I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3509 
To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on the 
status of post-earthquake recovery and development efforts in Haiti. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 15, 2013 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ROYCE, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. 
WILSON of Florida, Ms. WATERS, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, 
Mr. RADEL, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. BASS, and Mr. RAN-
GEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a 
report on the status of post-earthquake recovery and 
development efforts in Haiti. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assessing Progress in 
Haiti Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) On January 12, 2010, a massive earth-
quake struck near the Haitian capital city of Port- 
au-Prince, leaving an estimated 316,000 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 2,000,000 people dis-
placed. 
(2) According to the Post Disaster Needs As-
sessment conducted by the Government of Haiti, 
with technical assistance from the United Nations, 
the World Bank, the Inter-American Development 
Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America 
and the Caribbean, and the European Commission, 
an estimated 15 percent of the population were di-
rectly affected by the disaster and related damages 
and economic losses totaled $7,804,000,000. 
(3) Even before the earthquake, Haiti had some 
of the lowest socioeconomic indicators and the sec-
ond highest rate of income disparity in the world, 
conditions that have further complicated post-earth-
quake recovery efforts and, according to the World 
Bank, have significantly reduced the prospects of 
economic growth spurring broader poverty reduction. 
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(4) Today, according to the United Nations, the 
Government of Haiti, Haitian civil society, and 
international nongovernmental organizations, more 
than 8,000,000 people in Haiti, out of a population 
of approximately 10,000,000, continue to struggle to 
meet their food security needs as a result of the 
earthquake, tropical storms and hurricanes, rising 
global food prices, and long term neglect of the agri-
cultural sector. 
(5) In October 2010, an unprecedented out-
break of cholera in Haiti resulted in over half a mil-
lion reported cases and over 8,000 deaths to date, 
further straining the capacity of Haiti’s public 
health sector and increasing the urgency of resettle-
ment and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) 
efforts. 
(6) The international community, led by the 
United States and the United Nations, mounted an 
unprecedented humanitarian response in Haiti, with 
donors pledging approximately $14,000,000,000 for 
humanitarian relief and recovery efforts, including 
debt relief, supplemented by $3,100,000,000 in pri-
vate charitable contributions, of which approximately 
$6,400,000,000 has been disbursed and an addi-
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tional $3,800,000,000 has been committed as of 
September 30, 2013. 
(7) The emergency response of the men and 
women of the United States Government, led by the 
United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID) and the United States Southern Com-
mand, as well as of cities, towns, individuals, busi-
nesses, and philanthropic organizations across the 
United States, was particularly swift and resolute. 
(8) Since 2010, a total of $1,300,000,000 in 
United States assistance has been allocated for hu-
manitarian relief and $2,300,000,000 has been allo-
cated for recovery, reconstruction, and development 
assistance in Haiti, including $1,140,000,000 in 
emergency appropriations and $95,000,000 that has 
been obligated specifically to respond to the cholera 
epidemic. 
(9) Of the $3,600,000,000 in United States as-
sistance allocated for Haiti, $651,000,000 was ap-
portioned to the USAID to support an ambitious re-
covery plan, including the construction of a power 
plant to provide electricity for the new Caracol In-
dustrial Park (CIP) in northern Haiti, a new port 
near the CIP, and permanent housing in new settle-
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ments in the Port-au-Prince, St-Marc, and Cap- 
Haı¨tien areas. 
(10) On October 9, 2013, the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives held 
an oversight hearing on the status and effectiveness 
of post-earthquake United States aid to Haiti, fol-
lowing a House of Representatives-mandated, year- 
long Government Accountability Office (GAO) report 
that was highly critical of some aspects of USAID’s 
recovery effort. 
(11) According to GAO, as of June 30, 2013, 
USAID had disbursed just 35 percent of its recon-
struction funds in Haiti, the port project was 2 
years behind schedule and over budget by an esti-
mated $189,000,000, the housing project has been 
reduced by 80 percent, and the sustainability of the 
power plant, the port, and the housing projects were 
all at risk. 
(12) GAO further found that Congress has not 
been provided with sufficient information to ensure 
that it is able to conduct effective oversight at a 
time when most funding remains to be disbursed, 
and specifically recommends that a periodic report-
ing mechanism be instituted to fill this information 
gap. 
