[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 30, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H3558-H3564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HELPING THE PEOPLE OF HAITI
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Burns). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is
recognized for 60 minutes.
General Leave
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the subject of my special order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, tonight is another opportunity to once again
highlight the on-going humanitarian crisis in Haiti and the urgent need
for action.
Many of us together have worked to send a message to this
administration that it is time to revisit the United States policy
toward Haiti. We have become increasingly aware of the humanitarian
crisis which is brewing in Haiti. Much of this crisis can be directly
pinned to the fact that the United States' eight financial institutions
which we are part of are blocking social sector resources from reaching
that small island nation. In fact, the United States representative to
the Interamerican Development Bank directed the bank's president to
block disbursal of four social sector loans to Haiti. These loans had
already been approved by the bank's board of directors and were
ratified by the Haitian parliament over 3 years ago.
Now, considering Haiti's current crisis, this action is inexcusable.
While our government levies our political weight with the international
financial institutions and the Organization of American States,
Haitians continue to suffer. Further, this delayed delivery of
international humanitarian aid to Haiti is fostering instability and
anarchy in their struggling democracy.
Haiti's miserable poverty is indisputable. We can no longer bury our
heads in the sand on this issue. Without strong leadership, the crisis
will continue to spiral out of control. Already, the national rate of
persons infected with HIV and AIDS in Haiti has risen to 300,000, or 4
percent of the entire population, leaving 163,000 children orphaned.
Haiti makes up 90 percent of all HIV-AIDS cases in the Caribbean. And
Haiti's health problems go well beyond HIV and AIDS. The infant
mortality rate has increased to 74 deaths out of every 1,000 babies
born, and now five mothers will die out of the same 1,000 babies born.
We must remember that many diseases know no boundaries, so it is in
our strategic interest to help Haiti heal itself. The doctor-to-patient
ratio has fallen to 1 to 11,000, leaving very little chance that sick
persons in the rural areas will ever get even the basic health care.
125 Haitians die daily of illnesses. While most of the western world
has eradicated diseases like polio, health officials report that many
Haitians do not have the resources to pay for life-saving vaccinations
for their children.
This is just morally unacceptable. Together, we must urge the
President to do the right thing in Haiti. Jared Johnson, the IDB branch
director for Haiti, said you cannot run a country through non-
governmental organizations. What does this mean? It means we cannot
continue to funnel money into USAID and then blame the government of
Haiti for lack of resources and poor social services.
Our government and the international financial institutions should
[[Page H3559]]
not continue to raise the political bar in order for Haiti to receive
basic humanitarian assistance. It is unacceptable to simply stand by
and watch a season of misery inflict pain, suffering and death on human
beings right here in our own neighborhood.
We must address this injustice. We must release the IDB funds to
Haiti and direct the international financial institutions to reengage
and reengage now. It is our moral imperative, and it is our commitment.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) a
member of the Committee on Armed Services, a Member of the Haitian Task
Force, and one who has led our efforts in terms of immigration issues
and other issues that he so passionately cares for.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairperson of the
Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Haiti for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I must say that I concur with the gentlewoman's
comments. I know that many of us in this Congress feel very strongly
about U.S. involvement as it relates to the way of life in Haiti. What
I can tell you is what this Bush administration has done is it has
created an atmosphere of conflict.
What I mean by that is the fact that we are saying we want Haitians
to stay in Haiti, but we are not creating an environment for Haitians
to be in Haiti with a democracy that is functional because it has the
resources to be able to work towards providing the kind of services
that Haitians need.
I will say this: Haiti is the poorest country in the Western
Hemisphere, and it is very disturbing to see this democracy in our
hemisphere, the poorest country, and we are standing in front of
dollars that were committed years ago to Haiti.
I would also say something else that is very disturbing, and that is
why I cannot understand the policy. If we want Haitians to stay in
Haiti, if we want to be able to have a strong government in Haiti, if
we want to be able to provide drinking water and humanitarian efforts
in Haiti, then we should not be standing in front of these dollars.
On the other hand, we should not have unfair immigration policies
when Haitians are trying to seek political asylum due to the fact that
Haiti is struggling right now, and we have conflict there, political
conflict in Haiti.
General Ashcroft, the U.S. Attorney General, put forth a decision
just this past week saying that when Haitians are migrating to the
United States, that they would be indefinitely detained. This goes
against decisions that have been made in the past. Immigration, the INS
in Miami, has said we should detain Haitians, even though an
immigration judge said they should be paroled while they are waiting
for their political asylum case to be heard. But we decide to detain
and incarcerate Haitians, thinking that that will stop a mass migration
to Florida or to the United States under the auspices of homeland
security.
I just want to share tonight with my colleagues that being on the
Committee on Homeland Security, being on the Committee on Armed
Services, I have not yet heard or seen an FBI report or a CIA report to
show any level of or any indication of terrorism in Haiti, or any
member of its government that condones terrorism in Haiti, or the
Haitian people in general.
