[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4573 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4573
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States
Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank,
the Inter-American Development Bank, and other multilateral development
institutions to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States
to cancel immediately and completely Haiti's debts to such
institutions, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 2, 2010
Ms. Waters (for herself, Mr. Payne, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Frank of
Massachusetts, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mrs.
Christensen, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Pingree of Maine,
Ms. Clarke, Mr. Honda, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Delahunt, Ms.
Corrine Brown of Florida, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Filner, Mr. McDermott, Ms.
Fudge, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr. Towns, Mr. Fattah, Mr.
Serrano, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Ms.
Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Edwards of Maryland, Mr. Kucinich, and Mr. Farr)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States
Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank,
the Inter-American Development Bank, and other multilateral development
institutions to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States
to cancel immediately and completely Haiti's debts to such
institutions, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery
in Haiti Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck
the country of Haiti.
(2) Casualty estimates, still being compiled, as well as
infrastructure damage, including to roads, ports, hospitals,
and residential dwellings, place this earthquake as the worst
cataclysm to hit Haiti in over two centuries.
(3) An estimated 3,000,000 people have been directly
affected by the disaster in Haiti, nearly one-third of the
country's population, who are currently at risk of long-term
displacement and vulnerability.
(4) The destruction of infrastructure, particularly to the
port, airport, roads, and telecommunications, continues to
hinder the immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance in
Haiti.
(5) Haiti is the poorest, least developed country in the
Western Hemisphere, and prior to the earthquake was ranked 149
out of 182 countries on the United Nations Human Development
Index.
(6) Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was still in the process
of recovering from a ruinous recent series of hurricanes and
tropical storms, food shortages and rising commodity prices,
and political instability, but was showing encouraging signs of
improvement.
(7) President Obama vowed the ``unwavering support'' of the
United States and pledged a ``swift, coordinated and aggressive
effort to save lives and support the recovery in Haiti''.
(8) The response to the tragedy from the global community
has been overwhelmingly positive.
(9) The initial emergency response of the men and women of
the United States Government, led by the United States Agency
for International Development and United States Southern
Command, has been swift and resolute.
(10) Individuals, businesses, and philanthropic
organizations across the United States and throughout the
international community have responded in support of Haiti and
its populace during this time of crisis.
(11) Throughout this terrible calamity, the Haitian people
continue to demonstrate unwavering resilience, dignity, and
courage.
(12) Once proper surveys and assessments are conducted, the
initial and crucial emergency relief response will likely move
to a comprehensive mission requiring sustained assistance from
the United States and the international community for
reconstruction and development efforts.
(13) The Government of Haiti cannot afford to invest in
reconstruction and development efforts, while continuing to
make payments on debts owed to multilateral financial
institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank and to
other international creditors.
(14) Prior to the earthquake, debt service payments to
multilateral financial institutions and other international
creditors already were a tremendous burden that interfered with
the ability of the Government of Haiti to meet the needs of its
people.
(15) On June 30, 2009, the World Bank announced that Haiti
qualified for and received $1.2 billion in debt relief from the
IMF, the World Bank, and other multilateral financial
institutions.
(16) In order to qualify for debt relief, the Government of
Haiti successfully developed and implemented a comprehensive
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, under the direction of the
IMF and the World Bank.
(17) According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury,
despite previous debt relief, Haiti still owes a total of $709
million in debts to multilateral financial institutions,
including $447 million to the Inter-American Development Bank,
$165 million to the IMF, $39 million to the World Bank, and $58
million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
(18) According to the IMF, Haiti owed Venezuela $167
million and Taiwan $92 million at the end of September, 2008;
furthermore, the amounts of these debts may have grown since
that time.
(19) The cancellation of Haiti's debts to multilateral
financial institutions and other international creditors will
allow the Government of Haiti to use its meager resources for
essential reconstruction and development efforts.
SEC. 3. CANCELLATION OF HAITI'S DEBTS TO INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS.
Title XVI of the International Financial Institutions Act (22
U.S.C. 262p et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``SEC. 1628. CANCELLATION OF HAITI'S DEBTS TO INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS.
``The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States
Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund, the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the
Inter-American Development Bank, and other multilateral development
institutions (as defined in section 1701(c)(3)) to use the voice, vote,
and influence of the United States to--
``(1) cancel immediately and completely all debts owed by
Haiti to such institutions;
``(2) suspend Haiti's debt service payments to such
institutions until such time as the debts are canceled
completely; and
``(3) provide additional assistance from such institutions
to Haiti in the form of grants so that Haiti does not
accumulate additional debts.''.
SEC. 4. CANCELLATION OF HAITI'S DEBTS TO OTHER CREDITORS.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall commence immediate efforts to
urge other bilateral, multilateral, and private creditors to cancel
immediately and completely all debts owed by Haiti to such creditors.
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