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(13) Donors have encountered significant chal-
lenges in implementing recovery programs and near-
ly 4 years after the earthquake an estimated 
279,000 people remain displaced in camps, unem-
ployment remains high, corruption is rampant, land 
rights remain elusive, allegations of wage violations 
are widespread, the business climate is unfavorable, 
and government capacity remains weak. 
(14) For Haiti to achieve stability and long 
term economic growth, donor assistance will have to 
be carefully coordinated with a commitment by the 
Haitian Government to transparency, a market 
economy, rule of law, and democracy. 
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— 
(1) promotes efforts that are led by and sup-
port the Haitian people and the Haitian Government 
at all levels so that Haitians lead the course of re-
construction and development of Haiti; 
(2) builds the long term capacity of the Govern-
ment of Haiti and Haitian civil society; 
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(3) reflects the priorities and particular needs 
of both women and men so they may participate 
equally and to their maximum capacity; 
(4) respects and helps restore Haiti’s natural 
resources, as well as builds community-level resil-
ience to environmental and weather-related impacts; 
(5) provides timely and comprehensive reporting 
on goals and progress, as well as transparent post 
program evaluations and contracting data; 
(6) prioritizes the local procurement of goods 
and services in Haiti where appropriate; and 
(7) promotes the holding of free, fair, and time-
ly elections in accordance with democratic principles 
and the Haitian Constitution. 
SEC. 4. REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and every 180 days 
thereafter through September 30, 2016, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to Congress a report on the status of 
post-earthquake recovery and development efforts in 
Haiti. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 
(a) shall include— 
(1) a summary of the Haiti Rebuilding and De-
velopment Strategy, including any significant modi-
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fications to the strategy over the reporting period 
and an explanation thereof; 
(2) a breakdown of the work that the United 
States Government agencies other than USAID and 
the Department of State are conducting in the Haiti 
recovery effort, and the cost of that assistance; 
(3) an assessment of the progress of United 
States efforts to advance the objectives of the Haiti 
Rebuilding and Development Strategy through the 
‘‘Post-Earthquake USG Haiti Strategy: Toward Re-
newal and Economic Opportunity’’ produced by the 
Department of State, compared to what remains to 
be achieved to meet specific goals, including— 
(A) a description of any significant 
changes to the Strategy over the reporting pe-
riod and an explanation thereof; 
(B) an assessment of progress, or lack 
thereof, over the reporting period toward meet-
ing the goals and objectives, benchmarks, and 
timeframes specified in the Strategy, includ-
ing— 
(i) a description of progress toward 
designing and implementing a coordinated 
and sustainable housing reconstruction 
strategy that addresses land ownership, se-
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cure land tenure, water and sanitation, 
and the unique concerns of vulnerable pop-
ulations such as women and children, as 
well as neighborhood and community revi-
talization, housing finance, and capacity 
building for the Government of Haiti to 
implement an effective housing policy; 
(ii) a description of efforts to con-
struct and sustain the proposed port, as 
well as an assessment of the current pro-
jected timeline and cost for completion; 
and 
(iii) a description of efforts to attract 
and leverage the investments of private 
sector partners to the CIP, including by 
addressing any policy impediments; 
(C) a description of the quantitative and 
qualitative indicators used to evaluate the 
progress toward meeting the goals and objec-
tives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in 
Strategy at the project level; 
(D) the amounts committed, obligated, and 
expended on programs and activities to imple-
ment the Strategy, by sector and by imple-
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menting partner at the principal and sub-
recipient levels, where practicable; and 
(E) a description of the risk mitigation 
measures put in place to limit the exposure of 
United States assistance provided under the 
Strategy to abuse and mismanagement; 
(4) a description of measures taken to strength-
en, and an assessment of, Haitian governmental and 
non-governmental organizational capacity to under-
take and sustain United States-supported recovery 
programs; 
(5) a description of United States efforts to 
consult and engage with Haitian Government min-
istries and local authorities on the establishment of 
goals and timeframes, and on the design and imple-
mentation of new programs under the Haiti Rebuild-
ing and Development Strategy; 
(6) a description of efforts to consult and en-
gage with Haitian civil society and grassroots orga-
nizations on the establishment of goals and time-
frames, and on the design and implementation of 
new programs under the Haiti Rebuilding and De-
velopment Strategy, as well as efforts to coordinate 
with and engage the Haitian diaspora; 
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