I can say that it is quite confusing, since we have a situation in
South Florida that could very well, if we are going to live by that
policy and use that policy to detain Haitians unfairly, this may very
well set forth a policy as it relates to those that are trying to seek
political asylum from the island of Cuba. If the Cuban Readjustment Act
was brought onto this floor today I would vote for it, because it is
the right thing to do. A dictatorship is in Cuba, and I think it is
important that we should allow people who want to migrate towards
liberation to be able to have that chance.
But Castro sided with Saddam Hussein. Cuba is also a communist
country, and every day we have individuals that are migrating to South
Florida.
We should be very careful as a country when we start using homeland
security against individuals who cannot harm this government. I think
it is very important for not only the Attorney General's office to hear
this, but the Bush administration to hear this, that we cannot do
nothing on both ends. We must do something on one of the ends, and
provide aid now for Haiti, humanitarian efforts for Haiti.
I voted on a voice vote for the supplemental for Iraq. I feel that it
is our obligation to go in and do the things we are doing in Iraq right
now. But I think it is our obligation to do some of the same things in
Haiti. And the Haitian people have had to hold off.
Mr. Speaker, I would just say to the gentlewoman from California
(Chairman Lee), I just want to say representing the largest
concentration of Haitians in the United States, I think it is so very,
very important for this government to realize not only its humanitarian
effort, but its effort towards fairness and equality. I think it is
important that this administration stop standing in front of the
dollars that have already been committed. These are not new dollars,
the dollars that have already been committed to Haiti.
General Ashcroft's decision did more than stop those dollars that
should have been going to Haiti years ago. He has also put questions in
the minds of the humanitarian community that has been doing work there.
They may feel Haiti is a terrorist state, which is not true. It is
important that we fight against those forces.
So, I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) for
yielding me time tonight, but I just want to say that our efforts have
to continue. I want to commend the gentlewoman's efforts for being a
stalwart in standing up on behalf of not only what America stands for,
but being able to help those countries and individuals, those countries
that are democracies, those countries in need, and Haiti is in need.
So the message tonight is to release the dollars to Haiti or the
resources to Haiti that have already been committed, and, two, fairness
in immigration policies.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I would like to thank the
gentleman from Florida for his leadership and for participating tonight
in highlighting the very discriminatory policies and the very
inconsistent policies in terms of our immigration policies as they
relate to Haiti, and also for his leadership on each and every issue
that he is providing to this Congress during his first 2 years. I thank
the gentleman for participating with us.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to my good friend the gentleman
from North Carolina (Mr. Ballance). The gentleman serves as a member of
the Committee on Small Business and a member of the Committee on
Agriculture and has been involved in many, many issues since he has
been in Congress. He is a new Member who has hit the ground running.
{time} 2015
Mr. BALLANCE. Mr. Speaker, HIV and AIDS infections represent a
crippling medical crisis worldwide, and it is for that reason I want to
sort of focus my remarks on that particular subject in the context of
the subject we are discussing this evening. This problem is so
pervasive around the world, but as we focus the microscope on the tiny
Nation of Haiti, it is indeed an epidemic. I regret very much that
America has not done its share to address this issue. In fact, for so
long, most of us have been missing in action.
But there is a soldier who has been standing and fighting this battle
for so many years. She is the chair of the CBC Brain Trust on Global
AIDS and HIV, and that is the distinguished gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Lee). I say to the gentlewoman, I do not wear a hat this time of
year, but I take my hat off to you for standing so tall.
A lot of people, as we look back on this issue, were afraid to even
speak out, were afraid to get involved. As I look back on my own career
and on my own life and the life of my fore parents, I recall that it is
a long journey from Africa to America. It is a long journey from
slavery to freedom. But history tells me that my ancestors got on a
boat involuntarily somewhere on the West Coast of Africa. We have been
so journeying in America now for more than 400 years. Is it not amazing
that we, as ancestors of those who were taken, now find ourselves in a
position to provide some help and, hopefully, to provide some financial
assistance and,
[[Page H3560]]
hopefully, to lead our government to say that, in fact, we are
compassionate beyond words, but we are compassionate in deeds. That is
what it is going to take to address this issue.
So I have come today to add my voice to those who are crying aloud
for attention and help on the subject of HIV and AIDS in this small,
tiny Nation of about 8 million people in Africa.
We all have an obligation to make a contribution. Even though we may
be healed of whatever ailment may have afflicted us, I believe we have
the obligation to turn back and say ``thank you.''
We all remember the story from Luke, chapter 17 when the 10 lepers
were passing by and Jesus was on the scene. And they asked for some
help. And when they were healed, they went on their way, but one, and
only one, turned back to say thank you. Jesus asked the question, what
happened to the other nine?
As Members of this great body, in these historic halls of the United
States, I am sure sometimes my colleague asks the question, where are
the other 434? Well, there are a few of us here today to stand with the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) to say, keep on fighting. To say
that help is on the way, we believe, and we thank all who have joined
in this recent struggle, including our President. I hope he is genuine
in his assessment that he is going to try to make funds available. I
hope we can convince some other nations who are concerned about our
grain because of this very issue and the generic factor in our grain; a
lot of times we can help others by helping ourselves. We can reach out
to help this Nation and other nations. We can also help our farmers who
have excess grain.
America is a great Nation. I am proud to be an American. But when we
stand up to help others, our true greatness comes out. I believe on
this issue, history will judge us harshly if we do not respond to this
critical issue, not only in this country, but in particular, in a poor
country where the income is so low, maybe $60 a year, that they have
not the resources to address this problem. We must add our voice. We
must turn back and say ``thank you'' by our actions and by our deeds.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman for his
very kind and generous and very humbling remarks, and also for his real
leadership, and his real and honest commitment to those in need,
whether here or abroad. I thank the gentleman for his comments.
Let me now yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) whose
leadership on the Committee on International Relations and on the
Committee on Financial Services is making quite a difference in terms
of the reordering of our domestic and our foreign policies.
Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I want to thank my
colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, the Chair, the gentleman
from Maryland, (Mr. Cummings), for organizing today's Special Order on
Haiti. I want to salute the members of the Haitian Task Force and my
good friend and colleague who is from California and shares the
Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Financial
Services with me, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), for her
outstanding leadership and tireless commitment to the people of the
Nation of Haiti and in combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic wherever it
raises its ugly head. The Nation indeed owes the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Lee) a debt of gratitude.
There is a saying that all politics are local. And for me, Haiti is a
local political issue. I am proud to represent the constituents of the
sixth congressional district of New York which has one of the largest
Haitian American communities in America.
But that is not the only reason why the Haitian people are important
to me and why the Nation of Haiti is important to America. Haiti is
important to me because America cannot and should not continue to have
a foreign policy towards Haiti, which is one of the poorest nations, if
not the poorest nation, in our hemisphere, a foreign policy which, in
many ways, fails to support the rights of the Haitian people for
democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity. This administration
cannot talk with credibility and moral clarity about willingness to use
our political, economic, military, and diplomatic foreign policy
instruments in the name of spreading America's universal values
globally. Yet, we only apply it selectively when it is in our national
interests.
Mr. Speaker, the people of Haiti are a proud people, a people who
have a long history of being at the forefront of struggles against
slavery and for independence against European colonialism in this
hemisphere; a history which connects the people of Haiti with African
Americans. In 1791, Haitian slaves initiated a successful slave revolt
against France. The Haitian slaves ousted Napoleon and by 1804, the
island became the first black independent nation. At first, our Nation
did not recognize Haiti as an independent Nation out of fear that Haiti
could serve as an example to others to fight against any country which
practiced slavery. It was not until 1862 that the United States finally
granted Haiti diplomatic recognition and sent noted abolitionist
Frederick Douglass as America's Consular Minister to Haiti.
But as we know today, for many developing nations, political
independence from their former colonial masters did not automatically
translate into stable democracies, economic independence, and
sustainable development. Haiti, like many post-colonial developing
nations, has struggled with internal civil wars and political
instability. The people of Haiti have been dripped in decades of
structural violence, dictatorship, human degradation, and economic
poverty the likes of which are an affront to humanity.
While the reasons for such sufferings are complex, the fact that it
exists in today's world of wealth and technology right here in our
hemisphere is something that we cannot ignore. We cannot ignore that
our immigration policy treats Haitians differently from other
immigrants seeking to escape political violence. We cannot ignore that
our foreign policy regarding Haiti has become tied to partisan
politics. We cannot ignore that Haiti faces an HIV/AIDS epidemic and
this administration has played a role in hindering international
economic assistance to Haiti because we cannot come up with a policy
approach that balances the needs of the Haitian people with our
requirement that assistance be used properly.
So, Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to say that if America can muster
the political will and mobilize billions of dollars in resources to
wage a war thousands of miles away from our shores, what about Haiti?
When will America mobilize the same kind of resources and political
will to wage a war against poverty, against disease, against human
suffering right here in our hemisphere? If such rights and values are
truly universal, Haitians deserve nothing less. We can do more to
support the people of Haiti so that they can reclaim their human
dignity. We can and we must.
Again, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), my friend,
for her tireless effort, commitment, and hard work.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks)
for his very eloquent statement and his kind remarks, and also for
reminding us of the history in terms of the connection to our own
country and the fact that we do have many Haitian Americans here in our
own country who are concerned about their country and have such
representatives as the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) who so ably
represents a diverse population of people.
{time} 2030
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentlewoman from Southern
California (Ms. Watson), who has a wealth of experience as an
ambassador, as a Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services
Committee in the State of California, and one whose wisdom and counsel
we all look to on so many issues.
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California. We
are also very proud of the gentlewoman and her leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I see next to her the gentlewoman from the Virgin
Islands (Mrs. Christensen), who was part of our entourage that went to
Haiti, and had been there before. She helped to point out the problems
and to analyze them while we were there.
[[Page H3561]]
I want to give another thanks, too, to the gentleman from California
(Mr. Rohrabacher). I was sitting in my office listening to his
presentation. He talked about American democracy and that we were not
really ready yet, because we had to realize that we had some problems
in this country. We had enslaved a large group of people who make up a
tremendous part of our population today.
He also said that we are going to have to correct that which is
broken. This is what we come together to talk about, a nation that is
broken in our own hemisphere.
Mr. Speaker, I am appalled by the unsubstantiated allegations made by
the United States Attorney General, John Ashcroft, with respect to
Haiti. He claimed that the Pakistanis, the Palestinians, and others are
using Haiti as a staging point for trying to get into the United
States. What a ridiculous statement.
I would ask him, has he been there, Mr. Attorney General? If not, he
needs to go. He needs to scour every single part of that island nation.
After what he is going to see he will be declaring another war, and
that is on poverty, on starvation, on the fact that the people there
have nothing; and we are allowing that to continue in this hemisphere.
Even the State Department's consular officers and officials are
puzzled by his remarks. Jorge Martinez, a spokesman for Ashcroft's
office, could not immediately say where the Attorney General got the
information. Martinez then directed inquiries to the Department of
Homeland Security, and a Homeland Security spokeswoman redirected
questions right back to Martinez.
Mr. Speaker, according to the State Department, Haiti is not on the
United States' terrorist watch list. Why is, then, the Justice
Department and the State Department, our Department of Homeland
Security, amending this list?
Haiti, a nation of 8.3 million people, is one of the most
impoverished nations in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth poorest
country in the world. The unemployment rate is estimated to be around
60 percent, the literacy rate is approximately 45 percent, and 90
percent of all HIV and AIDS infections in the Caribbean are in Haiti.
The current U.S. policy towards Haiti is one that discourages travel
between the two countries. There is a de facto embargo on loans and
grants from the multilateral development banks. Assistance from the
United States Government has been put on hold in order to leverage
change in the present political structure of the Haitian Government.
I say to the Attorney General, he needs to go and talk to the
President. He needs to understand why he sent his fiscal people over
here to Washington, D.C. to explain how they have developed their
budget. He needs to understand why he is working on getting a police
force put together, and why he has not formulated a court.
Remember, the past regimes were corrupt and there are many corrupt
people still lurking around, so he has to be careful who he gives power
to. That, indeed, takes time.
In effect, our current policy towards Haiti in the name of humanity
promotes poverty and inhumanity. For example, on July 21, 1998, the
Haitian Government and the IDB signed a $22.5 million loan for phase 1
of a project to decentralize and reorganize the Haitian health care
system. The funds would be used to construct low-cost community health
centers, train community health agents, and purchase medical equipment
and essential medicines. The ultimate objective of phase 1 was to
reduce the high infant mortality rate, reduce the high juvenile death
rate, and reduce birth rates.
This health loan, as well as close to $150 million in humanitarian
loans, has been blocked by the United States-led embargo against Haiti.
This in itself is an inhumane policy.
It is time to stop this war on Haiti. External aid is essential to
the future economic development of this nation. Comparative social and
economic indicators show Haiti falling behind other low-income
developing countries since the 1980s. Mr. Speaker, we cannot let our
neighbor continue in this downward spiral.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for her
comprehensive statement, for her clarity on our government's policy as
it relates to Haiti, and for bringing forth the facts of some very
recent revelations with regard to the Attorney General which hopefully
we will get some answers to.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentleman from Baltimore,
Maryland (Mr. Cummings), the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
who has demonstrated for many, many years prior to coming to Congress,
and now here in the United States Congress, his leadership on a myriad
of issues.
I thank the gentleman for pulling this Special Order together and for
ensuring that the Congressional Black Caucus is central to all of the
policy debates that we engage in here in the United States House.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to
me. I also thank her for consistently standing up.
I thank the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of 39 men and women,
as I have often said, who are ordinary people called to an
extraordinary mission. In the process of doing the extraordinary, they
have become extraordinary and have made it clear, Mr. Speaker, to God
that the lives they live are not their own.
Consistent with that, we come here tonight to speak on behalf of
Haiti. I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) for her
leadership in initiating and organizing the Congressional Black
Caucus's Special Order tonight urging the international community to
let Haiti live.
Mr. Speaker, for several years now the Members of the Congressional
Black Caucus have come to the floor of this great House to speak out on
behalf of the 8.3 million people of Haiti, to draw attention to the
unnecessary and horrible circumstances that they are forced to endure
every day.
Mr. Speaker, the people of Haiti are suffering and dying. They are
suffering and dying because of the seemingly sheer indifference to
their plight. In just the last week, the United Nations reported that
only 46 percent of Haiti's population has access to clean drinking
water, and 56 percent of the Haitian population suffers from
malnutrition in 2003. Fifty-six percent of 8.3 million people is
4,648,000 human beings, nearly as many people as the populations of
Idaho, Mississippi, and the District of Columbia combined.
Mr. Speaker, denying the most basic human needs, such as food and
water, is almost the equivalent of a death sentence by a judge or a
jury. Unfortunately, for several years now the United States Government
has made this situation worse. Our government, Mr. Speaker, has
unfairly and unnecessarily linked humanitarian assistance to Haiti with
trying to change and to pressure the current government in Haiti to
make concessions to the opposition party as it relates to domestic
politics.
How can we allow over 4 million people in that country to live in
utter poverty while we play politics? Is not the argument about the
suffering of the people the same argument that many of my colleagues on
the other side of the aisle made as it relates to Iraq? It is
imperative that we release the humanitarian assistance for the people
of Haiti so they may simply just live another day.
Mr. Speaker, last week the United Nations also made a plea that I
will second tonight and I know all the Members of the Congressional
Black Caucus would second, too. The plea is that the international
community immediately make funds available to help stem this
humanitarian crisis in Haiti. Mr. Speaker, the United States of America
is the richest country in the world and must answer that plea. We must
help our neighbor, and we must help our neighbor now.
How will future generations judge our country when the history of our
relationship with Haiti is written? We know the suffering. Members have
heard a little bit about it already tonight. Think about the children,
both here in America and in Haiti. What are we telling them by our
actions?
The life expectancy in Haiti is 49 years. The unemployment rate is 60
percent. The infant mortality rate is 74 deaths for every 1,000 live
births. Ninety percent of the HIV/AIDS infections in the Caribbean are
in Haiti. There are
[[Page H3562]]
over 200,000 children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. I could go on and on and
on.
The fact is, Mr. Speaker, we have to do better. We must release those
humanitarian assistance loans, and we must begin a new relationship
with the country and the people of Haiti. The Congressional Black
Caucus will not rest until we do. We will continue to advocate for
justice at home and abroad.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland once again
for his leadership, but also for laying out the facts in terms of why
we are here tonight. I thank the gentleman for putting his all into
making sure that we understand that this is an emergency, that we
should do the right thing, and that our policies are really resulting
in the dire humanitarian crisis that we are seeing in Haiti.
I thank the gentleman again for his leadership. I appreciate his
being here this evening.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, if the gentlewoman would yield for one
second further, we see the President talk about the urgent situation in
Iraq and how he wanted to do all that he did. As the gentlewoman
probably well knows, we just allocated some $80 billion.
Here we have a small country simply trying to survive, having
drinking water and sanitation. It makes us wonder sometimes. As one
author said, it makes me want to holler and throw up both my hands.
Ms. LEE. I would say that $146 million is a mere drop in the bucket
and would save many, many lives. It would get the country of Haiti back
on track in terms of its development.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentlewoman from the Virgin
Islands (Mrs. Christensen), a leader on many, many issues; a woman who
is a physician who chairs our Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain
Trust, and who is leading the charge for universal health care.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding
to me. It is a pleasure to be here with her.
I just had to come over and join the gentlewoman on the floor here
tonight because the problems of Haiti and the obstacles that we have
been facing together that the gentlewoman has led us through so
steadfastly continue to plague that country and cause suffering to the
millions of people who live there. So it is important for us as a
caucus to stand here with the gentlewoman tonight and once again to
call on our colleagues and the President of these United States to let
Haiti live.
{time} 2045
Last week I traveled to the eastern end of Hispaniola and there on
that side, and it is so different, even when you just fly over the
island. It turns from gray to green. There I found a struggling but
overcoming people, where jobs were being created, standard of living
was being raised, children were being educated, the health care system
was ever improving.
It was my second time in the Dominican Republic but I have been to
Haiti many times, and it troubles me deeply that this situation is so
startling different compared to that of the neighbor on this same
island in the Caribbean of which I am a part. And why should this be?
Because the people of Haiti have accepted democracy that we helped to
bring to their nation, and they have accepted its promise. Though
imperfect, that democracy is new, and building democracies take time.
As I am sure this country will find out in Iraq, but perhaps we will
be a bit more patient there than with the people of Haiti because we
certainly have not been patient or supporting of their efforts to make
democracy work. The reason for the difference is clearly that our
country, the United States of America, has stood in the way of allowing
the people of Haiti to grow, to thrive and to actually allow the
democracy that we so are so honored to thrive in this country of poor
but proud, hard-working and spirited people of African decent.
We are here tonight again to say let Haiti live, first, by releasing
the loans that are needed to build their sanitation, transportation,
health and educational infrastructure, and also by fully supporting the
OAS mission there, whose responsibility it is to ensure the changes
that we claim to seek in their judiciary and their police system and in
their electoral process.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say thank you to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Lee) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) who
have both led this fight for their faithfulness and steadfastness and
the support of Haiti and their work on its behalf. We have under their
leadership talked to people at Treasury. We have talked to leaders at
USAID. We have talked to folks at the OAS. We have talked to the
international lending institutions. I think we have done what we can. I
guess we could do more. But we have done the things that have been open
to us to do. There is no excuse for what this country is doing by
holding back these so badly needed funds. As the gentlewoman said, 140
something million dollars is nothing to this country, but it means
everything to the people of Haiti.
What Haiti is asking for is what has been done for every other
country in this region that has been similarly situated. There is no
reason for it to be treated different. Mr. President, our brothers and
sisters are suffering, many are dying. And we are asking you once again
to let that money go, to let our brothers and sisters go and to let
Haiti live.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from the
Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) for her very passionate and very
clear statement, and also for making sure that on all of our HIV/AIDS
initiatives, that the Caribbean is part of that effort. And it is
because of the gentlewoman that now we hear the President and others
talk about sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and other parts of the
world as being in need in terms of our resources and our assistance. So
I thank her again. And, yes, we have done something, just our small
efforts. We are going to move forward. Hopefully we can do more. And I
believe tonight with her help and with all of those here, with the CBC
and other Members of Congress, sooner or later the administration is
going to wake up and realize that this is a political fight that they
really do not need to have.
Haitian-Americans care about this. All Americans care about this and
we have got to get those loans released.
Now, I would like to yield to the gentleman from Detroit, our dean
and the chair of the Haitian task force, one who has provided
leadership on so many issues and who has beat the drum for so many
years on Haiti and our very cruel policy towards that country, the
gentleman from Detroit, Michigan (Mr. Conyers).
(Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to report a new bill that has
been introduced by 16 Members of the House and the Senate to create
employment in the Haitian textile industry by giving that country the
opportunity to become a garment production center. It amends the Trade
and Development Act of 2000 by granting duty free status to Haitian
apparel articles that are assembled or knit to shape from countries
with whom the United States has a free trade agreement or a regional
agreement. And it departs from current law, which only allows duty free
status to Haitian apparel articles if the articles are made from U.S.
fabrics or yarn.
It would be a win/win proposition for our American workers because it
would encourage the immigration of jobs from other parts of the world
back to our hemisphere. I would like Members to know that this measure
has been referred to our House Committee on Ways and Means. And at this
point, Members should know that in addition to the junior Senator from
Ohio, Mr. DeWine, the senior Senator from Florida, Mr. Graham, we have
in the House the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman), myself, the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Jim Davis), the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Goss), the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Meek), the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms.
Norton), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), the gentlewoman from
the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Crane), the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley), the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Hastings), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-
[[Page H3563]]
McDonald), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens) and the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Watson).
This is a positive piece of legislation. We will be conferring with
the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means for its hearings
promptly and hope that we can move it forward. It is sponsored in both
bodies of the legislature and we feel very confident that this measure
will be an important beginning economic legislative initiative of which
there will be more to come.
Tonight, I also rise with the rest of the Congressional Black Caucus
to encourage my colleagues in Congress to support the Haitian people as
they struggle to rebuild their nation. Not only does Haiti play an
important role in the world community, but it is also strategically
significant to the United States; particularly because it is located
only 410 miles from the nearest U.S. shores. Further, historically the
Haitian people's fight for freedom has been an inspiration to oppressed
people throughout the globe. In 1804, the people of Haiti triumphed
over colonial powers by gaining their independence and establishing the
first black nation in the Western Hemisphere.
Nearly two hundred years later, the people of Haiti are engaged in a
battle to preserve their way of life and their nation. Haiti is one of
the most impoverished nations in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth
poorest country in the world, where life expectancy is only 49 years.
The unemployment rate is approximately 60%, only 45% of the population
is literate, and half of the population earns $60 or less per year. In
addition, the country of Haiti has been devastated by the AIDS
epidemic. 90% of all HIV and AIDS infections in the Caribbean are in
Haiti, and due to the spread of the disease, 163,000 children have been
left orphaned. Furthermore, the infant mortality rate is alarming, with
75 deaths per 1,000 births. Given the statistics I have mentioned, it
is not surprising that tuberculosis remains a major cause of adult
mortality and there is only one doctor for every 10,000 people in
Haiti.
Although Haiti is located in our backyard, we continue to endorse a
policy that prevents the return of economic stability and democracy of
Haiti. Instead of supporting the flow of aid to Haiti in order to
resolve the political impasse, the U.S. has adopted a policy of
embargos to punish the Haitian government and people. The U.S.
government has the power to veto the disbursement of loans to Haiti
from financial institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, and Inter-
American Development Bank. To the detriment of the people of Haiti, the
U.S. government, specifically the Departments of Treasury and State,
has exercised this authority. For example, the Inter-American
Development Bank has not released $146 million in aid to Haiti, which
was initially approved by the IDB Board of Directors. It is more
distressing that in the interim, Haiti has been forced to pay arrears
payments to maintain its status with the IDB.
The Congressional Black Caucus as well as many Members of Congress
are concerned about the humanitarian crisis and political situation in
Haiti. Particularly, the caucus has worked to assist the people of
Haiti by introducing legislation such as the Haitian Economic Recovery
Opportunity Act, the Haiti Aid in Transition Initiative, and the Access
to Capitol for Haiti bill. We also met with officials from the World
Bank, IMF, IDB, and the Departments of State and Treasury to advocate
that these institutions release badly needed funds. Further, we have
supported economic initiatives, such as the Harding Enterprises
proposal for a Hilton Hotel in Haiti, and worked to modify the
Millennium Account, so that more African and poor countries like Haiti
can access it. Lastly, the caucus has hosted a variety of forums,
briefings, and braintrusts on Haiti, and is working on other proposals
to assist the people of Haiti.
The Congressional Black Caucus is committed to aiding the people of
Haiti in their struggle for democracy, the rule of law, and economic
stability. I ask that this Congress support realistic policies that
will help the people of Haiti, instead of destabilizing their nation.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for his
statement and for providing this information with regard to another
piece of legislation that we know will let Haiti live, and, hopefully,
we will be able to build co-sponsorship and support for your
legislation so we can have a hearing and move the bill to the floor and
to the Senate and then to the White House.
Let me, in closing, just reiterate some of the facts we heard tonight
and why members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other Members of
Congress want to see Haiti live and want to see Haiti move forward into
the 21st Century as a new democracy who we can support in a way that we
know we should.
First of all, Haiti is the most impoverished nation in the Western
Hemisphere. Haiti accounts for 90 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in the
Caribbean. HIV and AIDS infections have approached epidemic
proportions. Over 300,000 infected people have been identified and
deaths from HIV and AIDS have left 200,000 children orphaned. It is
estimated that over 12,000 people in Haiti are living with HIV/AIDS.
Between 150,000 to 350,000 children are AIDS orphans.
Haiti's infant mortality rate is staggering. It is 93 deaths per
1,000 live births. For every doctor in Haiti, there are 10,000 people.
Tuberculosis remains a major cause of adult mortality. Cases of TB in
Haiti are more than 10 times as high as those in other Latin American
countries. Only 40 percent of Haitians have access to clean water,
drinking water. The life expectancy rate which we heard earlier, I
believe from the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), is 49 years of
age. More than 75 percent of the population lives in abject poverty.
The unemployment rate is approximately 60 percent. The literacy rate is
approximately 45 percent. And half of the population of Haiti earns $60
or less, that is $60 or less per year, not per day but per year. The
total expenditure on health per person is about $54 compared to about
$4,400 in the United States and $483 in Mexico.
So with those kind of statistics, there is no way that our country
can morally do what it is doing in terms of blocking the release of the
$146 million. There is no way with these kinds of numbers and this kind
of data, this kind of human misery and tragedy right next to us, that
our efforts should be about blocking the release of loans that had been
negotiated 3 years ago. That is outrageous. I do not even understand
how we can believe that could even be half way right to do.
I think I have a couple more minutes, Mr. Speaker, I would like to
yield to my colleague from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) who has an
additional statement he would like to make in the short time we have
left.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to again thank the
gentlewoman and thank the caucus. It has been said over and over again
that the Congressional Black Caucus is the conscience of the Congress.
But I have often said that we are the conscience of the country and of
the world. And what we are doing tonight is pleading with the President
and those who control the purse strings of this country to reach out
and lift up a small country that is merely trying to survive.
I have often said that the most powerful thing that we can do is help
children become all that God meant for them to be. And we heard
speeches from this floor over and over again coming from the Bible
about what we should be doing for our brothers and our sisters
throughout the world. And this is just a small part of our efforts to
say to the world, we will not allow, we will not stand by and allow
people, our neighbors, in fact, to simply perish and live in the way
that they are living. And I do appreciate the gentlewoman's leadership
on this issue, consistently standing up, and again I am very
appreciative of the Congressional Black Caucus for standing up.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, we are turning the heat up on this. We have
been nice and we have played many, many roles in trying to let Haiti
live. And we are going to become even more aggressive on this because I
think after what we have heard tonight, I think the people in our
country are going to begin to question our policies and why we are
holding up $146 million. What that means in light of the fact that we
are, yes, we should be doing this, building a universal health care
system in Iraq and providing quality public education for people in
Iraq. And yet, here in a country right next door and in our own country
we cannot find the resources to help people of African decent. And that
is a very important point, I think, that I want to leave tonight with
in this body.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman [Representative
Barbara Lee] for the time, and I applaud her efforts to draw attention
to the needs of the Haitian people.
Haiti is the fourth poorest country in the world. Half of the
population of the country earns no more than $60 per year. Haiti has an
[[Page H3564]]
unemployment rate of about 60% and an illiteracy rate of only 45%. Only
40% of all Haitians have access to potable water. Tuberculosis cases in
Haiti are ten times as high as those in other Latin American countries,
and 90% of all HIV infections in the Caribbean are in Haiti.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is denying Haiti any access
to loans for development assistance. Haiti has already had $145.9
million in development loans approved by the IDB. These loans include
$50 million for rural road development, $22.5 million for
reorganization of the health sector, $54 million for potable water and
sanitation and $19.4 million for basic education programs. Haiti could
also qualify for an additional $317 million in new loans for
development projects, as well as a $50 million investment sector loan.
However, the IDB is refusing to consider Haiti for any additional loans
and has not even disbursed the loans that have been approved.
The IDB is effectively denying Haiti access to critical development
assistance. Furthermore, Haiti is deeply in debt and has also been
denied the opportunity to receive any debt relief for its existing
debts.
The reasons provided by the IDB and the U.S. government concerning
the suspension of lending and assistance to Haiti shift from day to
day. None of the purported explanations provide any justification for
withholding this vitally needed aid. While the IDB and the
Administration dither, the people of Haiti suffer and continue to live
in poverty.
On March 5, 2003, I introduced H.R. 1108, the Access to Capital for
Haiti's Development Act. This bill would require the United States to
use its voice, vote and influence to urge the Inter-American
Development Bank to immediately resume lending to Haiti, disperse all
previously approved loans, assist Haiti with the payment of its
existing debts and consider providing Haiti debt relief. The Access to
Capital for Haiti's Development Act would allow Haiti to build roads
and infrastructure and provide basic education and health care services
to the Haitian people. This bill currently has 24 cosponsors.
The United States is now spending billions of dollars to rebuild
Iraq. Earlier this month, this Congress passed a Supplemental
Appropriations Act that contained $1.7 billion to rebuild Iraq's
infrastructure. That bill included funds for health care services for
13 million Iraqis and financed the repair or reconstruction of 25,000
schools, 20,000 houses and 3,000 miles of roads in Iraq. The bill also
contained assistance for Colombia, Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan, Turkey,
and the Eastern European countries of Poland, Hungary, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia and
Bulgaria.
Debt relief for Iraq is being discussed by officials of the Paris
Club of creditor countries. Some Members of Congress have even
suggested that France, Germany, and Russia can best contribute to the
reconstruction of Iraq by the forgiveness of Iraq's debts.
Haiti is a deeply impoverished country on an island just off our
shores. We cannot provide assistance to countries all over the world
while ignoring the needs of people so close to our border. It is time
for the United States and the Inter-American Development Bank to resume
lending to Haiti and provide debt relief and development assistance to
this impoverished country.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today, like many members of the
Congressional Black Caucus, I am moved to speak about the humanitarian
and economic situation of the people of Haiti. It is no secret that the
people there are suffering greatly. Haiti is the poorest country in the
Western Hemisphere with roughly 70 percent of its 7 million population
unemployed and 80 percent living in poverty. HIV/AIDS is devastating
the country, with roughly 1 in 12 Haitians infected with HIV and the
Center for Disease Control predicting 44,000 new HIV/AIDS cases this
year. Additionally, AIDS has orphaned over 200,000 children, and that
number is expected to increase to 350,000 over the next ten years.
While there are many explanations for the current situation in Haiti,
it is clear that the Haitian government and international community
disagree as to the cause and the solution. Regardless of who is to
blame, the people of Haiti continue to suffer and I believe that it is
time for their suffering to end. We must provide assistance to provide
jobs and hope for the people of Haiti.
It is for this reason that I, in conjunction with Congressman John
Conyers, Jr., introduced the Haitian Economic Recovery (HERO) Act,
which would help in moving Haiti towards economic stability by
providing labor and trade opportunities through investment in the
apparel and other assembly industries. For similar reasons, I
cosponsored the Haiti Aid in Transition Initiative and Access to
Capitol for Haiti bills offered by my colleagues Congresswomen Barbara
Lee and Maxine Waters. Both of these bills urge that previously
approved loans, totaling $146 million dollars in humanitarian
assistance, be released to Haiti.
I sincerely believe that the opportunity for change is ripe in Haiti
and that an opportunity still exists to overcome the obstacles that
have blocked the economic assistance so desperately needed by Haiti to
relieve its humanitarian crisis. I know that this requires that the
Haitian government resolve the alienation of the international
community by further demonstrating that it is on the road to resolving
its political and human rights concerns. I believe that it is still
possible for both the U.S. and Haitian governments to work together to
meet these goals. I will continue to do what I can to support the
delivery of food, medicines, and other essentials to the people of
Haiti that I know are desperately needed.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solidarity
with my colleagues on the Congressional Black Caucus, to speak against
the United States' unfair treatment of the people of Haiti.
Haiti is one of the most impoverished countries in the western
hemisphere and the fourth poorest country in the world. There are 8.3
million people residing in Haiti.
The people of Haiti are also facing a severe medical crisis as a
result of their poverty. Haiti is the home of 90% of all HIV/AIDS
patients in the Caribbean. Over 200,000 Haitian children will be
orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Child mortality rates in Haiti are also
excessively high. For every 1,000 births in Haiti, 74 infant deaths
will occur.
The social conditions in Haiti are as deplorable as the medical
condition. Of the millions of Haitian residents, only 46% have access
to clean drinking water. Furthermore, 53% of all Haitian residents are
malnourished.
Despite our close proximity to Haiti, and the widespread publication
of the social and medical plight of Haitian residents, the U.S.
government has insisted on blocking humanitarian aid. The U.S.
government is attempting to shape the political landscape in Haiti to
the severe detriment of the innocent people of Haiti.
The United States government owes Haiti substantial funds in foreign
aid. Substantial loans have been negotiated for the people of Haiti.
Some estimates have the loans valued at as much as $146 million
dollars. The United States government is delaying the disbursement of
these funds to advance their political aims. While the U.S. government
stubbornly maintains these restrictive policies the people of Haiti are
suffering and dying.
The U.S. government has promised Iraq $80 billion in aid to rebuild
their war torn country. The people of Haiti have suffered as well. But
instead of providing much needed aid, the U.S. government blocks
humanitarian efforts and refuses to honor outstanding loans.
Mr. Speaker, it is a disgrace that our Congress stands by while the
people of Haiti suffer and die. I join my colleagues on the
Congressional Black Caucus in imploring the U.S. government to let
Haiti live.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________