[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 414 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 414

Expressing the Sense of the Senate on the recovery, rehabilitation, and 
  rebuilding of Haiti following the humanitarian crisis caused by the 
                 January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 9 (legislative day, February 8), 2010

Mr. Kerry submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the Sense of the Senate on the recovery, rehabilitation, and 
  rebuilding of Haiti following the humanitarian crisis caused by the 
                 January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

Whereas on January 12, 2010, Haiti suffered an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the 
        Richter scale, the greatest natural disaster in Haiti's history, which--

    (1) devastated Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas;

    (2) killed more than 100,000 people;

    (3) injured hundreds of thousands more people; and

    (4) left many hundreds of thousands of people homeless;

Whereas Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere--

    (1) has an estimated 54 percent of its population living on less than 
$1 per day;

    (2) has approximately 120,000 people living with HIV;

    (3) had 29,333 new cases of Tuberculosis in 2007; and

    (4) has nearly 400,000 children living in orphanages;

Whereas despite these challenges, cautious signs of developmental progress and 
        stability were beginning to emerge in Haiti prior to the earthquake;
Whereas although initial recovery efforts must continue to assist the people of 
        Haiti struggling to secure basic necessities, including food, water, 
        health care, shelter, and electricity, Haiti cannot afford to only focus 
        on its immediate needs;
Whereas various United States and international assessments indicate that the 
        next priority for the Government of Haiti should be to repair the 
        country's basic infrastructure, including its schools, roads, hospitals, 
        telecommunications infrastructure, and government buildings;
Whereas Haiti's leaders have advocated that--

    (1) reconstruction should not follow the inefficient practices of the 
past; and

    (2) Haitians should be given the opportunity to accelerate and 
implement long planned reforms and new ways of doing business in every 
sector;

Whereas Haiti enjoys several advantages that can facilitate its rebuilding, 
        including--

    (1) people committed to education and hard work;

    (2) duty-free, quota-free access to United States markets;

    (3) a large pool of low-cost labor;

    (4) a large, hardworking North American diaspora sending money back to 
Haiti; and

    (5) regional neighbors who are peaceful, prosperous, and supportive of 
Haiti's success;

Whereas international experience from rebuilding other countries recovering from 
        natural disaster confirms that--

    (1) stability and security are essential preconditions to longer-term 
development; and

    (2) economic development and political reform should relieve poverty 
and foster governance and social justice;

Whereas employment is essential to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, 
        corruption, insecurity, and loss of faith in democracy;
Whereas the Haitian people, like all people, deserve the income and dignity that 
        gainful employment provides;
Whereas, in addition to providing emergency assistance and relief, the 
        Government of Haiti must grapple with the longer-term issue of how to 
        provide permanent, sustainable shelter to an estimated 1,000,000 
        Haitians displaced by the earthquake;
Whereas, the impact of natural disaster on Haiti is--

    (1) exacerbated by weak building codes and poor infrastructure; and

    (2) more fundamentally the result of an impoverished state unable to 
provide most of its people with minimal public services, including 
security, clean water, shelter, electricity, health care, and education;

Whereas assistance to Haiti should be delivered in a manner that enhances, not 
        diminishes, the ability of the state to provide services to its people;
Whereas the Haitian state should be rebuilt with communities in a central role 
        in the national recovery process led by the Government of Haiti, so that 
        foreign assistance upholds and empowers Haitian mayors, local councils, 
        and municipalities in areas outside of Port-au-Prince; and
Whereas international donors and nongovernmental organizations, which have a 
        responsibility to support the Government of Haiti in its rebuilding 
        efforts, should not supplant the ability of local institutions and the 
        government to manage resources and provide essential services: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) urges the United States Government and the 
        international community to provide resources, manpower, and 
        technical assistance to support the Government of Haiti's 
        leadership of international assistance efforts and to conduct a 
        comprehensive post-disaster needs assessment that will focus 
        on--
                    (A) social sector services, including access to, 
                and delivery of, basic services, including--
                            (i) health care delivery, including 
                        reinstating disrupted care and addressing new 
                        needs;
                            (ii) all levels of education, including 
                        ensuring access to lessons as quickly as 
                        possible;
                            (iii) social support for communities;
                            (iv) improving the welfare of children; and
                            (v) recognition of the importance of gender 
                        equality and the role of women as economic 
                        guardians;
                    (B) population resettlement, including services and 
                sustainable livelihoods to support new communities and 
                settlements;
                    (C) stable and democratic governance, ensuring that 
                the Government of Haiti will appropriately steward 
                state resources through a process embracing 
                transparency, civic participation, political 
                moderation, and institutional accountability;
                    (D) economic sustainability, emphasizing employment 
                generation, macroeconomic stability, and market economy 
                sustainability;
                    (E) security, ensuring legitimate state efforts to 
                prevent and respond to crime, especially violence, and 
                instilling public order and confidence in Haitian 
                security forces; and
                    (F) rule of law, developing a just legal framework 
                that--
                            (i) is accountable;
                            (ii) provides access to justice; and
                            (iii) ensures public order;
            (2) encourages the United States Government and the 
        international community to support the leadership of the 
        Government of Haiti and key nongovernmental and private sector 
        Haitian stakeholders to create a comprehensive national 
        strategy for recovery and development that will--
                    (A) be led by the Government of Haiti;
                    (B) address the findings from the needs assessment 
                conducted under paragraph (1);
                    (C) coordinate new resources flowing into Haiti;
                    (D) channel such resources in concrete and specific 
                ways towards key sectoral objectives identified by the 
                Government of Haiti and its people;
                    (E) take feasible steps to recognize and rectify 
                the social injustice of poverty, and decrease the 
                vulnerability of the poor, through job creation, the 
                provision of health care, the provision of safe shelter 
                and settlements, food security, and education;
                    (F) place communities at the center of the 
                rebuilding process, by employing local labor and 
                consulting local leaders and communities for their 
                experience and vision;
                    (G) encourage rebuilding and development of 
                programs that are environmentally sustainable and 
                respectful and restorative of Haiti's natural 
                resources;
                    (H) work with the Government of Haiti and the 
                international community to reduce the risk of future 
                disasters, including floods and hurricanes, through the 
                relief and recovery efforts focusing on the most 
                vulnerable communities; and
                    (I) address the difficult issues related to land 
                use, land tenure, the need for land for reconstruction, 
                and land price escalations;
            (3) applauds the international community's response to the 
        preliminary appeal for assistance made at Montreal, Canada, on 
        January 25, 2010;
            (4) affirms that--
                    (A) the international donors conference for Haiti, 
                which will be held in New York on March 22-23, 2010, is 
                an opportunity for Haiti to accelerate and implement 
                long-planned projects and priorities in key 
                infrastructural, economic, and social sectors outlined 
                in a comprehensive national strategy;
                    (B) large-scale international assistance provides 
                significant leverage to promote change and reform in 
                Haiti; and
                    (C) the international community should be prepared 
                to fully commit to the outcomes of the New York donors 
                conference, including full disbursement and subsequent 
                implementation;
            (5) encourages international financial institutions and 
        international organizations, including the United Nations and 
        the World Bank, to continue their engagement and leadership in 
        support of critical economic and security priorities, 
        including--
                    (A) economic and social assistance programs;
                    (B) strengthening Haitian national institutions;
                    (C) security sector reform;
                    (D) ensuring fair and legitimate elections; and
                    (E) supporting political and governance reform;
            (6) encourages the International Monetary Fund, the World 
        Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, which hold the 
        majority of Haiti's existing external debt obligations, to--
                    (A) work together to relieve Haiti of its external 
                debt obligations to the multilateral community and 
                bilateral lenders; and
                    (B) seek considerable new resources for Haiti 
                without adding to Haiti's existing debt obligations, 
                primarily through provision of grants; and
            (7) urges the United States Government to ensure unity of 
        effort by assigning a single person to--
                    (A) coordinate all aspects of United States 
                assistance to Haiti; and
                    (B) work with Congress to responsibly ensure 
                sufficient appropriations to facilitate the long-term 
                and sustainable recovery, rehabilitation, and 
                development of Haiti.
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