Date: 2010-01-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Moving forward. we will focus on relief efforts for the children. providing more medical care and. yes. insisting on making sure that we rebuild this great city and this great nation. We can do this. We are standing by their side. We will not leave them alone. Madam Speaker. I rise in support of H. Res. 1021-"Expressing Condolences to and Solidarity with the People of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating Earthquake of January 12th. 2010." As you know. on Tuesday. January 12th. a massive. 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti near the capital of PortauPrince. There is still no official estimate of death or destruction but the damage to buildings is extensive and the number of injured or dead is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. Haiti sits on a large fault that has caused catastrophic quakes in the past. but this one was described as among the most powerful to hit the region within the last 200 years. With many poor residents living in tinroof shacks that sit precariously on steep ravines and with much of the construction in PortauPrince and elsewhere in the country of questionable quality. the expectation was that the quake caused major damage to buildings and significant loss of life. The dimensions of the disaster are still unfolding. but Haitis Prime Minister JeanMax Bellerive told CNN that he believes there are well over 100.000 dead. and leading senator Youri Latortue estimated the number at possibly as high as 500.000. according the Associated Press. America is responding. and will continue to respond with immediate humanitarian assistance to help the people of this struggling island nation rebuild their livelihoods. I send my condolences to the people and government of Haiti as they grieve once again in the aftermath of a natural disaster. As Haitis neighbor. I believe it is the United States responsibility to help Haiti recover. and build the capacity to mitigate against future disasters. America and her allies have already initiated a comprehensive. interagency response to the earthquake. The State Department. Department of Defense. Department of Homeland Security. Coast Guard. USAIDall worked overnight to ensure critical resources were positioned to support the response and recovery effort. including efforts to find and assist American citizens in Haiti. Within days of last weeks devastating earthquake. U.S. Southern Command deployed a team of 30 people to Haiti to support U.S. relief efforts in the aftermath of one of the largest natural disasters in the western hemisphere. The team included U.S. military engineers. operational planners. and a command and control group and communication specialists arriving on two C130 Hercules aircraft. Since. there has been a tremendous interagency response with support and partnering with U.S. Embassy personnel as well as Haitian. United Nations and international officials to assess the situation and facilitate followon U.S. military support. Our friends in the international community must also be commended for their efforts. The United Nations is releasing $10 million from its emergency funds. The European Commission has approved C3 million ($4.37 million) with more funds likely. Countless other nations from Germany. to China. to Israel to Mexico to have also pledged support. I commend each of these nations for coming to our neighboring nation in dire need of assistance. Many of my constituents have asked what they can do to help. or how they can find their loved ones. Those who are interested in helping immediately can text HAITI to 90999 and a donation of $10 will be made automatically to the Red Cross for relief efforts. The donation will be charged to your cell phone bill. The outpouring of support and funding from the American people was both instant and sustained. According to the Washington Post. the text messaging effort raised $5 million in its first day. breaking the previous oneday record of about $450.000. Textmessage donations continue to play a largerthanexpected role in the push for earthquake relief in Haiti. As of late Sunday. the American Red Cross said that it had collected pledges of about $103 million. including $22 million through the text donation program. Each donor should be proud of their contribution to help their brothers and sisters in Haiti. Financially. 2009 was not an easy year for many Americans. Although thousands of jobs were created and we are back on the road to economic recovery. Americans lived on tighter budgets than usual. This legislation passed today will allow those Americans who have generously donated money to Haiti to receive their tax break this year instead of next year. In January of 2005. Congress enacted this type of relief for individuals that made charitable contributions to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami that occurred in late December of 2004. That bill (H.R. 241 in the 109th Congress) passed the House of Representatives without objection and subsequently passed the Senate by unanimous consent. I hope that this legislation. like our response to the 2004 tsunami. will encourage Americans to contribute more money to Haiti. As Haiti starts on its long recovery. every dollar is critically important. Americans have responded in great numbers. and I am proud to represent such a compassionate and generous nation. Americans are not only giving their money. they are also giving their time and expertise as well. This weekend. I arranged for a team of seven doctors. six nurses. two techs. and two search and rescue volunteers to fly to Haiti and provide immediate humanitarian support. This team led by Dr. Richard Toussaint from Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas Texas arrived in Haiti just after noon on Saturday. From there. the doctors made their way to Hospital SacreCouer where. in roughly two days. they performed about 70 amputations. surgically treated about 150 patients. and saw about 600 patients total. I commend this team of medical personnel for their selfless actions and willingness to spend their own time and money to come to the aid of people they had never met. Additionally. I hosted a Houstonbased Haiti relief effort called "Texans helping Haitians" with city leadership and the Haitian community in the aftermath of this horrible disaster. Groups included in the effort to provide supplies and medical assistance to Haiti were: Texas Medical Center. Texas Dental Association. Search and Rescue Organizations. the Haitian Multicultural Association. Haitian Caribbean Organization of Texas. Caribbean Impact Foundation. and Haiti Counts. We also helped coordinate the safe return of six Houston Rotarians that were stranded in the mountains and we are now working with Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance on the transport of orphans to awaiting families here in the U.S. Throughout my time in Congress. I have been highly involved in strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and Haiti. I have worked to establish positive and productive partnerships with local development officials. nonprofit organizations. and the Haitian Diaspora to establish a strong web of support for the nation of Haiti. In collaboration with the Congressional Black Caucus. I have been a continual advocate of providing assistance to Haiti to strengthen their fragile democratic processes. continue to improve security. and promote economic development among other concerns such the protection of human rights. combating narcotics. arms. and human trafficking. addressing Haitian migration. and alleviating poverty. Last year. I introduced H.R. 264. the "Save Immigration Comprehensive Act of 2009." Among other things. this act authorizes adjustment of status for certain nationals or citizens of Haiti as well as amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to: (1) waive document fraud as a ground of inadmissibility. and (2) address determinations with respect to children. In the wake of last weeks earthquake. I am happy to see that the Obama Administration decided to extend temporary protection status to Haitians facing deportation. Once again. I am devastated by the immeasurable tragedy that occurred in Haiti. Along with my colleagues. I hope to visit Haiti in the near future to meet with their leaders and see what the United States can do to rebuild the shattered livelihoods.