Date: 2010-01-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Yes. thats one of them. There was a WhiteHouse.gov. and that is an excellent one to use if I find it. Then of course I would like to state the number for American family members who are trying to find their family in Haiti. and that number is (888) 407What I would like to conclude on is to give comfort to Haitians who are here and to ensure that they can reach out to the offices of their Members of Congress. Ill give my number. which is (202) 2253816. for constituents in my area. but it is important to note that all Members of Congress and the Congressional Black Caucus members will all be going home to their districts. meeting with the Haitian Americans in their constituencies. In particular. I will be meeting with Haitian American constituents. and I am calling for a weekend of prayer that will culminate on your days of worship. that you will offer up a weekend of prayer for the people of Haiti. for their families and. of course. for the Haitian Americans who are now here struggling to help their loved ones. It is also important for Haitian Americans and for others to note that the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security have put a hold on any deportations. Let me say this because that always raises hairs. but we in the Congressional Black Caucus have been in the forefront for acknowledging that. really. the deportations of Haitians have really fallen upon the backs of hardworking Haitians who came here. by and large. simply to work and to achieve opportunities. They came alongside of the Cubans. but did not have the same status. We have not found danger in the Haitian community. In fact. a story that appeared in the Houston Chronicle is of a Haitian American whom I helped. She was a schoolteacher with two children and a husband. and she is being switched off. I am glad that she is now in the midst. Chairwoman LEE. of the Haitian relief effort in Houston. So we have been advocating. and the Trans Africa Forum has advocated for TPS status. but I think its important to note that we have gotten the quickest response and that that response is that the deportations of Haitiansand I want to repeat it againare now on hold as ordered by the President of the United States and the Secretary of Homeland Security. I cant imagine any Member of Congress is going to rise to his feet to challenge that humanitarian act by this government. and I am very proud of them. I do want to take note of the fact as well that I am very pleased that Major Washington has been detailed to my office. and his firsthand knowledge has already been helpful. One of the things that. I think. we should emphasize in the immediate hours. tragically. is to secure units from the military which are able to set up temporary morgues. We hate to say that. but we understand that that is what we are going to face. and let me tell you why. In listening to the leadership in Haiti. Haitis Prime Minister JeanMax Bellerive told CNN that he believes there are well over 100.000 dead. We dont know that. but these are government officials who have said that number. and a leading Senator estimated the number as possibly as high as 500.000. Again. we dont have an affirmation of these numbers. but these are leaders who are on the ground. and I believe it is very important. Eight American employees working at the Embassy were injured. three were medevaced. We believe there are three U.S. citizens who have died. currently reported by the individual. I think I started out by saying the Houston Rotary Club. downtown Rotary Club has a delegation in Haiti as of yesterday. and we are working to ensure their return. Let me say thank you for the U.S. Embassy. The building. we understand. is intact. We thank those workers there. We encourage them as they are helping to be part of the solution. We are encouraging them as we work with them for those constituents of ours that are still there that we will be looking for. I hope that the long journey of recovery will be a bipartisan effort. I am thankful that the Congressional Black Caucus. meeting with their constituents as we go home. will be able to be the harvesters of information and bring back information that can be very helpful. The Congresswoman. Congresswoman LEE. mentioned a number. I want to cite the American Red Cross. who is also accepting public donations to support the Haitian response. to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. which is used to respond to disasters such as the Haitian earthquake. The American Red Cross made an initial contribution of $1 million from these funds for relief activities within hours of the earthquake. and they are prepared to send relief supplies for 5.000 families from their warehouse in Panama. The United Nations is releasing $10 million from its emergency fund. And as I close. let me just cite very quickly the Irish telecommunication company is helping. European Commission has approved 3 million euros. Spain has committed dollars in euros. Netherlands has committed 2 million euros. Germany committed 2 million euros. China will donate 1 million. Sweden. 6 million kronor. $850.000. Venezuela has sent doctors. firefighters. and rescue workers. Mexico will send doctors. search and rescue dogs. France is sending two planes. Britain has sent 64 firefighters. And. by the way. that is a component that we believe does not exist. firefighters. My plea to our brave firefighters across America. I believe we should facilitate your going. if you desire. And I certainly will look forward to reaching out to my firefighters in Houston for opportunities. Taiwan. Israel. and of course the United States State Department is in full force. which we hope they will be coordinating all this. Lastly. I know that Cuba will be sending doctors. They have been especially supportive in crises. and I am in advance thanking them for their medical team. Congresswoman LEE. Chairwoman LEE. I am touched by this devastation in ways that cannot be expressed. as all of us are. and the reason is because we work with Haitian Americans in our constituency. We have been to Haiti. We have watched it get on its feet. We have visited political prisoners in its jails. We have now been grateful for a new day in Haiti. And I also want to thank former President Bill Clinton. who has been appointed by the President some many months ago to help chart the recovery for Haiti. We have got a whole new task now. but we are up to the task. And what we will say is. my brothers and sisters. have faith. Never give up the faith. for in this time of need you will find that the human community will rally toward you and they will be your wind beneath your wings. They will be your Good Samaritan. They will be your brother. They will be your sister. And as a good songwriter often said and many of us like to sing. just lean on me. Just lean on me. and we will make a difference. Thank you. Madam Chair. for your leadership and that of the Congressional Black Caucus. Mr. Speaker. there are certain facts. I would like to discuss: