(1) On January 12, 2010, an earthquake meas-
uring 7.0 on the Richter magnitude scale struck the 
country of Haiti. 
(2) According to the United States Geological 
Survey (USGS)— 
(A) the earthquake epicenter was located 
approximately 15 miles southwest of Port-au- 
Prince, the capital of Haiti; and 
(B) the earthquake was followed by 59 
aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the 
most severe measuring 6.0. 
(3) According to the Government of Haiti, more 
than 316,000 people died as a result of the earth-
quake, including 103 citizens of the United States 
and more than 100 United Nations personnel. 
(4) According to the United Nations and the 
International Organization for Migration— 
(A) an estimated 3,000,000 people were di-
rectly affected by the disaster, nearly one-third 
of the country’s population; and 
(B) more than 2,100,000 people were dis-
placed from their homes to settlements. 
(5) Casualty numbers and infrastructure dam-
age, including to roads, ports, hospitals, and residen-
tial dwellings, place the earthquake as the worst 
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cataclysm to hit Haiti in over two centuries and, 
proportionally, one of the world’s worst natural dis-
asters in modern times. 
(6) The Post Disaster Needs Assessment 
(PDNA) conducted by the Government of Haiti, the 
United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-Amer-
ican Development Bank, and other experts estimates 
that 
damage 
and 
economic 
losses 
totaled 
$7,804,000,000, approximately 120 percent of Hai-
ti’s gross domestic product in 2009. 
(7) Haiti is the poorest, least developed country 
in the Western Hemisphere with, prior to the earth-
quake— 
(A) more than 70 percent of Haitians liv-
ing on less than $2 per day; and 
(B) a ranking of 149 out of 182 countries 
on the United Nations Human Development 
Index. 
(8) House Resolution 1021, which was passed 
on January 21, 2010, on a vote of 411 to 1 ex-
pressed— 
(A) the House of Representatives’ ‘‘deepest 
condolences and sympathy for the horrific loss 
of life’’ caused by the earthquake; and 
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(B) bipartisan support for Haiti’s recovery 
and reconstruction. 
(9) The initial emergency response of the men 
and women of the United States Government, led by 
the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment and United States Southern Command, was 
swift and resolute. 
(10) United States urban search and rescue 
(USAR) teams were immediately activated after the 
earthquake and deployed from Fairfax County, Vir-
ginia, Los Angeles County, California, Miami-Dade, 
Florida, the City of Miami, Florida, and Virginia 
Beach, Virginia, to assist the United States Agency 
for International Development (USAID) Disaster 
Assistance Response Team (DART), and New York 
City’s first responders asked the Office of U.S. For-
eign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) to activate a New 
York City urban search and rescue shortly there-
after. 
(11) A month after the earthquake, the House 
of Representatives unanimously passed House Reso-
lution 1059 which expressed gratitude to these 
USAR units, and highlighted that the 511 United 
States rescue workers comprised roughly one-third 
of the entire international USAR effort in Haiti, and 
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more than 130 people were rescued from under the 
rubble in Haiti by these units. 
(12) Individuals, businesses, and philanthropic 
organizations across the United States and through-
out the international community responded in sup-
port of Haiti and its populace during this crisis, 
sometimes in innovative ways such as fundraising 
through text messaging. 
(13) The Haitian diaspora in the United States, 
which was integral to emergency relief efforts— 
(A) has annually contributed significant 
monetary support to Haiti through remittances; 
and 
(B) continues to seek opportunities to 
partner with the United States Agency for 
International Development and other agencies 
to substantively contribute to the reconstruction 
of Haiti. 
(14) Significant challenges still remain in Haiti 
as it works to recover and rebuild. 
(15) According to the International Organiza-
tion for Migration, approximately 680,000 people re-
main in spontaneous and organized camps in Haiti. 
(16) According to numerous nongovernmental 
organizations and United States contractors, the 
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pace of reconstruction has lagged significantly be-
hind the original emergency relief phase. 
(17) The widespread irregularities that oc-
curred in the elections held in Haiti on November 
28, 2010, led to outbursts of violence which under-
mined the recovery efforts. 
(18) On October 21, 2010, an outbreak of chol-
era was detected in the Lower Artibonite region. 
(19) Initial efforts to contain the epidemic were 
disrupted by Hurricane Toma´s and resulting wide-
spread flooding, which led to the spreading and en-
trenchment of the disease throughout the country. 
(20) According to the Haitian Ministry of Pub-
lic Health and Population, as of March 28, 2011— 
(A) approximately 4,766 people have died 
from cholera; and 
(B) approximately 270,991 have been in-
fected from the disease. 
(21) According to the Pan American Health 
Organization and the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention, cholera could spread to as many as 
400,000 people within the first year of the epidemic, 
potentially causing 7,600 deaths at the current case 
fatality rate. 
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