IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 515 
Expressing the sense of the Congress to support an increase in funds allocated 
to the Republic of Haiti and to expedite the delivery of emergency 
aid to the island nation because of the terrible destruction brought 
on by Hurricane Jeanne. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 8, 2004 
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida (for herself, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 
CONYERS, Ms. LEE, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, and Ms. 
WATERS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the Congress to support an increase 
in funds allocated to the Republic of Haiti and to expe-
dite the delivery of emergency aid to the island nation 
because of the terrible destruction brought on by Hurri-
cane Jeanne. 
Whereas Hurricane Jeanne has wreaked havoc upon the na-
tion of the Republic of Haiti, particularly the northern 
coastal areas; 
Whereas the Government of Haiti has announced that there 
are at least 2,600 people who are badly injured, that 
1,050 are missing, and that 300,000 are homeless;
•HCON 515 IH 
Whereas in the city of Gonaives alone, there are 200,000 peo-
ple who are homeless; 
Whereas news reports have quoted the Brazilian army com-
mander in charge of the United Nations peacekeeping 
force in Haiti, General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, 
as complaining about the ‘‘extremely slow pace of relief 
reaching the residents, many of whom have spent days 
without food’’; 
Whereas even Haitians not directly affected by the storm are 
being forced to go hungry, do not have a sufficient water 
supply, and are suffering from extreme medicine and 
medical-assistance shortages; 
Whereas many people, including children, have been con-
tracting gangrene, which is being transmitted by at-
tempts to cleanse injuries in contaminated water; 
Whereas amputations are being performed under horrendous 
conditions, often without anesthetics, and physicians are 
performing amputations without electricity or running 
water; 
Whereas thousands of barefoot survivors are being treated for 
severe injuries from gashes endured from collapsing roofs 
or from pieces of zinc roof that remain hidden by the 
mud blanketing the city; 
Whereas it is estimated that there are only 1,000 physicians 
in a country of eight million people, most of whom are 
based in Port-au-Prince, the capital, and women are 
being forced to give birth at makeshift hospitals; 
Whereas, even though minimal aid has arrived in Port-au- 
Prince, it is reportedly taking nine hours to move sup-
plies to Gonaives, mainly because of the numerous impas-
sible streets that are covered in mud;
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Whereas aid trucks and food distribution centers have been 
looted by a population that has gone for days without 
food, and the country director of the Haiti Emergency 
Operation of the United Nations World Food Program 
(‘‘UNWFP’’), Guy Gavreau, said in late September that 
aid groups have been able to provide food to only about 
25,000 people, which is only 10 percent of the population 
of Gonaives; 
Whereas the floods from the storm have destroyed nearly all 
of the rice and fruit harvests in the Artibonite region, 
known as Haiti’s breadbasket, and because of this the 
nation is completely incapable of providing food for its 
citizens without outside assistance; 
Whereas hundreds of Haitians line up daily for food every 
day after spending entire nights outside in the pouring 
rain; 
Whereas, although UNWFP and CARE International distrib-
uted 120 tons of food in late September, that amount of 
food is only sufficient to feed 48,000 families for just one 
day; 
Whereas, even though aid has reached Port-au-Prince, trans-
porting it to Gonaives is a nine-hour drive, with the final 
leg of the route covered by mud-laden roads; 
Whereas widespread looting has occurred, and hundreds of 
people are being treated for gunshot wounds received in 
fights over scarce food, and most residents who are 
homeless and without the means to barter are at the 
mercy of criminal gangs roaming the country; 
Whereas communication is extremely difficult, as landline 
telephone services have been severed, cellular phones are
•HCON 515 IH 
barely working, and even satellite phone connections are 
unintelligible; 
Whereas Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemi-
sphere, and 80 percent of the population in the country 
lives below the threshold of absolute poverty, malnutrition 
is prevalent, per capita income is a mere $425, and aver-
age life expectancy is only 49.1 years; and 
Whereas Haiti is our neighbor, our ally, and our friend, and 
is located just a few hundred miles off the coast of the 
State of Florida: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress— 
(1) supports an increase in the allocation of 
funds to the Republic of Haiti because of the terrible 
destruction brought on by Hurricane Jeanne; and 
(2) for such reason, encourages the expedited 
delivery of emergency aid to Haiti. 
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