IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 408 
Expressing sincere condolences and support for assistance to the people of 
the Philippines and all those affected by the tragic Super Typhoon 
Haiyan (Yolanda) of November 8, 2013. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 13, 2013 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. HONDA, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. 
MOORE, Ms. HAHN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. 
SHERMAN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, 
Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. MENG, Ms. CHU, and 
Mr. PASCRELL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing sincere condolences and support for assistance 
to the people of the Philippines and all those affected 
by the tragic Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) of No-
vember 8, 2013. 
Whereas, on November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan 
(local name Yolanda) made landfall and hit the eastern 
seaboard of the Philippine archipelago; 
Whereas the typhoon brought sustained winds of 147 miles 
per hour, gusts of 170 to 190 miles per hour, waves as 
high as 45 feet, and up to 15.75 inches of rain in some 
places, making it the year’s strongest storm, and poten-
tially the strongest typhoon ever recorded at landfall; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:34 Nov 14, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR408.IH
HR408
rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 408 IH 
Whereas approximately 7 million Filipinos have been affected 
by the typhoon and nearly 582,000 people were forced 
from and evacuated their homes, according to the Na-
tional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council 
of the Philippines; 
Whereas among the hardest hit was the coastal city of 
Tacloban on the island of Leyte, which 70 years ago was 
the first town to be liberated by General Douglas Mac-
Arthur from the Imperial Japanese occupation; 
Whereas Tacloban was almost completely submerged by 
waves of up to 40 feet, with 70 to 80 percent of the city’s 
structures now destroyed, according to Elmer Soria, the 
chief superintendent and regional police director; 
Whereas, as of November 12, the typhoon was responsible for 
nearly 1,800 deaths, and the estimates of the total death 
toll in Tacloban alone could climb as high as 10,000; 
Whereas the United Nation’s Children Fund estimates that 
1.7 million children lived in the pathway of the typhoon; 
Whereas in the wake of a natural disasters and the subse-
quent breakdown of protective societal norms, the 
vulnerabilities of women and girls are more acute; 
Whereas the schools and gymnasiums and other sites that 
were designated as evacuation centers failed to hold up 
against the winds, as roofs ripped off, windows shattered, 
and ceilings caved in, according to Lynette Lim, spokes-
woman for Save the Children; 
Whereas videos and aerial surveillance show vast stretches of 
land flattened and decimated; 
Whereas initial reports say that most of the deaths were from 
drowning or collapsed buildings and that many commu-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:34 Nov 14, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR408.IH
HR408
rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 408 IH 
nities are now without access to communication, water, 
food, and aid; 
Whereas, by November 10, President Benigno S. Aquino III 
of the Philippines declared a state of calamity; 
Whereas Interior Secretary Roxas of the Philippines said that 
the impact of the typhoon was like a tsunami hit, because 
moving from the shore to one kilometer inland there are 
no structures standing; 
Whereas Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, head of a United Na-
tions disaster assessment coordination team, said that 
there was ‘‘destruction on a massive scale in Tacloban’’, 
where ‘‘there are cars thrown like tumbleweed’’, and that 
‘‘the last time I saw something of this scale was in the 
aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami’’; 
Whereas the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) es-
timates that nearly 2.5 million people will require imme-
diate food assistance in the aftermath of the typhoon; 
Whereas the global community, including governments, orga-
nizations, and private relief groups, has speedily and 
compassionately rallied to assist the Government of the 
Philippines in providing food, aid, shelter, monetary do-
nations, and logistical support; 
Whereas the United States Government’s military and civil-
ian aid was dispatched immediately following a request 
for international assistance by the Philippine Govern-
ment; 
Whereas the Department of Defense has directed the Pacific 
Command to support the United States Government hu-
manitarian relief operations in the Philippines in the 
wake of the typhoon; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:34 Nov 14, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR408.IH
HR408
rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 408 IH 
Whereas the first wave of the United States military force, 
a team of 90 Marines and sailors, flew to the Philippines 
on Sunday, November 11, to assist with search and res-
cue operations and provide air support; 
Whereas, 
by 
November 
14, 
2,000 
United 
States 
servicemembers will have arrived in the Philippines on 
the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON; 
Whereas the United States Government is providing $20 mil-
lion in immediate humanitarian assistance, including the 
provision of emergency shelter, food assistance, relief 
commodities, and water, sanitation, and hygiene support; 
Whereas the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance of 
the United States Agency for International Development 
activated a Disaster Assistance Response Team to con-
duct initial damage assessment in affected areas, liaise 
with other humanitarian and government actors in the 
country, and recommend appropriate response options; 
Whereas the Filipino-American community is the second larg-
est Asian-American and Pacific Islander ethnic group in 
the United States, with a population of approximately 3.4 
million; 
Whereas Filipino-Americans across the Nation immediately 
mobilized to establish disaster relief funds for those in 
their homeland; 
Whereas the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns is ap-
pealing to increase donations for its Bayanihan Relief 
and Rehabilitation Campaign to assist the impacted areas 
in the Philippines; 
Whereas in 1941, more than 250,000 Filipino soldiers re-
sponded to President Roosevelt’s call to arms and fought 
under the American flag during World War II and made 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:34 Nov 14, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR408.IH
HR408
rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 408 IH 
the ultimate sacrifice, and many of these Filipino vet-
erans have become proud United States citizens; and 
Whereas President Barack Obama affirmed the support and 
assistance of the United States to the Philippine people, 
as well as the spirit of ‘‘Bayanihan’’, and declared that 
‘‘the United States is already providing significant hu-
manitarian assistance, and we stand ready to further as-
sist the Government’s relief and recovery efforts’’: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) mourns with the people of the Philippines 
and all of the countries affected by the horrific loss 
of life caused by the tragic Super Typhoon Haiyan 
(Yolanda), which struck the Philippines on Novem-
ber 8, 2013; 
(2) expresses its deepest condolences and sym-
pathy to the families of the victims of this tragedy; 
(3) applauds the prompt commitments of sup-
port and humanitarian efforts already underway by 
the international community, relief agencies, and 
private citizens; 
(4) commends the United States Government 
for providing $20 million of immediate humanitarian 
assistance; 
(5) reaffirms the longstanding friendship shared 
between the United States and the Philippines; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:34 Nov 14, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR408.IH
HR408
rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 408 IH 
(6) pledges its full support and solidarity with 
the people of the Philippines and all others affected 
by this tragedy as they struggle to rebuild their lives 
in the wake of this disaster; 
(7) urges the United States Government to con-
tinue to provide assistance to the Philippines during 
its recovery and reconstruction efforts; 
(8) urges the United States Government to co-
ordinate with the international community and hu-
manitarian agents in prioritizing the protection of 
women and girls in the aftermath of this disaster; 
and 
(9) urges the United States Government to con-
tinue working closely with the Philippines to 
strengthen disaster risk reduction and mitigation 
strategies at the local and national levels. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:34 Nov 14, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR408.IH
HR408
rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS