[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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