 (1) prepare a status report documenting the im2 plementation of the recommendations contained in 

3 such final report; and 

4 (2) publish in the Federal Register, and trans5 mit to the President and to Congress, such status 

6 report. 

7 SEC. 9. COMMITTEE HEARINGS. 

8 (a) HEARINGS ON REPORTS.—The Committee on 

9 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

10 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate shall each 

11 hold hearings on the recommendations and status reports 

12 received by Congress under sections 7(b)(2), 8(a)(2), and 

13 8(b)(2). 

14 (b) HEARINGS.—The Committee on Foreign Affairs 

15 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

16 Foreign Relations of the Senate shall each hold annual 

17 hearings on recovery and long-term development of Haiti. 

18 (c) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Sub19 sections (a) and (b) are enacted— 

20 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

21 the House of Representatives and Senate, and, as 

22 such, they shall be considered as part of the rules 

23 of the House or Senate (as the case may be), and 

24 such rules shall supersede any other rule of the 


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1 House or Senate only to the extent that rule is in2 consistent therewith; and 

3 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

4 right of either House to change such rules (so far 

5 as relating to the procedure in such House) at any 

6 time, in the same manner, and to the same extent 

7 as in the case of any other rule of the House or Sen8 ate. 

9 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

12 appropriated to carry out this Act— 

13 (A) such sums as may be necessary for the 

14 first fiscal year in which the Policy Committee 

15 plans the Conference and for the following fis16 cal year; and 

17 (B) such sums as may be necessary for the 

18 fiscal year in which the Conference is held. 

19 (2) LIMITATION.—Any new spending authority 

20 or new authority to enter into contracts under this 

21 Act, and under which the United States is obligated 

22 to make outlays, shall be effective only to the extent, 

23 and in such amounts, as are provided in advance in 

24 appropriations Acts. 

25 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (3), funds appropriated to carry out this Act 

3 and funds received as gifts under section 6(c) shall 

4 remain available for obligation or expenditure until 

5 the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on the 

6 date the Conference adjourns. 

7 (2) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Except as provided 

8 in paragraph (3), any such funds neither obligated 

9 nor expended before the expiration of the 1-year pe10 riod beginning on the date the Conference adjourns 

11 shall be returned to the United States Treasury. 

12 (3) CONFERENCE NOT CONVENED.—If the Con13 ference is not convened before December 31, 2010, 

14 a trust fund shall be established and such funds 

15 shall be deposited in the trust fund and shall only 

16 be available for a future Conference on Haiti. 

Æ 


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