III 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 496 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
OCTOBER 5, 2004 
Received 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress with regard to providing 
humanitarian assistance to countries of the Caribbean 
devastated by Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and 
Jeanne. 
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;
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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-
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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 Baha-
mas, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other island na-
tions with reconstruction after the hurricane season 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-
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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: 
JEFF TRANDAHL, 
Clerk.