[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 7 (Thursday, January 21, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   SENATE RESOLUTION 392--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE 
 HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE CAUSED BY THE JANUARY 12, 2010 EARTHQUAKE IN 
                                 HAITI

  Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Dodd, 
Mr. Leahy, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Burris, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Sanders, Mr. 
Bennet, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Udall of 
New Mexico, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, 
Mr. Harkin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Begich, Mr. Bayh, 
Mr. Wyden, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Shaheen, 
Mr. Casey, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Landrieu, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Kohl, Mr. 
Inouye, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Hagan, Mr. Reed, 
Mr. Corker, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Kaufman, 
and Mr. Reid) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 392

       Whereas, on January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 
     on the Richter scale and its aftershocks devastated Port-au-
     Prince, Haiti and the surrounding areas, killing potentially 
     100,000 people, injuring hundreds of thousands more people, 
     and leaving many hundreds of thousands of people homeless;
       Whereas Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Western 
     Hemisphere, has an estimated 54 percent of its population 
     living on less than $1 per day, 120,000 people living with 
     HIV, 29,333 new cases of Tuberculosis reported in 2007, and 
     nearly 400,000 children living in orphanages;
       Whereas, despite the heroic efforts of the Haitian people 
     and the support of the international community, Haiti remains 
     seriously weakened by prior natural disasters, including an 
     unprecedented string of devastating tropical storms in 2008 
     that left almost 500 Haitians dead and affected hundreds of 
     thousands more people during an acute food crisis;
       Whereas these disasters have grievously undermined Haiti's 
     struggle to rebuild its infrastructure and to restore 
     critical services related to health, education, poverty, and 
     hunger to create effective governmental and nongovernmental 
     institutions;
       Whereas Haiti has struggled for many years to overcome 
     systemic threats to public health and shortages of food, 
     potable water, and cooking fuel, significant environmental 
     degradation, and political and economic fragility;
       Whereas, on January 13, 2010, President Obama stated, ``I 
     have directed my administration to respond with a swift, 
     coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives. The people 
     of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in 
     the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble, 
     and to deliver the humanitarian relief--the food, water, and 
     medicine--that Haitians will need in the coming days.'';
       Whereas on January 13, 2010, Rajiv Shah, the Director of 
     the United States Agency for International Development stated 
     that the United States Government is ``working aggressively 
     and in a highly coordinated way across the Federal Government 
     to bring all of the assets and capacities we have to bear to 
     quickly and effectively provide as much assistance as 
     possible.'';
       Whereas, on January 14, 2010, President Obama pledged 
     $100,000,000 in immediate assistance to the people of Haiti, 
     and dispatched the 82nd Airborne Division, a Marine 
     Expeditionary Unit, the USS Carl Vinson, the USS Bataan, the 
     United States Navy hospital ship, the USS Comfort, and 
     several Disaster Assistant Response Teams, to aid in relief 
     efforts;
       Whereas the international community, which has generously 
     provided security, development, and humanitarian assistance 
     to Haiti, has suffered a substantial blow during the 
     earthquake with the collapse of the headquarters of the 
     United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti with 
     approximately 150 staff members inside, including the head of 
     the mission, Hedi Annabi, representing the largest single 
     loss of life in United Nations history; and
       Whereas, despite the aforementioned losses, the United 
     Nations continues to coordinate efforts on the ground in 
     Haiti, and the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon 
     has pledged that ``the community of nations will unite in its 
     resolve and help Haiti to overcome this latest trauma and 
     begin the work of social and economic reconstruction that 
     will carry this proud nation forward.''.
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses profound sympathy to, and unwavering support 
     for, the people of Haiti, who have suffered over many years 
     and face catastrophic conditions in the aftermath of the 
     January 12, 2010 earthquake, and sympathy to the members of 
     the international community in Haiti, including the staff of 
     the United States Embassy in Port-au-Prince;
       (2) applauds the rapid and concerted mobilization by 
     President Obama to provide immediate emergency humanitarian 
     assistance to Haiti, and the leadership of Secretary of State 
     Clinton, USAID Administrator Shah, and General Fraser of the 
     United States Southern Command in marshaling United States 
     Government resources and personnel to address both the short- 
     and long-term crises in Haiti;
       (3) urges that all appropriate efforts be made to secure 
     the safety of Haitian orphans;
       (4) urges that all appropriate efforts be made to sustain 
     assistance to Haiti beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis 
     to help the Haitian people with appropriate humanitarian, 
     developmental, and infrastructure assistance needed to 
     overcome the effects of past disasters and the earthquake, 
     and to secure a more stable and sustainable future;
       (5) expresses appreciation for the international 
     community's ongoing and renewed commitment to Haiti's 
     security and recovery;
       (6) acknowledges the profound sympathy of the people of the 
     United States for the families and colleagues of United 
     Nations officials who lost their lives and the continued 
     support for the peacekeepers who are working around the clock 
     to provide critical humanitarian support for all those 
     affected by the earthquake;
       (7) urges all nations to commit to assisting the people of 
     Haiti with their long-term needs; and
       (8) expresses support for the United States Embassy team in 
     Port-au-Prince, members of the United States Coast Guard, 
     United States Armed Forces, and other United States 
     Government agencies who are valiantly rescuing thousands of 
     United States citizens and Haitians under extremely adverse 
     conditions.

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