[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 76 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 76

    Mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused by a 
 landslide in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa Rica and expressing 
the sense of Congress that the United States should assist the affected 
                        people and communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2009

   Mr. Burton of Indiana (for himself, Mr. Engel, Mr. Mack, Ms. Ros-
 Lehtinen, Mr. Sires, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Payne, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, 
   Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Berman, and Mr. Crowley) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused by a 
 landslide in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa Rica and expressing 
the sense of Congress that the United States should assist the affected 
                        people and communities.

Whereas, on January 4, 2009, millions of tons of earth fell onto a road in the 
        Alta Verapaz area north of Guatemala City, Guatemala;
Whereas it is suspected that a geological fault triggered the movement of earth, 
        sending 10,000,000 tons of mud and rock down a hillside onto a road that 
        runs from San Cristobal Verapaz to Chicaman, north of Guatemala City;
Whereas at least 38 people have been confirmed dead and up to 60 may be missing, 
        many of whom are coffee workers in the region;
Whereas rescue organizations, volunteers, and agencies from throughout Guatemala 
        had been working at the site until danger of another landslide shut down 
        the operation;
Whereas on January 8, 2009, at 1:21, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook the 
        Capital region of San Jose, Costa Rica, including the areas of 
        Sarapiqui, Varablanca, and Poasito;
Whereas the earthquake's epicenter was 20 miles from San Jose at a depth of 21.7 
        miles and the shaking continued for 40 seconds;
Whereas 20 Costa Ricans have been confirmed dead, over 100 have been treated for 
        injuries, and up to 17 may be missing, including many buried by 
        resulting landslides;
Whereas 518 homes have been destroyed to the point where they are uninhabitable, 
        26 kilometers of road are unusable, and 61 communities have been 
        affected;
Whereas roads, businesses, government buildings, and the popular tourist sites 
        at the Poas Volcano and the La Paz waterfalls have been severely 
        damaged; and
Whereas Guatemala and Costa Rica have been frequently impacted by significant 
        natural disasters including those in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan in 
        Guatemala in 2005 that led to hundreds of deaths: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) mourns the terrible loss of life caused by the 
                landslide that occurred on January 4, 2009, in 
                Guatemala and the earthquake on January 8, 2009, in 
                Costa Rica;
                    (B) expresses its deepest condolences to the 
                families of the many victims; and
                    (C) applauds the prompt humanitarian responses to 
                these natural disasters by the Governments of Guatemala 
                and Costa Rica; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that it 
        should be the policy of the United States--
                    (A) in collaboration with the Government of 
                Guatemala, the Government of Costa Rica, humanitarian 
                organizations, and multilateral development banks in 
                the region, to immediately assist as appropriate the 
                Governments of Guatemala and Costa Rica in humanitarian 
                and reconstruction efforts from the January 4, 2009, 
                landslide and the January 8, 2009, earthquake;
                    (B) to continue technical assistance to Central 
                American governments in order to strengthen their 
                capacity at the national, provincial, and local levels 
                in the area of disaster management coordination and 
                preparedness, including implementing information and 
                communications systems to help with the response to 
                natural disasters; and
                    (C) to work closely with the governments of these 
                countries to improve disaster mitigation techniques and 
                compliance among all key sectors of their societies.
                                 <all>