I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1114 
To authorize the establishment of a Haitian American Enterprise Fund for 
Haiti, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 7, 2025 
Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK (for herself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. JACK-
SON of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 
and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the establishment of a Haitian American 
Enterprise Fund for Haiti, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘L’Ouverture Economic 
Development Plan for Haiti Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The General Secretariat of the Organization 
of the American States stated in 2022, ‘‘The inter-
national community, international financial institu-
tions, the multilateral system, and the international 
financial community of donor countries must make 
a decision: whether they want to industrialize Haiti 
sufficiently to ensure work for nine million Haitians, 
or whether it is economically more profitable to con-
tinue absorbing Haitian migrants and let host coun-
tries accommodate them as and how they can and in 
such economic conditions as they can offer.’’. 
(2) Rather than building upon the ongoing lu-
crative trade relations with a newly independent Re-
public of Haiti in 1804, the United States decided 
to impose a trade embargo on the nascent state in 
1806 because Haiti’s independence ended chattel 
slavery in its land and perceived it as a threat be-
cause it became the world’s first Black republic. 
(3) After its independence, Haiti was made to 
pay an indemnity to France, its former colonial 
power, beginning in 1825, for breaking away from 
slavery, which amounts to at least $21,000,000,000 
today, setting the stage for Haiti’s dire impoverish-
ment today. 
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(4) Haiti’s independence from France in 1804 
directly resulted in France selling the bulk of its 
possessions in mainland North America in what be-
came the Louisiana Purchase, fueling the westward 
expansion of the young United States to the Pacific 
Ocean in what is today States such as Arkansas, 
Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Kansas, Montana, Mis-
souri, and Nebraska. 
(5) Despite a tortured relationship, Haiti has 
long been a reliable partner of the United States. 
For example, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 
1941, Haiti was among the first nations to join the 
United States in World War II and contributed 
funds to the United States effort. 
(6) Haiti bears a strategic importance to the 
United States due to its location in the Western 
Hemisphere. 
(7) Haitian Americans continue to make impor-
tant contributions to the United States economy and 
have played a significant role in education, health 
care, literature, politics, art, and culture. 
(8) The Bureau of the Census estimates that 
the Haitian-American population is 1.2 million, 
which many believe may be severely undercounted, 
as persons of Haitian descent have been coming to 
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the United States since prior to the founding of the 
United States. 
(9) The Haitian American population plays a 
vital role in Haiti’s development efforts, leveraging 
their resources, expertise, and networks to support 
education, technology, sustainable development, re-
silience, and prosperity in the country and could do 
much more in partnership with the United States 
Government. 
(10) According to the World Bank, the Haitian 
diaspora sent over $4,000,000,000 in remittances to 
Haiti in 2023, equaling more than one-fifth of the 
country’s gross domestic product with these remit-
tances having a crucial role in Haiti’s economy, pro-
viding a steady source of income for families in 
Haiti, contributing to poverty reduction, amounting 
to more than the sum of yearly foreign assistance to 
the country. 
(11) Haiti has played a pivotal role in Afro-de-
scendants’ struggle for American values such as 
freedom in America, the Caribbean, and African 
countries, including the Haitian American leaders 
such as W.E.B. DuBois, cofounder of the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 
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who have contributed to the Civil Rights movement 
in the United States and across the world. 
(12) Assisting Haiti with a well-processed devel-
opment program leading to sustainable economic de-
velopment that keeps Haitians at home is in the 
vital interest of the United States. 
(13) The United States should assist Haiti in 
establishing sustainable inclusive development to 
meet the needs of all of its people, instead of being 
drawn to the lure of debt-trap driven development 
promoted by the People’s Republic of China. 
(14) According to the United Nations Con-
ference on Trade and Development, Haiti will need, 
at minimum, an estimate of $19,300,000,000 (in 
2020/2021 dollars) to meet key development metrics 
including to— 
(A) achieve 7 percent annual GDP growth; 
(B) eliminate extreme poverty; 
(C) double manufacturing growth; 
(D) improve health and well-being; 
(E) improve quality primary and secondary 
formal education leading to relevant and effec-
tive learning outcomes; and 
(F) protect environmental biodiversity. 
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