108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 496
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas in May 2004, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Association (NOAA) predicted that 2004 would be an
above-normal Atlantic hurricane season;
Whereas from August to September 2004 Hurricanes Char-
ley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne devastated countries of
the Caribbean and the southern, midwestern, and eastern
regions of the United States;
•HCON 496 EH
Whereas the people of the United States, who have encoun-
tered the harsh consequences of the recent hurricanes,
can empathize with the countries of the Caribbean as
they begin the recovery process;
Whereas Hurricane Frances displaced 800 people and de-
stroyed 80 homes in the Bahamas;
Whereas 
Hurricane 
Frances 
caused 
an 
estimated
$125,000,000 in damage to the islands of the Bahamas;
Whereas four hurricanes have struck the region within five
weeks;
Whereas 90 percent of homes in Grenada sustained signifi-
cant damage as a result of Hurricane Ivan;
Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross esti-
mates that 60,000 of the 95,000 inhabitants of Grenada
were made homeless as a result of the devastation;
Whereas Hurricane Ivan is the worst natural disaster to hit
Jamaica in 50 years;
Whereas an estimated 13,000 Jamaicans were displaced dur-
ing Hurricane Ivan;
Whereas more than 60 people died and hundreds were in-
jured as a result of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and
Ivan;
Whereas as a result of Hurricane Jeanne, at least 2,000 peo-
ple have died in Haiti while it is estimated that another
1,000 people are currently missing;
Whereas many others have died in the Dominican Republic
and Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Jeanne;
Whereas the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment reports that there is flooding in more than 80 per-
•HCON 496 EH
cent of Gonaives, Haiti, and more than 30 percent of
Port-de-Paix, Haiti;
Whereas hurricane recovery assistance is being sought from
the 
Caribbean-American 
community, 
the 
European
Union, and Canada;
Whereas the financial burden of providing emergency and re-
construction assistance to the devastated countries is
much greater than the Caribbean region can sustain by
itself;
Whereas the cost of providing humanitarian emergency as-
sistance to the countries of the Caribbean continues to
increase with each natural disaster;
Whereas the cost of assisting Grenada, Jamaica, the
Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other is-
land nations with reconstruction after the hurricane sea-
son of 2004 could exceed $250,000,000;
Whereas in addition to disaster relief, governments of the
countries of the Caribbean are under pressure to secure
their communities and prevent looters and other crimi-
nals from causing further harm to their citizens who are
struggling to recover from the devastation caused by the
hurricanes;
Whereas the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment’s Office of United States Foreign Disaster Assist-
ance (OFDA) is coordinating with the Caribbean Dis-
aster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) and mem-
bers of the Eastern Caribbean Donor Group (ECDG), in-
cluding the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO),
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC), the United Nations Development Pro-
gram (UNDP), and the Canadian International Develop-
•HCON 496 EH
ment Agency (CIDA) to provide urgently needed food,
potable water, temporary shelter, and other basic neces-
sities;
Whereas multilateral development banks, such as the World
Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and
other international organizations, such as the United Na-
tions and the Organization of American States, have
joined the United States in providing urgently needed as-
sistance to the countries of the Caribbean that have suf-
fered the most from the effects of the hurricanes;
Whereas the damage caused by the hurricanes have dem-
onstrated that proper building and housing codes that
are consistently enforced significantly reduce the human
and financial toll caused by natural disasters;
Whereas the Caribbean region is recognized as the third bor-
der of the United States and the economic turmoil caused
by the hurricanes of August and September 2004 will
have an effect on the United States; and
Whereas the countries of the Caribbean will need significant
assistance from the international community for both re-
lief and reconstruction efforts: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress—
(1) commends the governments of the countries
of the Caribbean for their efforts to respond and as-
sist the people of the region after the devastation
caused by Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and
Jeanne from August to September 2004;
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(2) commends the efforts of the Caribbean-
American community to provide relief to family and
friends suffering in the region;
(3) supports the efforts of the United States
Government to assist in coordinating international
efforts to help the people of the region, particularly
in Grenada, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Bahamas, with
assessing damage and providing relief to affected
communities;
(4) urges the international community to take
all necessary steps to provide emergency relief and
support reconstruction efforts; and
(5) urges the President, acting through the Ad-
ministrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development to—
(A) continue to make available to private
volunteer organizations, United Nations agen-
cies, and regional institutions the necessary
funding to mitigate the effects of the recent
natural disasters that have devastated the coun-
tries of the Caribbean; and
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(B) provide assistance for the promulga-
tion and enforcement of housing and building
codes in the countries of the Caribbean.
Passed the House of Representatives October 4,
2004.
Attest:
Clerk.