(1) On January 12, 2010, a massive earth-
quake struck near the Haitian capital city of Port- 
au-Prince, leaving an estimated 220,000 people 
dead, including 103 United States citizens, 101 
United Nations personnel, and nearly 18 percent of 
the nation’s civil service, as well as 300,000 injured, 
115,000 homes destroyed, and 1,500,000 people dis-
placed. 
(2) The Post Disaster Needs Assessment con-
ducted by the Government of Haiti, the United Na-
tions, the World Bank, the Inter-American Develop-
ment Bank, and others estimated that damage and 
economic losses from the January 12, 2010, earth-
quake totaled $7,804,000,000. 
(3) The international community, led by the 
United States and the United Nations, mounted an 
unprecedented humanitarian response to the earth-
quake in Haiti. Through 2018, more than $8 billion 
has been disbursed by donors. Since the 2010 earth-
quake, the United States Government has disbursed 
more than $4,000,000,000 in recovery and develop-
ment funding. 
(4) On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew 
struck southwestern Haiti on the Tiburon Peninsula, 
causing widespread damage and flooding and leaving 
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1.4 million people in need of immediate assistance. 
The strongest storm to hit Haiti since Hurricane 
Cleo in 1964, 2.1 million people were directly af-
fected by the hurricane. 
(5) Recovery efforts continue almost 3 years 
after Hurricane Matthew made landfall in 2016. 
The World Bank estimates storm-caused losses and 
damages valued at 32 percent of 2015 Gross Domes-
tic Product. 
(6) Prior to both the earthquake and hurricane, 
Haiti registered among the lowest socioeconomic in-
dicators and the second highest rate of income dis-
parity in the world, conditions that have further 
complicated disaster recovery and resilience efforts. 
(7) In June 2019, World Food Program re-
ported that Haiti has one of the highest levels of 
chronic food insecurity in the world with more than 
half of its total population chronically food insecure 
and 22 percent of children chronically malnourished. 
(8) In October 2010, an unprecedented out-
break of cholera in Haiti resulted in over 800,000 
reported cases and over 9,000 deaths to date. The 
Pan American Health Organization reported in 2018 
that the cholera incidence rate in Haiti is 25.5 cases 
per 100,000. 
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(9) With United States assistance, almost 
14,000 jobs have been created, largely in the apparel 
industry at the Caracol Industrial Park (in partner-
ship with the Inter-American Development Bank, 
the Haitian government, and the private sector) in 
northern Haiti. 
(10) Evidence suggests that people displaced by 
the 2010 earthquake and hurricanes in following 
years, especially Hurricane Matthew in 2016, still 
face displacement-related vulnerabilities today. 
(11) On November 13, 2018, at least 59 people 
were shot and killed in the Port-au-Prince neighbor-
hood of La Saline. After months of investigations, 
no one has been held responsible for the La Saline 
massacre. 
(12) Since 2018, tens of thousands of Haitians 
have participated in a series of demonstrations de-
manding accountability over government spending of 
Petrocaribe resources. In early 2019, the Haitian su-
perior court of auditors released an investigation im-
plicating high-level government officials in the mis-
appropriation of funds. 
(13) From August 2018 through February 
2019, local human rights organizations reported that 
64 Haitian citizens were killed in protests. 
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(14) In 2019, according to the Committee to 
Protect Journalists, five Haitian journalists have 
been shot while covering protests, including one who 
was killed. On September 23, 2019, Haitian Senator 
Jean Marie Ralph Fe´thie`re shot Associated Press 
photojournalist Chery Dieu-Nalio in the face after he 
exited his car and fired multiple shots near a crowd 
of people surrounding him. 
(15) Economic growth in Haiti is projected to 
drop below 1.5 percent this year. Inflation is esti-
mated to be 15 percent and the local currency has 
depreciated by 30 percent in the past year. The gov-
ernment and parliament have failed to pass a budget 
for two years, preventing the International Monetary 
Fund and other multilaterals from disbursing mil-
lions in international assistance. 
(16) Midterm elections set for October 2019 did 
not take place and will leave President Moise ruling 
by decree after two-thirds of the Haitian Senate ex-
pires in January 2020. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to support the 
sustainable rebuilding and development of Haiti in a man-
ner that— 
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(1) embraces Haitian independence, self-reli-
ance, sovereignty, democratic governance, and effi-
ciency; 
(2) promotes efforts that are led by and sup-
port the people and Government of Haiti at all levels 
so that Haitians lead the course of reconstruction 
and development of Haiti; 
(3) encourages and assists the building of long- 
term capacity for civil society in Haiti; 
(4) fosters collaboration between the Haitian di-
aspora in the United States and the Haitian govern-
ment; 
(5) combats impunity and prioritizes delivering 
justice to victims of human rights abuses; 
(6) ensures the protection and promotion of a 
free Haitian press; 
(7) respects the sovereignty and individual lib-
erty of Haitian citizens to peacefully demonstrate; 
(8) 
demands 
increased 
transparency 
and 
heightens accountability among all branches of gov-
ernment, including through efforts to reduce corrup-
tion and address human rights concerns; 
(9) assists and helps build community resilience 
to environmental and weather-related impacts; and 
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(10) promotes the holding of free, fair, and 
timely elections in accordance with democratic prin-
ciples and the Haitian Constitution. 
SEC. 4. ACTIONS TO HOLD LA SALINE SHOOTING PER-
PETRATORS AND VIOLATORS OF HUMAN 
RIGHTS IN HAITI ACCOUNTABLE. 
(a) SECRETARY
OF STATE PRIORITIZATION.—The 
Secretary of State shall prioritize the protection and pres-
ervation of human rights in Haiti by carrying out the fol-
lowing initiatives: 
(1) Fostering strong relationships with inde-
pendent civil society groups focused on monitoring 
human rights concerns and promoting democracy in 
Haiti. 
(2) Collaborating with Haitian government offi-
cials to ensure that human rights violators in Haiti 
are held accountable for their actions. 
(3) Identifying corrupt public and private sector 
officials and violators of human rights in Haiti. 
(4) Addressing concerns of perceived impunity 
for hostile orchestrators of the La Saline shooting. 
(b) STRATEGY.— 
(1) ELEMENTS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of State shall submit to the appropriate congres-
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sional committees a detailed summary of the hap-
penings on November 13, 2018, in the Port-au- 
Prince neighborhood of La Saline and a strategy for 
carrying out the initiatives described in subsection 
(a). The strategy shall include— 
(A) a breakdown of how the massacre in 
La Saline related to mass protests occurring 
concurrently in the country; 
(B) an analysis of the La Saline shooting 
reports authored by the United Nations, the 
European Union, and the Government of Haiti; 
(C) a detailed description of all known ac-
tors implicated in the shooting; 
(D) an overview of efforts taken by the 
Haitian government to bring the orchestrators 
of the La Saline shooting to justice; and 
(E) an assessment of the ensuing treat-
ment and displacement of the La Saline shoot-
ing survivors. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—In devising the strategy 
required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
consult with nongovernmental organizations in Haiti 
and the United States. 
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(3) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The strategy re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly 
available on the website of the Department of State. 
SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 
AND ASSEMBLY IN HAITI. 
(a) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary of State shall 
prioritize the promotion of press and assembly freedoms 
as well as the protection of journalists in Haiti by carrying 
out the following initiatives: 
(1) Advocating for increased protection of the 
press and freedom to peacefully assemble in Haiti. 
(2) Collaborating with government and non-
government officials to increase security for journal-
ists in Haiti. 
(3) Supporting efforts to strengthen access to 
information in Haiti. 
(4) Ensuring that threats and attacks on jour-
nalists and protestors are fully investigated and per-
petrators are held accountable. 
(5) Developing increased protection measures 
against police violence. 
(b) ASSESSMENT.— 
(1) ELEMENTS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of State, shall submit to the appropriate congres-
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sional committees an assessment of press freedom 
and the right to assembly in Haiti. The assessment 
shall include— 
(A) a detailed description of all known at-
tacks on journalists in the past 12 months; 
(B) a description of protests in the past 12 
months and an assessment of Haitian govern-
ment response to each protest; 
(C) a summary of the Haitian govern-
ment’s efforts to increase protection for journal-
ists; and 
(D) a description of best practices the 
United States embassy can employ to promote 
press freedom and the freedom of expression in 
Haiti. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—In devising the assess-
ment required under subsection (a), the Secretary of 
State shall consult with nongovernmental organiza-
tions in Haiti and the United States. 
(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The assessment re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly 
available on the website of the Department of State. 
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SEC. 6. ACTIONS TO COMBAT CORRUPTION IN HAITI. 
(a) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary of State shall 
prioritize efforts to combat corruption in Haiti by carrying 
out the following initiatives: 
(1) Identifying government and nongovernment 
officials known or alleged to have partaken in cor-
rupt acts. 
(2) Supporting the strengthening of a justice 
system independent of the executive branch. 
(3) Ensuring that both government and non-
government officials are held accountable for corrupt 
actions. 
(4) Promoting and protecting nongovernment 
civil society groups monitoring institutionalized cor-
ruption in Haiti. 
(5) Supporting demands for clarity and ac-
countability in the Petrocaribe scandal. 
(6) Strengthening institutional transparency 
and ensuring that Haitian government officials are 
not immune from prosecution. 
(b) ASSESSMENT.— 
(1) ELEMENTS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
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