Date: 2012-12-12
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

H.R. 3509. I believe. will be an important step to gather all those who are of good intention. particularly the aid offered by the USAID. to be able to assess where we are and to be able to not only help. but feel the pain of those who have not been helped. I believe that it will be enormously important to look. again. at infrastructure. as it has impacted PortauPrince and the outer areas. which I think this legislation will be very helpful to. Again. it is bipartisan. We ask that this legislation be passed quickly in the Senate and. more importantly. that the President sign it to save lives. Finally. we wish for a democratic transition and democratic elections. As Haiti goes forward in its election. lets hope whatever government is put in place will be able to give that lifeline that this legislation is talking about to move Haiti forward in the 21st century. I ask my colleagues to support the legislation. and I thank Congresswoman BARBARA LEE for her leadership. Mr. Speaker. as an original cosponsor. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3509. the "Assessing Progress in Haiti Act of 2013." which requires the Secretary of State to submit to Congress regular. detailed reports on the status of postearthquake recovery and development efforts. I thank my Congressional Black Caucus colleague. Congresswoman BARBARA LEE of California. for her leadership on this legislation. I also thank Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman ROYCE (RCA). Ranking Member ELIOT ENGEL (DNY). and Congresswoman RoSLEHTINEN of Florida for their support and leadership in shepherding this important legislation to the floor. Mr. Speaker. nearly four years after Haitis devastating earthquake. there is still far too little transparency and accountability around U.S. relief and reconstruction aid efforts. There are close to 300.000 people still living in tent camps. many of whom are facing forced evictions. Cholera has killed over 8.400 Haitians and sickened over 689.400 since it was first introduced to Haiti in October of Hundreds of thousands of Haitians have little or no access to potable water or basic health services. and Haiti is facing an impending food crisis according to local and international organizations. and the government of Haiti. H.R. 3509 will greatly assist Congress in overseeing U.S. assistance in Haiti by providing lawmakers. the U.S. public. and Haitians with key details on the manner in which U.S. taxpayer money is being spent. According to the GAO. "Congress lacks information on the amounts of funds obligated and disbursed and programbyprogram progress of U.S. reconstruction activities [in Haiti]." Among other highlights. this legislation would: require a thorough assessment of the progress in meeting the original goals expressed in the January 2011 PostEarthquake U.S. Government Haiti Strategy. provide a description of efforts to combat corruption and ensure public accountability. and assess whether vulnerable populations have been taken into account in the design and implementation of new programs. Mr. Speaker. the people of Haiti continue to face tremendous challenges and still our help. That is why it is essential that we ensure that U.S. assistance to Haiti is delivered efficiently is more essential than ever. H.R. 3509 will help achieve this goal. I urge all Members to join me in voting for this legislation.