[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 515 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 515

 Expressing the sense of the Congress to support an increase in funds 
  allocated to the Republic of Haiti and to expedite the delivery of 
emergency aid to the island nation because of the terrible destruction 
                    brought on by Hurricane Jeanne.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 8, 2004

 Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida (for herself, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Payne, Mr. 
 Conyers, Ms. Lee, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, and Ms. Waters) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress to support an increase in funds 
  allocated to the Republic of Haiti and to expedite the delivery of 
emergency aid to the island nation because of the terrible destruction 
                    brought on by Hurricane Jeanne.

Whereas Hurricane Jeanne has wreaked havoc upon the nation of the Republic of 
        Haiti, particularly the northern coastal areas;
Whereas the Government of Haiti has announced that there are at least 2,600 
        people who are badly injured, that 1,050 are missing, and that 300,000 
        are homeless;
Whereas in the city of Gonaives alone, there are 200,000 people who are 
        homeless;
Whereas news reports have quoted the Brazilian army commander in charge of the 
        United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti, General Augusto Heleno 
        Ribeiro Pereira, as complaining about the ``extremely slow pace of 
        relief reaching the residents, many of whom have spent days without 
        food'';
Whereas even Haitians not directly affected by the storm are being forced to go 
        hungry, do not have a sufficient water supply, and are suffering from 
        extreme medicine and medical-assistance shortages;
Whereas many people, including children, have been contracting gangrene, which 
        is being transmitted by attempts to cleanse injuries in contaminated 
        water;
Whereas amputations are being performed under horrendous conditions, often 
        without anesthetics, and physicians are performing amputations without 
        electricity or running water;
Whereas thousands of barefoot survivors are being treated for severe injuries 
        from gashes endured from collapsing roofs or from pieces of zinc roof 
        that remain hidden by the mud blanketing the city;
Whereas it is estimated that there are only 1,000 physicians in a country of 
        eight million people, most of whom are based in Port-au-Prince, the 
        capital, and women are being forced to give birth at makeshift 
        hospitals;
Whereas, even though minimal aid has arrived in Port-au-Prince, it is reportedly 
        taking nine hours to move supplies to Gonaives, mainly because of the 
        numerous impassible streets that are covered in mud;
Whereas aid trucks and food distribution centers have been looted by a 
        population that has gone for days without food, and the country director 
        of the Haiti Emergency Operation of the United Nations World Food 
        Program (``UNWFP''), Guy Gavreau, said in late September that aid groups 
        have been able to provide food to only about 25,000 people, which is 
        only 10 percent of the population of Gonaives;
Whereas the floods from the storm have destroyed nearly all of the rice and 
        fruit harvests in the Artibonite region, known as Haiti's breadbasket, 
        and because of this the nation is completely incapable of providing food 
        for its citizens without outside assistance;
Whereas hundreds of Haitians line up daily for food every day after spending 
        entire nights outside in the pouring rain;
Whereas, although UNWFP and CARE International distributed 120 tons of food in 
        late September, that amount of food is only sufficient to feed 48,000 
        families for just one day;
Whereas, even though aid has reached Port-au-Prince, transporting it to Gonaives 
        is a nine-hour drive, with the final leg of the route covered by mud-
        laden roads;
Whereas widespread looting has occurred, and hundreds of people are being 
        treated for gunshot wounds received in fights over scarce food, and most 
        residents who are homeless and without the means to barter are at the 
        mercy of criminal gangs roaming the country;
Whereas communication is extremely difficult, as landline telephone services 
        have been severed, cellular phones are barely working, and even 
        satellite phone connections are unintelligible;
Whereas Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, and 80 percent of 
        the population in the country lives below the threshold of absolute 
        poverty, malnutrition is prevalent, per capita income is a mere $425, 
        and average life expectancy is only 49.1 years; and
Whereas Haiti is our neighbor, our ally, and our friend, and is located just a 
        few hundred miles off the coast of the State of Florida: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) supports an increase in the allocation of funds to the 
        Republic of Haiti because of the terrible destruction brought 
        on by Hurricane Jeanne; and
            (2) for such reason, encourages the expedited delivery of 
        emergency aid to Haiti.
                                 <all>